Vogan earns Coach of the Year award

It was supposed to a rebuilding year of sorts.

Not only did Conestoga lose four Division I-bound pitchers to graduation, but also, two of the Pioneers' rising hurlers, hard-throwing junior righthander Alan Wang and sophomore lefty Jordan Little, were sidelined because of injuries.

"We had a lot of question marks coming into the year, not only in the area of pitching," coach John Vogan said.

The squad made steady progress through the regular season and ended up sharing top Central League honors with preseason favorite Marple Newtown.

After a second-place showing in the District 1 tournament, Conestoga regrouped and, with four straight wins, captured the PIAA Class AAAA state crown Friday with a 6-3, 10-inning triumph over Spring-Ford in State College.

Vogan, for his part in bringing home the program's first state championship, is The Inquirer's Southeastern Pennsylvania baseball coach of the year.

With hitting through the order and effective if not overpowering pitching, the Pioneers finished with a 22-4 mark and the area's No. 1 ranking.

In nine seasons, Vogan, also the school's varsity football coach, has compiled a 142-48 record (.747 winning percentage). He works at Conestoga, his alma mater, in the security division.

Vogan, who also has coached softball, is assisted by Jim Reynolds and Kevin Pechin.

Freshman of the year. From the No. 5 spot in the order, and with a Ryan Howard-type swing, Neumann-Goretti first baseman Josh Ockimey batted .466 with 25 RBIs and 15 runs.

Runners-up: Conestoga second baseman Tom Richter hit around .430 from the No. 9 spot; and Harriton's Andre Pendelton, an outfielder, batted .500 with seven doubles.

Biggest comeback. In the Catholic League semifinals, Neumann-Goretti trailed La Salle, 13-3, and was one out away from being a mercy-rule loser. With a 13-run explosion in the sixth inning, including Ockimey's three-run triple and Jimmy Kerrigan's two-run homer, the Saints amazingly won, 18-13.

Catch of the year. In the second round of the District 1 Class AAAA tournament, Downingtown East centerfielder Jeff Boorman, with his back to the fence, made a leaping grab to rob Council Rock South's Brian Donnelly of a three-run homer.

With two outs in the seventh, Boorman, making a diving attempt in short right-center, nearly denied Kane Price a walk-off, two-run single.

Top pitching trio. Council Rock North's Darren Lauer, Patrick O'Leary, and Jake Drossner went a combined 19-3.

Lauer (headed to Elon) went 7-3 with a 2.67 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 42 innings. O'Leary (Winthrop) was 6-0 with a 0.90 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 31 innings, and Drossner, a junior committed to Maryland, went 6-0 with 43 Ks in 30 innings.

Best small-school pitcher. In helping Calvary Christian win the District 1 Class A crown and advance to the second round of states, Tyler Scheuer, a sophomore righthander, went 9-3 with a 1.89 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 591/3 innings.