2015 was a magical year for the Wolverines, winning a regional tournament for the first time in team history, and winning a state final tournament game for the first time in team history. 

The team was unusual in the high number of 14 year olds who played significant roles during the season.  Seven of the ten starters, and nine of the players who saw significant playing time on the team were 14 years old, with seven of them just finishing their 8th grade year in middle school.

Veteran leadership was provided by Darien Pass and Ian Myers, who along with Jack Dougherty provided big bats and golden gloves to set the pace for the Wolverines.  Pass was a rock behind the plate, masterfully working with the pitchers and punishing baserunners who dared to stray away from their bases.  Myers made several sensational plays in center field while being the ace of the pitching staff.  Myers was also the clean up hitter, providing many big blasts (both literally and figuratively) to spark big innings and several playoff comebacks.

The Wolverines were expertly coached by Bryan Bendowski and Moe Mallory who encourage the players and helped them get better each and every practice, and even during the games.

The Wolverines finished the season 26-10-1, winning the 2015 Lower Southampton Regional, winning two league playoffs games, and finishing second in the regular season in the Main Line Junior Legion League.

Myers, Dougherty, Matt Cohen, and Pat Lofton were the mainstays of a deep starting rotation that pitched a combined 170 innings with a 2.30 ERA, with both Myers and Cohen recording shutouts.  Myers and Cohen both won two playoff games on the mound, with Myers winning the sole state tournament game won by the Wolverines.

 Myers was the offensive MVP, hitting .382 with a HR, 33 RBIs, with an OPS of 1.134.  Sean Mullarkey led the team with 29 runs scored, and Cohen led the team with 17 SBs.  Dougherty (.312) and Jack Lee (.307) were the other .300 hitters on the team.  Pass drew 33 BBs, 11 more than next best Myers at 22.

Pass was incredible behind the plate, allowing only 33 stolen bases the whole season in 36 games while throwing out 15 would be base stealers.  Pass also picked off five runners straying from their bases.  The Wolverines also had only 29 wild pitches all season, another testament to Pass' defensive prowess behind the plate.

The Wayne Wolverines almost shocked the PA Junior Legion Baseball State Tournament when they battled the defending State champion Spring City Red Sox in an elimination game in Homer City today, falling just short in an 8-7 loss.  The defeat ended Wayne's season at 26-10-1 and their hopes of their first state title, but earned them the respect of Spring City and the rest of the remaining teams at the State tournament.

With Spring City coming off an 8-1 loss to arch rival Boyertown Grizzlies the night before, Wayne wasted no time letting the Red Sox know this was not going to be a walk over game.  The Wolverines struck for two runs in the top of the first.  The defending champs responded with four of their own runs in the bottom of the first.  Wayne came back to tie it in the top of the third and take a 5-4 lead in the top of the fourth.  Spring City roared back for four in the bottom of the fifth to take a 8-5 lead, then held on for dear life when Wayne scored two in the top of the sixth to close to  8-7, but failed to find the equalizer with the bases loaded and one out.

Jack Lee went 3-4, had an RBI, and scored two runs for the Wolverines.  Darien Pass went 2-2 with 2 BBs and threw out a Red Sox would-be base stealer.  Luke Kania and Sean Mullarkey also scored two runs, while Joe Bonini and Keiran Ryan contributed RBIs.

Matt Cohen started the game for the Wolverines, his first start on the mound since vanquishing Spring City's fellow Twin County league rival Norchester in the winners bracket of the Lower Southampton Regional.  Cohen had a rough first inning, giving up four runs to Spring City's high powered offense on three hits.  After that, though, Cohen got into a rhythm and held Spring City and their .328 team average scoreless through the next three innings, allowing he and his teammates to pull in front, 5-4.  He was helped by left fielder Kania's throw to short stop Mullarkey and on to Lee at second to nail a Spring City batter trying to stretch a single into a double in the third, and Pass thwarting an attempted steal of second in the fourth.

