THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
May 28, 2009 District 1 Class AAAA baseball title game. With an 11-hit effort and the bulk of the pitching coming from two non-aces (righty Robby Worrell, lefty Bill Fallis), West Chester East knocked off Council Rock North, 6-2, at Bears Stadium in Boyertown, PA.
I thought Spring-Ford High, in Royersford, was an out-of-the way location for a district title game. But Boyertown, almost as West as you can go on Route 73 (Hamburg might be the end of the line??). Yes, lovely Berks County. Bears Stadium is impressive, though. The home of Boyertown's widely known American Legion team reminded me a little bit of the Little League World Series complex in Williamsport. And Boyertown (just outside Gilbertsville) had a Poconos-like feel to it. A rough trip, for sure, but worth it because of the nice mini-stadium.
W.C. East bagged its first district title since 2004 (Class AAA back then). In 2003, after finishing runner-up to C.R. North in districts, the Vikes (under former coach Ed Pappas, who, by the way, is a neighbor of Malvern Prep boss Mike Hickey), won the Class AAA state crown.C.R. North, coached by former Archbishop Wood standout Dan Kusters. was trying for its first district championship since 2003 (when it beat W.C. East, 6-5, in the final). On this day, though, when East's Jay Lynch (Binghamton) pitched the first two innings (coach Dean Owens was saving him for Monday), six hits and a pair of sixth-inning runs was not enough for the Indians.
C.R. North (and, likely, yours truly) will be back in Boyertown on Monday. That's when the Indians will face District 12 runner-up Central, in a first-round state game at 4 p.m. East will play Warwick, District 3's third-place qualifier, at Spring-Ford High at 2 p.m.
-Rick O'Brien
Chris LaPierre's remarkable career at Shawnee came to an end today as the Renegades lost 11-6 to Ridgewood in the Group 3 state title game.
"Shawnee was everything to me," LaPierre said after the game at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge.
LaPierre scored 84 touchdowns as a football running back but was a better lacrosse player. He'll play lacrosse next year at Virginia.
"His legacy, in both sports, will be tough to match," Shawnee coach Tim Gushue said.
-- Phil Anastasia
GCIT pitcher Krysti Maronski was still euphoric over her 1-0, 10-inning win over Sterling Wednesday when a reporter asked her about the Cheetah's next opponent: Overbrook.
"They have two good pitchers, Jen Metzger and Sam Borelli," Maronski said.
Maronski played against Metzger and Borelli in travel ball. Now she'll be trying to beat top-seeded Overbrook for the South Jersey Group 2 championship.
BILL IEZZI
Yo, District 12
Love that you're part of the PIAA now, but, geeze, all these Public League championships, Catholic League championships, City Title games and District 12 championships have my head spinning.
I guess the Suburban teams have league championships, too. They just don't seem as confusing. Must be me.
What isn't me, though, is your Web site -- http://district12.piaa.org/
What's up with that? There is no info on it. Nice pictures but where are the brackets, the updates? Check out the District 1 site. It rocks.
Got a comment? Send it to me at gmiles@phillynews.com and it may show up here.
GCIT freshman Lexy Fair scored the winning run in the 10th inning yesterday as the Cheetahs beat Sterling, 1-0, in a South Group 2 semifinal.
Her reaction?
"I never did anything like this before," Fair said. "I knew I had to wait for the shortstop [to get out of the way] and run as fast as I could."
In the ninth, Sterling's Lauren Gallagher didn't get out of the way of shortstop Jamie Dellinger and was called out for interference.
Fair didn't forget.
BILL IEZZI
Here's how good Moorestown is in girls' lacrosse: The second-best team in South Jersey is pleased when the Quakers don't blow them out.
Moorestown beat Shawnee for the 15th time in a row since 1999 by an 11-6 score in today's S.J. Group 3 final.
But the Renegades were happy it wasn't a repeat of last season, when Moorestown rode into Medford and dominated.
Moorestown is a ridiculous 225-9 since 2000. The Quakers have won 207 games in a row against New Jersey opponents.
This was a good game for a half but Moorestown turned up the heat in the second half and pulled away. As always.
Shawnee 3 3 – 6
Moorestown 4 7 – 11
S: Becky Stiles 2, Jackie Adams 2, Bridget Kernan 2. M: Katrina Martinelli 3, Jenna Dougherty 2, Kelsey Miller 2, Stephanie Toy 2, Alyssa Ogle, Loren Pruitt.
Saves: S—Meghan Rodgers 6; M—Bridget Bianco 3, Karli Tobin 4.
-- Phil Anastasia
Hey Sports Fans,
Have a favorite sports memory of the school year you'd like to share?
Send 100 words or less to me, and I'll post some of the most entertaining in this space. Give a shout out to your favorite player, teammate, coach or fan.
Send them to gmiles@phillynews.com
Pitman softball coach Mike Yeager says he doesn't care who the Panthers play for the South Group 1 softball crown on Friday.
It'll be either No. 1 seed Gloucester City or No. 5 Pennsville.
Gloucester has beaten Pitman twice this season, 5-0 and 11-1.
Who do you think Pitman would rather play?
BILL IEZZI
