PJP II baseball coach suspended for remainder of season

ope John Paul II baseball coach John Duffy was suspended for the remainder of the season by school administrators Thursday for his actions during last week's Pioneer Athletic Conference championship game.

Duffy, in his first year with the Golden Panthers, was ejected for arguing with the home-plate umpire in the seventh inning of a 1-0 loss to Methacton at Spring-Ford's Ram Stadium. He had served a one-game suspension, per PIAA rules, in Tuesday's District 1 Class AAA quarterfinal playoff win over Upper Moreland.

The PIAA "expressed serious concerns about the circumstances surrounding the ejection, which included charging the umpire from the dugout, directing profanity at the umpire, inciting spectators, making contact with the umpire, failure to leave the field after ejection and returning to the field after being ejected," Archdiocese of Philadelphia communications director Kenneth Gavin said in statement.

Duffy, who previously was an assistant at La Salle University and head coach at Germantown Academy, and Pope John Paul II administrators referred all questions to the Archdiocese.

Duffy will be permitted to resume his duties next season, according to the Archdiocese.

Thursday's district semifinal between Pope John Paul II (17-6) and Holy Ghost Prep (17-3) was postponed due to a severe storm.

More than 600 students signed a petition supporting Duffy and presented it to school administrators to no avail, according to a source.