In the pivotal fifth inning, Spring City got their first two batters on base with a single to right and a bunt single (by their number three hitter), the second bunt single of the day by the normally slugging Red Sox.   An errant throw on the bunt attempt put runners on second and third with no out.   With a full count on the Spring City cleanup hitter, Cohen threw a curve ball that looked to be strike three on the inside half of the plate, but the umpire instead called it ball four, loading the bases.  Cohen then got ahead of the next hitter, 2-2, and delivered a fast ball on the inside half of the plate that the umpire again said was inside, despite the fact that the batter was right up against the plate.  Give credit to the batter because he took advantage of the non-call and hit a ground single to left field on the full count, bringing in two Spring City runners for a 6-5 lead.  Two more runs scored on the next two batters on a sacrifice fly to center and a safety squeeze bunt to give Spring City an 8-5 lead through five.

The Wolverines clawed right back.  Kania was hit by a pitch to lead off the sixth.  With one out, he moved to second on a walk to Mullarkey, and Lee's third hit of the game loaded the bases.  After a Spring City pitching change, Ian Myers singled home Kania to cut the lead to 8-6.  Pass then worked a free pass to force in another run to make it 8-7.  However, Wayne was unable to get the tying run across, and went down 1-2-3 in the seventh to end their season.

Cohen went 5 1/3 gritty innings against the Red Sox's high octane offense, giving up 8 hits, including two bunt hits and two balls that hit off of third base, all of them singles.  Pat Lofton came in to get the final two outs of the sixth inning.

In the end Spring City was a little bit better than the Wolverines today, but the young Wolverines, with seven 14 year old starters, showed that they are one of the top junior legion programs in the state with a bright future, returning seven starters from this Regional championship team.

These Wolverines went further than any past Wayne team, and made their fans proud both with their play on the field and their character off the field.  Special thanks to all of our 15 year old players who played their last junior legion game today.  You showed great leadership this year and we know you will do well as you continue your baseball careers on your varsity high school and senior legion teams next year.

Ian Myers pitched a dominating complete game, leading the Wayne Wolverines over host Homer City (Walbeck Insurance), 5-1, for the Wolverines first ever PA Youth Legion Baseball State Tournament win.

Myers gave up only one unearned run in the game, allowing five hits and striking out seven while walking only one.  Dakota Sunday pitched a complete game for Homer City, allowing five runs, but only one earned, in the losing cause.

Nick Camposano had three hits, Nick Scheri had two hits, a run scored and an RBI, while Myers, Patrick Lofton, and Matt Cohen all had RBIs in the winning effort for Wayne.

Wayne took advantage of some costly Homer City errors to jump to an early lead.   In the top of the first inning, Myers drew a two out walk.  Darien Pass then reached safely when the Homer City shortstop booted a potential inning-ending grounder.  Lofton then singled to right field, scoring Myers and moving Pass to third.  Scheri then followed with a single to center to score Pass and move Lofton to second.  Camposano then stroked a hit to left field, and when the left fielder bobbled the ball, Lofton was able to come home after stopping at third, staking the Wolverines to an early 3-0 lead.

After Myers set down Homer City in the bottom of the first, Wayne was able to tack on another run in the top of the second.  With one out, Sean Mullarkey singled and stole second base.  Jack Lee then singled to center and Mullarkey rounded third headed toward home.  The third base coach gave a very late stop sign to Mullarkey, who by then was about 2/5 of the way down the third base line.  Homer City alertly caught him in a rundown and tagged him out, with Lee advancing to second during the rundown.    Lee moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Myers' single to left, giving Wayne a 4-0 lead.

Homer City came back in the bottom of the second to score an unearned run when a swinging bunt resulted in the ball being thrown down the right field line, allowing the batter to race all the way to third before scoring on a ground out to second.  That would be the only run that Myers would allow.

