On to the Semi's

Hot dogs and burgers were being grilled out in center field. Those crazy enough took a ride on the slip-N-slide on the hill. This meant one thing: playoff baseball. After clinching the Red Division for the first time since 1998, Bonner was set to host Father Judge in the quarterfinals. Judge earned the right to play Bonner after defeating St. Joe's Prep 5-4 in 11 innings Monday.

Early on, it looked like Bonner was going to run away with this one....literally. Lead-off man and first team All Catholic Rick Reigner hit a screaming line drive to deep right field. He used his speed to round all the bases, and score on an inside the park home run. After Sam Christie singled, Matt Mullen hit a routine ground ball to shortstop, which was bobbled, allowing both Mullen and Christie to move safely. Alex Libretore followed with a sac fly to center, allowing Christie to move to third. Steve Markus hit a grounder to second, scoring Christie from third, putting the Friars up 2-0 after one inning. After a scoreless top half of the second, Bonner continued its offensive onslaught. Paul Shepherd beat out a ball hit to the shortstop. Pinch runner Mike Moran stole second, and Matt Ruggieri followed with a single to right field. Two batters later, Reigner struck again, this time with a single to right, scoring 2 runs and increasing the lead to 4-0. A scoreless 3rd inning for Father Judge enabled the Bonner bats to keep swinging in the bottom half. Libretore singled up the middle. Steve Markus doubled to left, and Libretore moved to third on the play. Josh Van Horn hit a sac fly to deep center field, scoring Libretore, and moving Markus to third. Shepherd hit a ground ball to short which scored Markus. After a nice running grab by the Judge right fielder Anthony D'Ambrosio ended the frame. When Bonner took a 6-0 lead in the third inning, many fans were thinking this game was over. Bonner was moving on to the next round, and might even ten-run the Crusaders. But Judge didn't quit. In what seemed like a three hour long inning, Judge scored 7 runs to take a 7-6 lead. After cruising the first three innings, Bonner pitcher Ant DiGalbo ran in to trouble. Judge led off the inning with a man on because of an errant throw to first. A walk and a single loaded the bases. A wild pitch allowed Judge to score their first run. After a nice play by Alex Libretore at first base for the first out, Judge singled to center, scoring two. A nother walk, and a single inched the score to 6-4. With the bases loaded again, a three run triple that just beat the diving Matt Mullen in right field put the Crusaders up 7-6. Bonner fought back in their half however. Reigner was hit by a pitch, and stole second. Christie reached on a walk, and Mullen put down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners to second and third. Libretore hit another sac fly to center, allowing Reigner to tag up and score. Christie moved up on a wild pitch. In a shocking play a pitch later, Christie stole home with a lefty at the plate. He scored, and Bonner took an 8-7 lead. This was the turning point of the game. Bonner would tack on another run in the fifth to go up 9-7 heading into the seventh. Junior Jim Bonner, who came in relief of DiGalbo, went out to try and nail the win down for the Friars. Judge was able to score a run in the top half, and threatened to tie the game with a man on second. However a little ground ball back to the mound allowed for an easy play for Bonner, and the Friars earned a hard earned victory. With the win, Bonner moves on to the semifinals, where they'll take on the defending league champion Neumann-Goretti. The Saints defeated Caroll today 11-4 to earn the right to move on. The semifinals will be held at Widener on Friday, May 28th, at 3:30. Bonner looks to dethrone the Saints and get back to the PCL Final for the second time in three years, while N-G tries to continue its road to defend the title. The winner will move on to the finals, also at Widener, where they'll take on the winner of the Wood-Ryan semifinal at LaSalle. This should be a very entertaining game, and one you won't want to miss.

Baseball Prepares for Playoffs; Reigner and Libretore Among 7 All Catholics

Neumann-Goretti and Archbishop Wood have been getting a lot of respect around Philadelphia for their baseball teams. But they have good reason for it. The PCL Blue Division schools are 9th and 24th in the state respectively. Well, the Bonner baseball is making proving that Philadelphia and the state should start paying attention to the red-hot Friars. The 15-3 (11-3 PCL), before falling to Roman on Thursday, had won 10 league games in a row, which enabled them to win the Red Division's top seed in the playoffs. This is the first outright division championship for Bonner since 1998, when they won the then Southern division. The 2010 squad also had wins off of Haverford School, the Inter-Ac champs who are ranked 5th in the state, and Sidwell Friends, a top team from Washington D.C. They'll officially end the regular season with a trip to Hanover Area High School on Saturday at 1:00pm. After, they'll await for whom they will play in the playoffs. The quarterfinal game will be played on Tuesday, May 25th at 3:45 at Bonner, with the opponent TBD.

