Welcome in for another edition of the Delco Baseball Now newsletter, where we’re talking all things Delco Baseball.

We only have a few days left of the newsletter for the summer, potentially even just one if Upper Darby finishes off the Delco League title tonight, but it will certainly return next spring/summer for high school and college.

As always, we appreciate anyone who takes the time to subscribe:

Delco League:

If you want elite starting pitching, this has been the series for you.

Upper Darby has tossed back-to-back shutouts, and they have only needed to use two pitchers in the process. Kevin McGovern took all of Game 1, and Nick DiEva took all of Game 2.

They will look to Lower Merion alum and Quinnipiac ace Sam Wright, the 2024 Finals MVP, to close out the series tonight. We are expecting Marple Newtown and St. Joe’s alum Luke Zimmerman to start for Wayne, but that has not been confirmed yet.

Tommy Bradley and Cam Mathes were great for Wayne, they just did not receive any offensive support.

We were absolutely bullied by the internet connection at O’Hara on Monday night which tanked our stream, but assuming Devon Prep isn’t an absolute dead zone, we will be back on YouTube for Game 3 tonight.

Mid-County:

This might have been the longest three-game series of all time.

It started last Monday, had Game 2 Tuesday, then didn’t have any more games the rest of the week due to rain. Then on Monday, the umps didn’t show up until 6:30 so they only got the first four innings in.

They finally wrapped it up on Tuesday, with Nick Fratangeli dominating for five shutout innings of relief in the win.

Quick shoutout to my guy Dom Ervin who won both the MSBL and Mid-County championship in the span of three days as well.

It was a very encouraging year for the Mid-County league, who fielded 12 teams and is turning into a very legitimate second option for summer ball outside of the Delco League.

College:

Spencer Schuh will be staying local-ish as he heads to Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster to continue his baseball career.

Schuh is one of the best pure hitters that I have covered, he does an incredible job at hitting the ball where it’s pitched with a very clean swing and very few strikeouts. He was a big part of the Episcopal offensive resurgence this season.

We expect to see many of our Delco rising juniors/seniors begin to commit to schools in the next few weeks, so we’ll keep you up to date.

Phillies:

Many people (including myself) have had a lot to say about Taijuan Walker, but he has been an excellent #5 starter this season.

He can certainly have some frustrating starts, but I’ll take a 3.53 ERA from the last guy in my rotation every day of the week. He looked like he was throwing a wiffle ball out there last night.

It was also nice to see that the offense could still produce five runs without Schwarber, Harper and Turner having to carry the load.

Max Kepler, another often criticized guy, had a double and a homer. As did Brandon Marsh, who has been one of the best hitters in the team since he returned from injury in May. Even Bryson Stott added an RBI triple.

For once, can the Phillies just sweep a series after winning the first two games?

Please?