Homer City did threaten in the bottom of the fifth.  A lead off single,and a sacrifice bunt put a runner in scoring position with one out.  Homer City's Nate Davis then hit a ball down the left field line for a single, with Cohen, the left fielder, nicely cutting off the ball and holding the runner on third.  Myers then induced a pop up to second for the second out, then a grounder to shortstop Mullarkey who flipped to Lee at second for the final out of the inning, keeping the score 4-1.

Wayne played a little small ball to add an insurance run in the top of the sixth.  Scheri led off the inning with his second hit of the day.  Camposano then laid down a great bunt down the third base line, originally intended as a sacrifice bunt, which turned into a hit when he beat the throw to first base.  A wild pitch moved the runners up to second and third with no outs.  After a ground out to third kept the runners where they were, Cohen executed a suicide squeeze bunt to plate Scheri for a 5-1 Wolverines lead.

Myers continued to coast along in the sixth where he ended the inning by picking off the Homer City runner from first base.  After a lead off single by Homer City in the bottom of the seventh, Myers struck out the next two batters, still bringing heat to the plate, and then got the last batter out on a dribbler to first base, giving the Wolverines the win.

Wayne is now 26-9-1 on the season.  They play tomorrow morning at 11 AM as they attempt to work their work out of the losers' bracket versus the loser of tonight's game between defending state champion Spring City and Spring City's league rival, the Boyertown Grizzlies.

It was a historic day as the Wayne Wolverines played in their first ever PA Junior Legion State Finals tournament game.  Unfortunately, the Wolverines fell to Wesleyville from Erie County, 7-3, and now must win their way through the losers' bracket here in Homer City.

In a state tournament game featuring two teams almost 400 miles apart from each other and from the furthest corners of the state, Wayne just made too many mistakes to overcome the strong pitching of Wesleyville pitcher Linden Hoover.  Hoover, who had not given up an earned run all Legion and high school seasons, was finally touched for an earned run when the Wolverines scored in the first inning.  The Wolverines also struck for two unearned runs in the third inning.  Nonetheless, Hoover pitched a complete game, allowing only 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out six.

Wayne highlights include Sean Mullarkey going 3-4 and scoring two runs, and Ian Myers smashing a ball off the very high fence in center field (379 feet in straight away center) for an RBI double.  Jack Dougherty had an RBI single and also induced a balk by Hoover to score Darien Pass.  Patrick Lofton provided three innings of solid relief, allowing only one run, and William O'Brien followed with 1 1/3 innings, allowing only an unearned run.

The Wolverines get a chance to continue in the tournament Sunday at 11 AM when they take on host Homer City at First Commonwealth Park in Homer City.

Things couldn't look much worse for the Wayne Wolverines Junior Legion team shortly after noon today in Lower Southampton.  They had come into today needing only to beat Swoyersville once to win the Lower Southampton Regional championship.  However, they had just fallen short in a 2-1 loss to Swoyersville in the morning game, and Swoyersville opened up the second game with four runs in the bottom of the first inning.  

One should never count out this bunch of Wolverines.  Time and again during the season, they have come back from behind and bunched runs in big innings.  This afternoon, the Wolverines decided to chip away at the lead, little by little, scoring runs in five consecutive innings, to prevail 7-4 and earn the Regional championship.  The Wolverines, who are now 25-7-1 on the season, head to Homer City where they will complete to win the 2015 Youth Legion Pennsylvania State Championship starting this weekend.  

Patrick Lofton was the starter for Wayne in this winner-take-all game.  He had a rough first inning as Swoyersville combined four hits, a walk, and a hit batsmen to race to a 4-0 lead after one.

Wayne and Lofton did not panic.  The Wolverines pecked away at the lead with a  run in the top of the second.  Jack Lee (2-3, 2 RBIs, 1 R, HBP) started things off with a single to right.  Keiran Ryan then drew a walk to put runners on first and second.  With one out, Matt Cohen was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Lofton helped his own cause with a single right up the middle, plating Lee, but Ryan was tagged out trying to score on a great throw by CF Josh Montalvo.