The Coaches All Catholic team was released yesterday on the final day of the PCL regular season. Bonner boasts 6 players who were named to the team, including 5 to the first team. Among them were SS Josh Van Horn, 1B Alex Libretore, CF Rick Reigner, and P Joe Nestor. Reigner finished 2nd for MVP voting in the Red division. Pitcher Ant DiGalbo and LF Matt Mullen earned 2nd team honors.

Here is the playoff schedule:

Blue: (6) Kennedy-Kenrick at (3) Conwell-Egan.
(5) Archbishop Caroll at (4) Lansdale Catholic.
(1) Neumann-Goretti and (2) Archbishop Wood: BYE

Red: (6) Cardinal O'Hara at (3) LaSalle
(5) St. Joe's Prep at (4) Father Judge
(1) BONNER and (2) Archbishop Ryan: BYE

Sac Fly Keeps Bonner in First

It took 8 innings, but Bonner was able to sweep Father Judge in the two game series thanks to a Josh Van Horn sacrifice fly to drive in the winning run in the top of the 8th. Sam Christie started off the scoring in the 2nd inning, driving in a run of his own. The Crusaders scored one run in the 2nd and 3rd innings to take a 2-1 lead. An RBI by senior Matt Mullen tied the game back up at 2-2. In the fifth, Van Horn singled to drive in the first of his 2 RBI's. Matt Ruggieri had an RBI single in the sixth and Bonner took a 4-2 lead. But Judge scored two in the bottom of the 7th inning to tie the game up and force the extra inning, where Van Horn would win it. Starting pitcher Ant Digalbo pitched 6 2/3 innings, and allowed 3 ER in the no decision. Junior Jim Bonner earned the win in relief of Digalbo. With the win, the Friars are now 11-3, but more importantly 8-2 in the PCL Red Division. They remain atop of first place, one game above LaSalle, with 4 league games remaining, with a series against North and Roman respectively. They begin these final four games on Monday, when they host the North Catholic Falcons at 3:45.

It's Been Awhile Since I've Updated This.....

So unfortunately, I have been unable to get to some games. Work has been killing me. Well I finally am able to update this, with three recaps and some rugby news.

We'll start with some rugby news actually. Bonner's rugby team lost their first league game in the programs two year history on Sunday in the championship game to Salesianum. After defeating Cumberland Valley earlier in the day in the semifinals, the team just could not put together a strong game, and unfortunately dropped the game. However, the Friars will compete in the state playoffs, and earned the number 1 seed. They'll host Father Judge this Sunday, May 9th, in the first round of the state playoffs. Time is TBD.

Bonner's baseball team extended their win streak to 7 games on Tuesday, as they defeated Father Judge 4-1. Joe Nestor earned the victory, allowing one run in five innings of work. Marty McKeone came in to pitch the final two innings to seal the Friars win. Bonner accounted for 13 hits, while the Crusaders had just 4. Rick Reigner went 3-4, Steve Markus hit 2-4, and Matt Ruggieri was 1-2 with 2 RBI's. Sam Christie also added a triple in the win. With the victory, Bonner improves their record to 10-3 (7-2 League), and maintains first place with a one game lead over LaSalle (6-3 in league). They'll complete the series with Judge at Judge on Thursday at 3:45.

In other PCL Red Division Baseball action: LaSalle routed third place O'Hara 13-2 in 5 innings. Archbishop Ryan defeated St. Joe's Prep 9-7. Roman Catholic picked up their second league win with a 7-5 win over North Catholic.
In The Blue....Neumann Goretti defeated Kennedy-Kenrick 2-1 in a pitchers duel.

There was also some lacrosse action today. A big game took place between Bonner and O'Hara. Bonner allowed two early goals, rallied back to take a 4-3 lead, but that was about all the positive news the Friars would have. O'Hara scored 7 straight goals to turn a close 6-4 halftime lead into a disastrous day for the Friars. Mike Reagon scored two goals for Bonner. Kyle Mathis, Dan Murphy, and senior standout Rick Reid, who will play his college lacrosse at Alvernia next year, also tallied for the Friars. They look to pick up a win in a league game versus Carroll Wednesday at Bonner.

Prendie softball was also in action today. They defeated Hallahan 9-3. Seven of their 9 runs came in the first inning. Kate Dumont went 2-4 with 2 RBI's, and Emily O'Neil went 2-3 including a double, and also had 2 RBI's of her own. Senior Devon Beese earned the win on the mound for the Pandas. They'll host Archbishop Carroll Wednesday at 3:45.