While the high school season is about two weeks away from really getting going, the college baseball season is in full swing.
I believe at this point every level of baseball except for our club baseball guys has already gotten going, leaving us a ton of potential suitors for this week’s edition. It’s certainly a lot tougher than it was when it was just D1 a few weeks ago.
Let’s dive into the action and see which local guys had great performances this past week/weekend.
Harry Carr, Butler (Bonner)
Harry Carr was a First Team All-Delco selection for us last year after a big offensive season for Bonner. He wanted to go somewhere that he would have a chance to get immediate playing time to show what he can do.
Mission accomplished.
Carr started off this torrid week going 4/4 against Louisville, probably the best if not one of the best teams they will face all season. He added to that by going 5/11 in a series against Ohio to wrap up the weekend, and he is hitting a cool .371 this season for the Bulldogs now.
A big part of the infield for Butler this year, Carr will look to keep up this hot streak on Wednesday at Miami (Ohio) before a four-game set with Lindenwood this weekend.
Harold Ivery III, Alvernia (Carroll)
Harold Ivery III spent his first two seasons playing Division II baseball at Mansfield University, but he has found a new home at Division III Alvernia.
Seems like the fine folks over with the Golden Wolves are pretty happy about this.
Ivery III went 7/12 last week, slugging a homer and three doubles. Alvernia already has a good amount of Delco guys including Garnet Valley’s Logan Nelson and Shane McDermott along with Springfield’s Luke Jones.
After a conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance last year, Ivery III will hope to be a big piece of the puzzle for Alvernia this year as they try to do it all again.
Ryan Reed, Pitt (The Haverford School)
Back on this list for the second week in a row, Ryan Reed found his strikeout touch against UNC-Greensboro.
The Haverford School alum threw seven shutout innings last week against Monmouth, striking out four in the process. He tripled that strikeout number this time around, racking up a whopping 12.
Of the 15 outs he recorded in that start, only three were put in play!
Reed’s last two starts have led to 12 innings and just one earned run, giving him a ton of confidence heading into next weekend where he is expected to start against East Tennessee State.
Kyle Lazer, West Chester (Bonner)
Another guy that was on this list last week as well, Kyle Lazer seems very comfortable making the transition from relief pitcher to starting pitcher in 2025.
Coming off of Tommy John surgery following the 2023 season, Lazer threw 28 innings for West Chester in his first season back last year. Now a starter, he is already up to 11 innings pitched and has allowed just one earned run.
Obviously, any pitcher at this level has experience being a starter at some point in their career. With that being said, Lazer has not been a starting pitcher since at least 2021. This is a very impressive thing we are seeing here to be able to just get right back into being a starter, it is very different both physically and mentally being a starter compared to a relief pitcher.
Kyle will likely get another start this weekend at Mercy University looking to keep this momentum rolling.
Cody Grande, Williamson College of the Trades (Springfield)
Cody Grande and Williamson College of the Trades kicked off the season this weekend against PSU Hazleton, and he did not waste anytime picking up where he left off last season.
Grande went 5/10 in the doubleheader, launching a homer and driving in four runs in the process. Until this article, I didn’t realize how many local guys we had over at Williamson in addition to Cody:
- Patrick Jones, Haverford
- Zach Ladislaw, Ridley
- Jake Naumann, Ridley
- James Spicer, O’Hara
- Josh Illing, Springfield
- Mike Krakovitz, Upper Darby
- Michael Ashton, Carroll
- Cole Locklear, Salesianum (from Aston)
Speaking as someone who played club baseball in college for Penn State, I love to see all of these guys finding less traditional ways to keep their college baseball careers alive. We’re all just playing because we love playing baseball with our boys and love winning. Nothing more pure than that.
Grande and the squad will be back for another game against Atlantic Cape on Wednesday before a double header on Saturday at Manor.
Mike Valente, California University of Pennsylvania (Strath Haven)
The reigning Delco League Cy Young winner is off to a quick start over at California University of Pennsylvania, a school that I am still convinced does not actually exist with that name. Same with Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Anyway, not the point.
Mike threw a very strong six innings of work against Northwood, allowing just one earned run and picking up eight strikeouts. He has allowed just two earned runs over ten innings to get the season started.
Valente has gotten steady innings since he get on campus, and even made 11 starts last year a sophomore. He will be a big part of the Vulcans’ rotation for the next two years, and it already looks like it’s starting strong.
Sitting at 5-0 already, Valente will likely throw again this weekend down in Florida.