The Wolverines chipped away at the deficit some more in the top of the third inning.  With one out, Ian Myers drew a walk.  Jack Dougherty then doubled to right center field with Myers stopping at third.  Lee then smashed a single down the third base line, scoring both Myers and Dougherty to pull the Wolverines within one run.

Wayne kept the pressure on in the top of the fourth.  With one out, Pass was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game.  Myers then bashed a ball off the right field fence for a double that scored Pass to tie up the game.  Clearly, the momentum, which early on was certainly with Swoyersville, had shifted dramatically back to Wayne.

Lofton got into a groove, keeping Swoyersville off the scoreboard after the first inning, finishing with a complete game victory, while amassing five strikeouts.    Lofton got some help from his friends in the field in the fourth as his battery mate, Darien Pass, threw out a runner trying to steal second, and then shortstop Sean Mullarkey turned a 6-3 double play to end the inning.

Wayne took the lead in the top of the fifth inning.  Cohen lined a single to left field with two outs in the inning.  Lofton then lofted a pop up to shallow right field which appeared to end the inning.  However, the second baseman dropped the ball, allowing Cohen to scamper all the way to third.  When the throw went home, Lofton started toward second base.  The catcher threw to second to try to nail Lofton for the final out of the inning, but the throw sailed over the shortstop into center field, allowing Cohen to come home with the go-ahead run and a 5-4 lead.

His teammates gave Lofton some breathing room in the top of the sixth inning.  Pass reached safely on an error by the third baseman.  Myers, who had hit the fence clanging double in his previous at bat, laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Pass into scoring position at second.  Dougherty brought Pass home with a single up the middle to make it 6-4.  After both Lee and Ryan were hit by pitches (six Wayne batters were hit during the game), Nick Scheri hit into a fielder's choice to the second baseman to make it 7-4.

Lofton's saved his easiest inning for the bottom of the seventh.  After a fly out to right and a strikeout by Swoyersville's first two batters of the inning, the game ended when Pass made a diving catch of a foul pop up near the Swoyersville dugout to give Wayne the victory and the championship.

This is the first Regional championship in Wayne Junior Legion history.  Last year, the Wayne Prep Legion finished as the state runner-up in its first appearance in the Prep Legion State tournament, with many of those former Prep players now important contributors to the Junior Legion team.  Coincidentally, Wayne's Prep Legion team has once again qualified for the Prep State tournament this year and will also be starting their state tournament this weekend.

The Wayne Wolverines took advantage of a depleted Lower Southampton pitching staff to score two first inning runs and eight in the second to top the Marlins, 10-7 to advance undefeated to the Regional final at Kopper Kettle Field on Tuesday night.

The winning pitcher was Joe Bonini who came in to pitch in the bottom of the first after he first four LoSo batters reached base.  He immediately induced a double play and got Wayne out of the first tied at 2-2.  Bonini went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs and striking out two while scattering 5 hits.  LoSo scored 3 in the bottom of the 7th but Jack Lee recovered to get the final outs to secure the win.

Sean Mullarkey had two hits, including a double, and 2 runs scored.  Darien Pass had two hits, an RBI, and 2 runs scored.  Jack Dougherty knocked in two and Jack Lee had two hits.

Wayne plays Swoyersville for the regional championship tomorrow at 10 AM.  Wayne needs to beat Swoyersville once tomorrow to win the Regional championship, with a second game, if needed, scheduled for 1 PM.

The Wayne Wolverines jumped to an early lead and then made the lead hold up as they defeated the Norchester Big Dawgz, 7-4, at Kopper Kettle Field Monday to advance to the finals of the Lower Southampton Junior Legion Regional tournament.

