(cover photo of Jack Redding via @sir.prodd on Instagram)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Following their Philadelphia Catholic League championship win over Ryan last week, the Monsignor Bonner Friars are facing off against the Central Lancers, champions of the Philadelphia Public League, in the PIAA District 12 title game Thursday afternoon at 3:00 at La Salle University.
Bonner will likely throw several guys in this game. In their win over La Salle on Friday, Johnny Ortegae (La Salle commit), Danny Buckton, and Joey Graziani (Ursinus commit) threw a relatively low number of pitches. We would expect Ortegae to start, especially with the extra day of rest due to the rain.
All those guys, along with senior Cory Sheridan (Rutgers commit), who closed the championship on Saturday, should be available after missing the entire season up until that point. Having him available for this playoff run is a huge boost.
Bucknell commit Tyler Seidman will likely take the mound for the Lancers. The senior lefty had a great outing last week against Franklin Towne, allowing zero runs and striking out nine.
However, Seidman also showed some command issues in this start, walking six. He was at 108 pitches after just five innings, and the Bonner offense should utilize his inefficiency to get him out of the game sooner rather than later.
Bonner’s offense was on fire during the PCL tournament. Junior and First Team All-Catholic selection Ryan Friel was 9 for 13 during the three-game stretch. Friel leads all of Delco with a .481 average and has a 1.195 OPS as well.
Third Team All-Catholic selection Gavin DiRita mashed a three-run home run in the first inning against La Salle and followed that up with 3 RBI on Saturday. His emergence has really lengthened the power in this order.
Junior Sergio Hernandez and PCL Offensive Player of the Year Michael Coleman have set the tone at the top of the order batting leadoff and second, respectively. Hernandez is hitting .385 with a .954 OPS and Coleman is hitting .388 with a 1.104 OPS.
The Friars outscored their opponents 29-4 in the PCL Tournament.
For Central, Tyler Seidman has also had a big impact on offense hitting leadoff. Dickinson commit Aidan McElhatton has hit well in the three-hole and has been consistent on the mound for the Lancers.
The winner of this game will take on the winner of today’s District 1 third place game between Neshaminy and Coatesville. There’s a very good chance that if the Friars win, they will host the first round of states like they did last year when they beat Upper Dublin.