After going 15-1 in the Central League last year, Haverford is one of two teams (Conestoga) that is 2-0 to start 2026 in the Central League!
I genuinely think the league is wide open this year. Gun to my head, I would still say that Haverford and Radnor are the best two teams with their top end pitching, but I think the gap is far smaller than it was last year when both of these teams went 15-1.
While both of those teams are a combined 3-0 in the league already, all three wins have been by exactly one run.
So buckle up for a great ride this year, and please, whatever happens, lets not end this season with co-champions again or I may say some things that will get me in trouble.
Haverford 2, Lower Merion 1
By: Brendan Ricciardi:
That’s right, Haverford pitchers Lucas Rothstein and Jimmy Boyle combined for SEVENTEEN strikeouts today against Lower Merion.
They split the game evenly in half and had pretty similar outings. Boyle actually retired all ten hitters that he faced, striking out eight of them. No big deal.
Lower Merion actually struck first in the top of the third on what appeared to be an errant pickoff throw to score Nicholas Dragut.
That 1-0 lead would last until the bottom of the fifth with Lower Merion starter Brian Heck on a roll. Heck retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the fifth before walking Bobby Menear.
Menear, who just committed to McDaniel as a punter (electric), advanced to second on a wild pitch and stole third, which came in handy when Shane Durkan singled him in to tie it up.
A quick shoutout to Durkan, who after being an outfielder for three years on varsity, is now somehow behind the plate and is probably the fastest catcher out there.
Again in the sixth, Heck retired the first two hitters that he faced. Again, the Fords put together a two-out rally.
Rocco Kelleher walked and then stole second. 2024 DBN Coach of The Year Brian Miller made the decision to pinch run Kelleher for Joe Ruzzi, and that decision paid off in a big way as Owen Klick knocked him in with a single to take the lead.
From there on, Jimmy Boyle did the rest, striking out the first two and getting a pop out to give the Fords another gutsy win against a good 6A team.
Haverford (2-0 in CL) will head to Upper Darby (0-2) for their next game on Wednesday.
Lower Merion (0-2 in CL) got 10 K’s in 5.2 strong innings from Brian Heck, but could really use a win when they host Ridley (1-1) on Wednesday to avoid an 0-3 start.
Conestoga 7, Ridley 1
By: Nick Mazzarella:
Stoga’s pitching held things down while the offense got to work in the win for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers got on the board first, as the first three batters reached on a single and two HBPs. Brendan Soura drove in the first two of the game, as he hit a line drive to left field to drive in Kurt Tharnish and Luke Hunter. Stoga tacked on two more in the inning to take a 4-0 lead.
In the third, Ridley got on the board thanks to a bases loaded walk from Connor Callahan. The bases were still loaded with no outs in the inning, but Finn Nieberle dug deep and got out of it without allowing another run.
Tharnish came home to score again in the fifth due to an error, and made it a four run game.
In the top of the seventh, the Pioneers got the cherry on top, scoring another two, and Tharnish came home to score for the third time in the afternoon.
Shawn Soura shut the Raiders down and secured the Pioneers second Central League win of the season.
Nieberle was credited with the win for the Pioneers. Connor Callahan had two of Ridley’s three hits and also walked twice.
Ridley falls to 1-1 in the CL, and will play away at Lower Merion (0-2 in CL) who is off to a cold start Wednesday at 3:45.
Conestoga moves to 2-0, and will play away at Haverford (2-0) on Monday 3/30 for a great matchup between two of the best teams out of the gate.
Penncrest 8, Springfield 3
By: Brendan Ricciardi:
It took a bit for the Penncrest offense to get going in this game, but once they did, they ran away with this one.
The teams were tied 1-1 after four innings before Penncrest put four on the board in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Jeremy Schneider and Braden Davis both had two hits in this one with Schneider driving in three. Davis also walked twice and had an RBI.
New addition Sergio Hernandez made his presence felt on the base paths, swiping four bags and scoring three runs. Landon Graham also knocked in two for Penncrest.
The Lions got a quality start from Liam Wray, who allowed just one run over four innings with seven strikeouts. Henry Murphy and Will O’Donnell were both sharp out of the bullpen to close out the win.
Springfield got two hits from both Owen Keough and Dylan Sheridan in the loss.