Matt Cohen delivered a masterful performance on the mound, keeping the Norchester hitters at bay all the way into the seventh inning.  Cohen went 6 1/3 innings, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) while striking out four and mixing his pitches throughout the game.  Cohen used a strong curve ball and a change up to keep Norchester off the board for most of the game.  Cohen was helped tremendously in the bottom of the second when center fielder Ian Myers tracked down Austin Levengood's drive to deep right center and hauled it in with a full-extension, diving catch that robbed Levengood of a bases clearing extra base hit.  

Offensively, the Wolverines did most of their damage in the first and seventh innings, scoring three in each inning.  Jack Dougherty was 2-2 with two BBs, and two runs scored.  Keiran Ryan and Joe Bonini both had two RBIs.

The Wolverines, who in previous Regional games had to overcome sluggish starts, took full advantage of some early wildness by Norchester's pitcher to stake Cohen to an early lead.   Sean Mullarkey got things started by lofting a triple down the right field line.  Darien Pass then worked a six pitch walk.  With one out, Pass stole second, after which Dougherty drew another walk to load the bases.  With two outs, Ryan drew a walk to force in the first run of the game.  Bonini then followed with a single to right to plate Pass.  When the throw home was cutoff and then thrown into center field trying to nab the runner rounding second, Dougherty also scampered home for a 3-0 Wayne lead.

Norchester struck back for an unearned run in the bottom of the first, but Pass ended the threat by picking off a runner on second base from his perch behind the plate.

While the Wolverines had a lull in their offense the next few innings, Cohen worked around base runners the next few innings.  Myers' sensational catch ended a bases loaded threat in the second.  Cohen induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the third.  

Cohen had relatively routine innings in the fourth and the fifth, ending the fifth with a strikeout of Norchester's clean up hitter and then picking off the runner on first.

Wayne used some small ball to give Cohen a little bit more wiggle room in the top of the sixth.  Ryan led off the inning with a single.  He looked to be caught napping by the catcher at first, but he took off for second base and grabbed a stolen base when the first baseman couldn't get a through off to second.  Bonini then grounded out to third, and Ryan somehow made it to third with a slide that avoided the tag.    Luke Kania then executed a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to bring home Ryan, extending the Wayne lead to 4-1. 

Norchester threatened again in the bottom of the sixth on a Wayne error, a single, and a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with one out.  Cohen induced an infield pop up and a fly ball to center to end the threat.

Wayne then added several insurance runs in the top of the seventh that came in handy.  Pass started the rally with a single to right center.  Myers then lined a single to center, and Dougherty followed with a line drive hit to left field to load the bases.  Jack Lee then singled up the middle to score Pass.  Ryan drew his second bases-loaded walk of the game to bring home Myers.  Bonini then got an infield hit that slipped past the pitcher's mound to round out Wayne's scoring with a 7-1 lead.

Cohen came out to start the bottom of the seventh having thrown 99 pitches and having to face the top of Norchester's line up.  After getting a fly out to center to record the first out of the inning, Norchester strung together three hits, the first of which was an infield hit to make it 7-2 and bring Cohen's day on the mound to an end.  Norchester took advantage of some bullpen wildness to get within 7-4, but the Wolverines secured the victory when Lee made a nice leaping catch at second for the game's final out.

Wayne plays Lower Southampton (whom they defeated 8-5 on Saturday's opening game) Tuesday night at 7 PM, while Norchester plays Swoyersville at 4 PM.  Wayne, who has defeated the three remaining teams in the regional, is guaranteed a spot in the regional final game on Wednesday, and if they win tomorrow night, they will have two shots on Wednesday to secure the regional championship and a spot in the State Junior Legion Tournament in Homer City from August 1-5.

Here is the game wrap-up from the Pottstown Mercury News:

http://www.pottsmerc.com/sports/20150727/norchester-falls-behind-early-falls-to-wayne-in-southampton-regional

The Wayne Wolverines overcame an early listlessness 3-0 deficit with 11 unanswered runs to triumph, 11-3, over Swoyersville in the winners' bracket of the Lower Southampton Junior Legion regional on Sunday evening.

