High School Baseball: Golden Panthers' Magical Run Ends in District Final

As cliché as it might be to state “history would be made” as the PIAA District One Class AAA Championship game got under way, truer words could not be written.

Pope John Paul II High School has been riding the wave of the “new school spirit” since its inception in September. The school has melded two student bodies into one cohesive force to be reckoned with, but hasn't yet won the District I title.

Upper Moreland, despite its long history and many trophies in its showcase, has yet to win a district title in baseball.

Getting the call for the Golden Panthers was senior Jeff Evans, who displayed a calming confidence with him as he took the hill in the biggest game of PJP2’s brief history.

“I am relaxed and ready to go,” said Evans prior to game time. “We have played to get here all year, and it’s time to get it done.”

Evan got it done early as he mowed through the Golden Bears' lineup the first time through the order, allowing just one Upper Moreland base runner in the first three innings, a leadoff double off the bat of Robert Knox.

PJP2, 13-8 overall, drew first blood as Tyler Mikell, who led off the third inning by crushing a triple to the deepest part of the park, raced home with the first run as Bob Barth grounded the ball to the left side of the infield.

The Golden Panthers tacked on another when Paul Mills drilled a ball to the fence in dead center field, scoring A.J. Koscelansky, who singled.

In the previous at bat, Evans (2-for-3) tried to help his own cause, blasting a single in the gap, giving PJP2 a chance to have an additional tally. However, Alex Romberger—running for Anthony Carr—was tagged out at the plate as catcher Dave McInerney stayed with the play, applying the tag even after Romberger had avoided his first swipe.

“Today wasn’t our day,” said Evans. “I guess in a week or so, I will look back and think about what a great year we had, but right now, it sucks. We had one of those days where (we) hit the ball hard, just right at people, and they were getting the ball to drop in everywhere. It was a little frustrating.”

The Golden Bears (16-3) evened the score in the top of fourth, taking advantage of two bloop base hits off the bats of Sean Valenza and Ryan Snyder, before designated hitter Charlie Hooker ripped a two-out base knock back through the middle, scoring both. But he got gunned down trying to stretch it into a double when Carr took the throw home and threw a strike to Koscelansky covering the bag.

Upper Moreland continued the momentum after tacking on a run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Knox, which scored Mike Janas (3-for-4, two runs, 2RBI) to give starter Kyle Walder a one-run cushion as he settled in on the mound.

“They were really aggressive early,” said UM junior Walder. “They were really making good contact on anything close to the middle, so I started trying to hit the corners, I was getting the calls, and they didn’t seem to be able to have as good of swings, so I kept it there.”

The Golden Panthers sent six men to the plate in the fifth, but failed to score as Walder was able to get Sal DiPrinzio to foul out just inside the fence with the bases juiced to end the inning.

Evans and PJP2’s and Waterloo was the top of the sixth. The Golden Bears started the inning with seeing-eye singles before Mike Janas delivered the biggest blow of the game with a two-out, 2 RBI single to give UM a 5-2 lead and essentially end the Golden Panthers bid for a district title, as Walder had settled into a rhythm.

“We were out in front early in the game,” said Janas. “He (Evans) had great control and was getting us out on pitches that weren’t even strikes. We talked about staying back on the ball, and then we started getting some ball to fall in as well.”

In a microcosm of the entire game, the Golden Panthers final rally was quashed before it got started. A.J. Koscelansky, who led off the fifth with a single, was doubled off at first base when Paul Mills crushed a 3-2 fastball like a laser. It found the glove of leftfielder Knox, who, in turn, threw a strike to first baseman Janas, completing the twin killing.

“That was a perfect example of how our day went,” said PJP2 manager Tom Sergio. “Paul doesn’t strike out very often, so we were sending A.J. on 3-2, and it was an easy double play. Even though Paul killed the ball, it’s juts how it went. It’s frustrating to see our guys hit the ball well, right at people, and watch them score on balls that drop in behind us.”

Upper Moreland posted two more runs in the team's final at bat on a one-out, two-run single by Matt Kohn to close out the scoring and clinch the first district baseball title in school history.

“This is unbelievable,” said UM manager Ernie Rehr, in his fourth year. “We have a lot of district trophies in our case at school, but no baseball hardware, even though they had a state championship in the '70s. These kids have not quit all year, and this was a goal we set in the beginning of the year. And hey, now we have to get ready for states. Wow.”   

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Upper Moreland (16-3

0

0

0

2

1

4

2

9

13

1

Pope John Paul II  (13-7)

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

2

8

1

Upper Moreland

AB

R

H

RBI

Pope John Paul II

AB

R

H

RBI

Knox lf

2

0

1

2

DiPrinzio cf

4

0

0

0

Valenza ss

3

1

1

1

Koscelanky ss/2b

4

1

1

0

McInerney c

4

1

1

0

Mills 3b

3

0

1

1

Snyder 2b

3

3

2

0

Zbyszinski dh

2

0

1

0

Cripps 3b

3

1

1

0

Carr c

3

0

1

0

Hooker dh

3

0

1

2

DiGenova 1b

3

0

1

0

Kohn cf

3

1

1

2

Evans  p  ss

3

0

2

0

Janas 1b

4

2

3

2

Mikell  lf

2

1

1

0

Lockard rf

4

0

2

0

Barth 2b  p

2

0

0

1

Totals

29

9

13

9

Totals

26

2

8

2

IP

R

ER

H

SO

BB

Walder  (W)

7

2

2

8

2

2

Evans  (L)

5.6

7

5

8

1

1

Fazzini

0

0

0

1

0

2

Barth

1.3

2

2

3

0

1