I don’t think I realized as an eighth grader at Strath Haven back in 2013 just how special and rare it was to see what the Panthers did that year.
Watching Kevin Mohollen crush baseballs was a lot of fun, as Strath Haven went undefeated in the Central League before getting stunned in the first round by the #19 seed North Penn in the 4A bracket, back when there were only four classes. That North Penn team went on to win the the state championship in improbable fashion, which made that pill a bit easier to swallow.
The reason that for mentioning all of that is very simple: that was the last team to go undefeated in the Central League. Strath Haven went 14-2 in both 2021 and 2023. Haverford and Radnor both famously went 15-1 last season.
With a win on Monday at home against a Ridley team that will likely need to win to make the playoffs (the formula is confusing so they still may get in), Haverford can write their name in the history books.
(Brendan Ricciardi)
Haverford 11, Conestoga 0
By: Shelby Kauffman:
Well, this marks four losses in a row for the Pioneers, and while it’s not impossible, they’re going to need a win at Upper Darby on Monday, and some help to make a playoff appearance. (I wish I could tell you what needed to be done for them to make it, but I have no idea. The formula is hard.)
Anyway, despite already clinching the Central League title, the Fords took what was there’s, and took home a 11-0 shutout down in Berwyn.
The offense got going in the second inning when Sam Sturman crushed a two-run homer to left field to put Haverford on the board.
Just a few batters later, Bobby Menear added a sacrifice fly in the nine hole to make it 3-0 and give Haverford the lead, they would never give up.
An inning later, the floodgates opened.
Haverford exploded for five runs in the top of the third, highlighted by Sam Sturman’s second blast of the day, an absolute bomb of a three-run shot to left that broke the game wide open.
Bobby Menear stayed hot at the plate as well, lining a two-run single to cap the five-run frame and extend the lead to 8-0.
On the mound though, the Fords kept rolling. Lucas Rothstein was lights out on the mound, as he has been all year. The Haverford starter allowed just one hit across four scoreless innings, striking out five.
The man of the game, undoubtedly though, was Sam Sturman, finishing 2-for-2 with two home runs and five RBI in a monster performance.
Owen Klick added two hits as well, in an all around awesome offensive performance from the Fords.
With the win, the Fords are one home win against Ridley away from becoming the first team to go UNDEFEATED in the Central League since Strath Haven in 2013.
Conestoga falls to 5-10 in the Central League and will have to beat Upper Darby Monday to have any chance of staying alive.
Marple Newtown 11, Harriton 0
By: Bryson Ungar:
Well, we just witnessed the nail in the coffin for Harriton’s tough late-season stretch.
The Rams have now lost nine straight games since April 15th, and the struggles simply have not gone away. During that skid, Harriton has scored just five total runs, which is insanely hard to believe for a team that showed promise earlier this season. Meanwhile, their opponents have piled up 69 runs over that same stretch. Tough way to go out for their seniors on senior day.
For Marple, it was a unique afternoon and evening as the Tigers played two games today. The Tigers had been on a four-game losing streak but snapped it today. This being the first. The Tigers played Harriton on April 23rd and won 12-0. Today was nearly an identical result. And the pitching matchup was also identical. Chase Magee got the start for Marple, and Nate Swalley started for Harriton. Both pitchers started in the first meeting.
Marple got going right away in this one after an error scored two runs, and Cole Buckley drew a walk scoring one more. They also added another run in the third after Sal Brady lined a double to center field.
The Tigers then had a four-run fourth inning highlighted by a slew of errors from Harriton and a Kevin Agger double. Harriton had more errors than hits today. They had 4 hits and 8 errors.
Marple didn’t stop there and ultimately elevated the game to an 11-0 lead. The Tigers tallied nine hits on the day. Buckley led the way with three RBI’s while Kevin Agger had three hits. Zach Marro also had two hits.
Ted Heckman went 3-3 for the Rams at the plate providing some life to the lineup. Hudson Weissman had the other base knock.
Magee was dominant in his outing today. He went the full distance and only allowed four hits and struck out four. Nate Swalley started for the Rams and gave up 5 runs. Harriton then had to call on their ace Sam Bohnenkamp and even he couldn’t really get the ball rolling.
Harriton (3-12) has one more game left against Springfield (9-6), who have proven themselves to be a legit contender. Marple (5-10) will play one more game against Strath Haven (8-7) after a double header tonight.
Marple did make the playoffs last year at 6-10, so theoretically it is still possible that they make it in. Obviously, they have to beat Strath Haven on Monday to even have a chance.
Marple Newtown 4, Delco Christian 0
By: Bryson Ungar:
Marple truly got the best of both worlds today after winning two games in a unique doubleheader. It’s pretty rare you see teams play twice in the same day in high school ball if it’s not a tournament, but that was the case today. Marple got a nice win over Harriton, in a 4pm start in Rosemont, and then quickly commuted back home for a under the lights 7:30pm start time.
The out of conference games are always nice because usually teams will give some young guys some varsity opportunities. Marple got another win here tonight.
Jackson Burger continues an exciting senior season after he homered in the bottom of the third giving Marple a lead. Burger also earned the win for Marple on the mound giving up zero hits and zero runs over 5.0 IP. He also struck out 7. Sean Pancoast and John Matthews also provided shutout bullpen innings.
Josey Lyren took the loss for Delco Christian, as he went 5.0 IP and surrendered 4 runs on five hits, also striking out 7.
Justin Ma led the way for the Knights with a hit, while Burger went 2-3 for Marple. Sean Pancoast, John Matthews, and Cole Buckley all pitched in as well.