Jack Dougherty started on the mound for the Wolverines and went six innings, striking out six and limiting Swoyersville to six hits to earn the victory.  Jack Lee led the offense, going 3-5 with a double and 4 RBIs, and he also flashed some leather with a couple of nice spears of line drives.  Ian Myers, for the second straight game, struck the blow that brought the Wolverines from behind, this time with a two run double in the top of the fifth inning to knot the game at 3.

Seven of Wayne's starters scored runs as the Wolverines struck for four runs in the top of the fourth and five in the top of the sixth to break the game wide open.  The Wolverines batted around plus two in the sixth inning.

The Wolverines advance to the winners' bracket championship game Monday at 4 PM where they will face off against Norchester.  The winner of the game is guaranteed a spot in Wednesday's championship game.

The Wayne Wolverines used a five run fifth inning to defeat the host Lower Southampton Marlins, 8-5, in their opening game of the Lower Southampton Junior Legion Regionals at Kopper Kettle Field on Saturday night.

Ian Myers pitched the first 4 1/3 innings and recorded five strikeouts to earn the victory.  Pat Lofton did a masterful job in relief, pitching the final 2 2/3 innings and also striking out five to earn the save.

Eight different Wolverines either scored or knocked in a run.  The big blow was a bases-clearing, three RBI double by Myers which brought Wayne back from a 4-1 deficit in the top of the fifth inning.

Wayne had some early chances with two men on in the first and bases loaded in the second, but were unable to get any runs across. Meanwhile, Myers was keeping the Marlins off the board, using three strikeouts in the first two innings to strand three Marlins.

The Wolverines lit the scoreboard first in the top of the third.  Darien Pass got things started with a leadoff single.  He moved to second when Myers reached on an error.  Jack Dougherty then singled to left to load the bases.  With one out, Keiran Ryan was hit by a pitch to force home Pass and give Wayne a 1-0 lead.  Unfortunately, the Wolverines again left three men on base and had to settle for the one run lead.

The Marlins made Wayne pay for the wasted chances in the bottom of the third inning  Lower Southampton struck for four runs, with the big hit being a bases clearing double that brought in the final three runs, giving the Marlins a 4-1 lead after three innings.

The Wolverines responded quickly to the challenge.  Matt Cohen led off the top of the fourth by reaching on an error by the third baseman, with Cohen going to second when the throw went out of play.  Sean Mullarkey then followed with a walk.  Pass (1-2, 2 R, 2 BB) did not see a strike as he also walked to load the bases.  Myers then stepped up and launched a 2-2 pitch to deep center field for a double, bringing home Cohen, Mullarkey, and Pass and tying the game at 4.  After Dougherty moved Myers to third on a ground out to second, Jack Lee drove in Myers with a single to right field, allowing Wayne to regain the lead, 5-4.  With two outs, after Lee moved to second on a wild pitch, Joe Bonini laced a double to left center field, plating Lee for a 6-4 lead.

Myers then set down the Marlins in the bottom of the fourth.  Myers was logging a large number of pitches, so when the Marlins got two men on with one out in the bottom of the fifth, Wayne brought in Lofton to get out of the jam.  Lofton squashed the threat with two strikeouts looking to preserve the Wayne lead.

Lofton followed up in the bottom of the sixth with a 1-2-3 inning thanks to a fine throw to second by Pass to nail the Marlins' base runner trying to steal second.

Wayne gave themselves some insurance runs in the top of the seventh.  Lofton led off with a line drive to left field for a single.  Cohen then followed with an infield single behind third base, putting runners on first and second.    Mullarkey then laid down a sacrifice bunt down the first base line.  The pitcher threw the ball down the right field line, allowing Lofton to score, although the Marlins threw out Cohen at the plate.  Mullarkey, now on second, came around to score on two wild pitches to give the Wolverines a 8-4 lead.