Penncrest improves to 1-1 in the Central League and will face Marple Newtown (also 1-1) at home for a big one on Wednesday.
As for Springfield (0-2), they have the second of three games in three days when they travel to Strath Haven (0-0) on Wednesday.
Malvern Prep 6, Shipley 0
By: Brendan Ricciardi:
Malvern Prep went on the road for the first time this season, but the results still largely stayed the same.
Kayden Wallace was excellent for five innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five.
You may recall the name Austin Crowley as the star of the 2023 Media Little League that went to the Little League World Series. As a freshman this year, Crowley made his varsity debut with a shutout inning of work with no hits and a strikeout.
Grady Forsberg drove in three for Malvern, who scored four in the third inning to take control of this game. Cole Scarbinsky and Sutton Dvorak both drove in runs as well. Aidan Capobianco had two hits and a walk.
Malvern Prep improves to 5-0 on the year and will head down south somewhere (I think Florida?) for some games starting on Saturday. Those are all still TBD as of now according to GameChanger.
Chichester 28, Penn Wood 0
By: Brendan Ricciardi:
Not really too much to say about this game, that saw Chichester score all 28 runs in the first inning.
Evan Valentine and Luke Werley combined for seven hits and eight runs batted in. Cole Sanford added a three-run blast as well. Zach Murray, Carter Thompson, Dominic Ricco, Jeremy Schreffler, Brayden Sweigart, and Josh Stephenson all drove in multiple runs in the win.
Chase Wanner struck out four over three innings on the mound. Sal Faralli and Jaiden Davis had the two hits for Penn Wood.
Chichester (2-0 in Del Val) will have a non-conference game with a tough Great Valley team on the road Wednesday for their next game.
Penn Wood (0-2) will host Chester (0-2) next Tuesday for their next game.
Interboro 16, Chester 0
By: Brendan Ricciardi:
Interboro had to wait until this week for their first Del Val game as the league has an odd number of teams, but they were ready to play.
The Bucs put up eight in the bottom of the second and six in the bottom of the third en route to a 16-0 win.
Austin Dean, Jaxson Munro, and Nicholas Daino all had two hits on the day, with Munro, Dean and Kaiden Whalen all driving in multiple runs.
Whalen also threw the first two innings with Munro and Jayden Plaff throwing scoreless innings in relief.
Interboro (1-0 in Del Val) will head to arch rival Chichester (2-0) on Thursday for the Delco Baseball Now Game of The Week at 3:30. That game will be streamed on our YouTube channel with Jonah Casel and myself on the call.
Friends Central 6, St. Stephens and Agnes 4
By: Jonah Casel:
Friends’ Central capped off their Myrtle Beach road trip with a win over St. Stephens & St. Agnes, who made the trip down to South Carolina from Virginia. After starting 0-2 on the trip, Friends’ Central salvaged a 2-2 record at the Ripken Experience.
Shane McGarry made his return from injury for the Phoenix today. He did not waste any time getting onto the scoresheet, tallying three singles and knocking in two runs. Normally a middle infielder for the Phoenix, McGarry has yet to return to playing the field, but he made quite the impact at DH today.
Lucas Abreu reached base successfully in all three of his plate appearances: a single, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. Abreu’s two stolen bases also helped his teammates drive him in all three times he reached base.
The Phoenix had no trouble being aggressive on the basepaths. They stole ten bases in total, including two from Blake Davis and two from David Manfre. Stealing bases has been an aspect of the game that Friends’ Central has excelled at this season.
Friends’ Central’s pitching staff got the job done in a combined effort from Holden McGarry, Zac Canterino, and David Manfre. Manfre got a five-out save to end the Phoenix’s road trip on a high note.
Tomorrow, Friends’ Central takes the long drive back from South Carolina, where they enjoyed a jam-packed schedule of four games in four days. They return to action in Pennsylvania on Friday, when they play Hill School at home.
Coatesville 23, Sun Valley 0
By: Nick Mazzarella:
Well damn. Not much to say about this one. At least it wasn’t as bad as Penn Wood?
Coatesville moves to 2-0 and 1-0 in the Ches-Mont.
Sun Valley gets handed their first loss of the season, and falls to 2-1, and 1-1 in the Ches-Mont. They will play away at Rustin (1-2, 1-1 in CM) tomorrow at 3:45.