Delco Christian will welcome Dock Mennonite on Monday for their next game. Marple will welcome Strath Haven.
Bonner 7, Chichester 2
By: Nick Mazzarella:
Overall, this was certainly not the way Bonner wanted the season to go, but they manage to salvage and finish the regular season at .500 after winning six of their last seven.
Pitching controlled the first portion of this game, as both pitching staffs had a shutout going until the fourth. In the fourth is where the Friars jumped, and hung up a crooked number.
A base hit from Sean Erickson drove in Cole Romano to break the seal and put the Friars up. A bases loaded walk from Michael Murphy drove in another. A wild pitch allowed Emmanuel Gibbs to come home. A walk, a double, and a single later and the Friars had tacked on six in the inning.
Another Erickson single in the sixth made it 7-0.
A Damian Diaz-Badillo double gave Chichester their only two runs of the game in the seventh.
Bonners pitching held it down, allowing only two runs and striking out 10 guys. Jake Gorman threw two scoreless innings, Jack Coleman threw three scoreless innings, with both of those guys allowing just one hit. Owen Lockhart threw the final two.
Chichester now sits at 12-5, and will face Holy Ghost tomorrow on the road at 5:00 PM for a non-conference game.
Bonner finishes their season at 10-10, a step back from the last few years, but hey, at least Kevin McGonigle is raking. The Friars will host rival O’Hara in the Wild Card round of the PCL Tournament on Monday at 4:00.
The game will be broadcasted on the Delco Baseball Now YouTube channel, and if it’s anything like the 1-0 game from April 15th that ended in a Luke Albarano walk-off single, we are in for a treat.
Chester 12, Penn Wood 5
By: Ben Thorpe:
A strong start set the tone for Chester in another Del Val win. The Clippers scored three in the first and two in the second on the way to a 12-5 victory.
Johnathan Quiros started the game with a single, advanced to third, and scored the opening run on a Juan Martinez ground ball. Two more came home that inning on an error and fielder’s choice.
Starting pitcher Jacoby Roman helped himself out in the second with a two-run double that made it 5-0. A Martinez single in the third drove in what would end up being the winning run.
Khalil Barksdale picked up his second and third RBI’s, a team high on the day, in the fifth. His double pushed the lead to 9-1.
Penn Wood made it interesting with a four-run bottom of the sixth. Saiheim Johnson-Robinson started the scoring with a single. James Cunliffe and George Preston both drew bases loaded walks to cut the lead to 9-4 and Jaiden Davis’ bunt made it 9-5.
Chester answered right back though. A two-RBI single from Emil Smith Jr. was the highlight of the Clippers three-run top of the seventh and put the game away.
Roman delivered a good start for Chester, only giving up four hits, one earned run, and striking out three in five innings.
While district playoffs look out of reach, Chester has finished .500 in the Del Val. Absolutely something to build on for the Clippers.
For Penn Wood, they’ll look to end the season on a good note at Interboro as they fall to 1-10 in the Del Val and 3-10 overall.
Interboro 15, Academy Park 0
By: Ben Thorpe:
Interboro only needed three innings to secure another Del Val victory. They used a nine-run second inning to secure a 15-0 win over Academy Park.
Austin Dean was the player of the day for the Bucs, coming through with two hits and four RBI. Seven other Interboro batters picked up RBI’s on the day as well:
Anthony Gentili, Chase Norbeck, Tyler Green, Trent Siebenaler, Jayden Pfaff, Calvin Monro and Nate Vazquez.
Jayden Pfaff had an active day on both sides of the ball. Pfaff went 1/1 with two walks and two RBI at the plate and was the starting pitcher for Interboro.
He threw 2.1 scoreless innings and struck out four. Dean closed it out.
Interboro is now 8-3 in the Del Val and wraps up their regular season at home against Penn Wood. Academy Park falls to 2-9 and will wrap up their 2026 campaign on Tuesday at Chichester.
La Salle 12, O’Hara 4
By: Nick Mazzarella:
O’Hara’s three-game win streak comes to a screeching halt after having to play the #4 team in the state in La Salle.
Pitching couldn’t get it done today, but there were some positives on offense. Connor Clark had a two hit day, and four different guys had an RBI (Colin Thomas, Jack Quinn, Vinny Mancini, Jayson Gniewoz.)
O’Hara falls to 4-8 in the PCL, and will wrap up their regular season tomorrow against Penncrest on the road at 3:45 PM.
O’Hara will head to rival Bonner on Monday looking for revenge in the first round of the PCL Tournament. The winner of that game will advance to face Conwell-Egan on the road on Wednesday.
The only other team that we cover in the tournament is Devon Prep, who is the #6 seed and will head to #3 Archbishop Wood on Wednesday. Carroll did not make the playoffs after they ended with the same record as O’Hara but lost the head to head.
Kennett 2, Sun Valley 0
By: Nick Mazzarella:
Well, thats the dagger for the Vanguards folks.
Sun Valley is eliminated from making the playoffs after a late run could have gotten them in, but just didn’t have enough gas after Wednesday’s Oxford game was rained out.
Not much to write home about for this game, but Austin Miazza tossed a gem, going six innings of zero run ball, allowing just one hit and striking out seven. This game was tied 0-0 through six innings before Kennett scored two in the top of the seventh.
Sun Valley actually outhit Kennett 4-2 in this game. Jaden Comisiak had two hits, Logan Howe and Daniel Miller each had one.
It may not be Thanksgiving Day, but Sun Valley will face their biggest rival in Chichester on Monday, May 11th, at home at 3:45 PM.