The Marlins did not give up easily.  A walk, a double, and an error made the score 8-5 and brought the tying run up to bat.  Lofton ended all the suspense with two straight strikeouts to end the game.

The Wolverines continue in the winners' bracket, squaring off against Swoyersville Sunday night at 7 PM at Kopper Kettle Field.

The Wayne Wolverines, based on their performance in the Main Line Youth Legion League playoffs, have qualified for Regional Tournament play.  The Wolverines, 20-7 on the season, have been placed in the Lower Southampton Regional.  Wayne will play host Lower Southampton on the opening day (Saturday, July 25) of the regional in a 7 PM game under the lights at Kopper Kettle Field.  Wayne is set up to play in the 7 PM evening game every day through Tuesday if they continue in the winners' bracket of the Regional.

The Regional runs from Saturday, July 25 to Wednesday, July 29.  The winner of the Regional advances to the PA State Youth Legion Tournament in Homer City from Saturday, August 1 to Wednesday, August 5. 

The Wayne Wolverines used a four run 7th inning to top the Del Val Senators, 6-3, in their second straight elimination game in the Main Line Youth Legion League playoffs.

Pat Lofton was the starting pitcher for Wayne.  He went 5 strong innings, giving up only 2 runs while striking out two.  Will O'Brien pitched a scoreless sixth inning with the score tied, striking out two and inducing an inning ending ground out to earn the victory.  Ian Myers came in to close the game out with one on in the bottom of the seventh, ending the game on two straight strikeouts to earn the save.

The teams traded scoreless at-bats across the first two innings.  There was some never before seen confusion on the field when it turns out that a Wayne batter accidentally batted twice in a row as the batter and scorekeeper and base coach didn't hear the umpire say strike three, and the umpire didn't realize the same batter was still at the plate.  The umpire thought it was a new batter, while the batter, scorekeeper, and base coach thought they had gotten the count wrong.  Of course, the batter fouled off the first several pitches of his "second" at-bat, so everyone, except the umpire, assumed that there were still two strikes on the batter. 

The Wolverines were first on the scoreboard in the top of the third.  Matt Cohen (2 R, 2 SB) led off the inning and was hit by a pitch.  With one out, he went to second on a wild pitch and later swiped third base.  Sean Mullarkey (2-4, 2 RBIs, SB) knocked him in with a single to center to give Wayne a 1-0 lead.

The Senators fought back with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame, but Darien Pass and Mullarkey caught a Del Val runner too far off of second and caught him scampering to third to end the third inning and  to keep the elimination game tied headed into the fourth.  

Wayne went right back on the offensive in the top of the fourth in the tense, see-saw of a game.  Jack Dougherty led off the inning by legging out an infield single.  With one out, Dougherty stole second base.  A groundout by Keiran Ryan moved him to third.  Lofton (2-3, RBI) then helped his own cause with a single to left field, putting the Wolverines back on top, 2-1.

Again, the Senators evened up the game in the bottom of the fourth,  stringing together three straight two outs hits to score the equalizer before Lofton induced a pop up to end the threat.

Lofton kept the game knotted at 2 by stranding a Del Val runner at third when he got his glove on a grounder headed up the middle which then deflected to Jack Lee (2-3, RBI, BB, 2 SB) who made the throw over to first to end the inning.

O'Brien took over on the mound for the Wolverines in the bottom of the sixth with no margin for error in the 2-2 game.  O'Brien looked to be cruising along with two straight strikeouts, but a Wayne fielding error put runners on second and third.  One batter later, with the bases loaded, O'Brien got out of the jam on a grounder to Mullarkey who flipped to Lee for the inning-ending force out at second base.

