(cover photo of Johnny Ortegae via Shelby Kauffman/DBN)
UPPER CHICHESTER, PA – The sixth-seeded Monsignor Bonner Friars and the first-seeded La Salle Explorers are meeting at Maplezone Sports Institute to face off in the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals.
Bonner is here following their 5-3 upset victory over the third-seed Father Judge. La Salle is here after their 6-2 win over Devon Prep, who defeated the seventh-seed Neumann-Goretti as the tenth-seed.
Taking the mound for Bonner will likely be La Salle University commit Johnny Ortegae. The 6’4” senior has been solid all year, but he has not seen much action recently, only having thrown 1.2 innings in the last couple of weeks. The righty was awarded to the Second Team All-Catholic this year.
Expect to see Danny Buckton in relief, who threw four shutout innings against Judge out of the pen.
La Salle has two great choices for who could start the game: Chris Cavalcante (Old Dominion commit) and Jack Pye (William & Mary commit). Both First Team All-Catholic pitchers, Cavalcante was also awarded the PCL Pitcher of the Year.
The Explorers have two great choices here. Cavalcante started on Sunday against Devon Prep, but with the delay, he has had enough recovery time for a full start.
Pye’s last appearance was a win over St. Joe’s Prep two and a half weeks ago. Both pitchers have a similar chance of throwing, and we will see tomorrow who will start the game.
Bonner’s offense has been led by a string of three lefties in their lineup: Michael Coleman (Gettysburg commit), Ryan Friel, and Gavin DiRita. Coleman and Friel were First Team All-Catholic selections, and DiRita was a Third Team All-Catholic selection; Coleman also was awarded PCL Offensive Player of the Year.
Sergio Hernandez also sets the tone at the top of the order.
Headlining La Salle’s offense is PCL MVP Caden Schmidt. Batting right behind him is UMass Lowell commit Luke Borgmann, who won PCL Defensive Player of the Year for his work behind the dish. Virginia Tech recruit Aimon Chandler left that Devon Prep game with an injury, so we’ll see if he is able to go.
La Salle has an incredibly deep lineup as we saw #9 hitter Ronnie Raby homer to dead center against Devon Prep.
This matchup is going to be a dogfight. Both programs have built a solid history at the top of the PCL.
Two teams loaded with talent meet in the PCL semifinals, while the other semifinal game is being played right next to them; this is guaranteed to be epic.
The winner of this game will compete against the winner of Archbishop Ryan and Archbishop Wood in the PCL championship on Saturday at 11:00 at Widener University.
In order for Bonner to make the state tournament, they will not only have to win this game, but also win the PCL title on Saturday. Bonner has lost in the state semifinals four years in a row.