Zane Thompson-Bradley led off the top of the seventh by reaching base when he was hit by a pitch.  Cohen re-entered the game to run for Thompson-Bradley, who got the rally started by getting himself on as the lead off runner.  Cohen stole second base to get into scoring position, and with one out, alertly advanced to third when the catcher could not squeeze a pitch to Mullarkey.  Mullarkey hit a hard grounder to the second baseman in the drawn in infield, and when the ball was bobbled, Cohen came home with the go ahead run.  Mullarkey's speed was a factor in the second baseman throwing the ball wide of the first baseman and out of play, moving Mullarkey to second.  After Pass drew a walk, Myers (2-3, 2B, BB) then dropped in a single to center to load the bases.  After a force out at home for the second out, Lee drew a six-pitch walk to bring home Pass with Wayne's second run of the inning.  An error on a ground ball to third brought home Myers to make it 5-2.  O'Brien finished off the scoring with a single to left field, plating Luke Kania.

After Del Val's lead off hitter in the bottom of the seventh reached base, Myers came on to the mound to secure the final three outs of the game to save the 6-3 victory.

Wayne now hosts Upper Darby in another elimination game tomorrow night at Odorisio Park.

The Wayne Wolverines kept their season alive by shutting out Springfield, 2-0, in an elimination game in the Main Line Youth Legion League playoffs at Odorisio Park.

Matt Cohen hurled a three hit shutout, striking out two, and facing the minimum number of batters in all but the fourth inning.  He was helped by some fancy glove work, including a highlight reel catch in deep left field by Luke Kania and a nifty double play turned by Jack Lee, Sean Mullarkey, and Keiran Ryan.  Darien Pass alertly caught a Springfield runner trying to go to third base on a third strike in the dirt, and the infield of Joe Bonini, Mullarkey, Lee, and Ryan were flawless in the field.

Nick Scheri had the big hit for the Wolverines, knocking in the game-winning run in the bottom of the second, one of only two hits by the Wolverines (Lee had the other).

Wayne held Springfield off the board in the first despite a leadoff single to start the game.  After a stolen base by the Springfield runner, Cohen struck out the second Springfield batter with a change up in the dirt.  Pass began his motion to throw the batter out at first, but alertly realized the runner on second was running toward third.  Pass fired a bullet to Bonini at third who placed the tag on the runner.  The inning ended two pitches later when the next hitter hit a humpback liner that was snagged by Lee who then tagged the Springfield runner who was moving on the pitch.

Springfield's top of the second inning was ended with Lee's great get of a ground ball to his left, his quick toss to Mullarkey at second, and Mullarkey's relay to first that was hauled in by Ryan.

The Wolverines took the lead in the bottom of the second inning.  Ryan got things started with a lead-off, seven pitch walk.  Ryan stole second base and went to third on a wild pitch.  Scheri fought back from an 0-2 count to line a single to center field, knocking in Ryan and giving Wayne a 1-0 lead.

Wayne added to their lead in the bottom of the third inning.  With one out, Lee singled to right field.  He then stole second base.  With two outs, Pass hit a grounder up the middle that went through the shortstop, allowing Lee to scamper home for a 2-0 lead.

Springfield's biggest threat came in the fourth inning.  Springfield loaded the bases with two outs, but Cohen induced a fly ball to left field that was caught by Kania.  That was the last time Springfield would get a man on base.  Springfield went down 1-2-3 in each of the last three innings.  

The last out of the fifth inning was an outstanding defensive play by Kania.  Kania ran back quite a few steps, reoriented himself, and made a leaping over the shoulder catch to secure the final out of the fifth inning.  He may have also ripped the heart out of Springfield who was desperately trying to get something started. 

The Wolverines advance to play against the Del Val Senators tomorrow in South Philly in another elimination game as the Wolverines work to make it out of the losers' bracket in the league playoffs.

The Wayne Wolverines scored in all but two innings in beating Narberth, 10-6, in a Main Line Junior Legion league game at Narberth Park.  Everyone in the starting lineup either scored at least one run or knocked in at least one run in a team effort.

Matt Cohen started on the mound for the Wolverines and went five strong innings, giving up only an unearned run and three hits while striking out two for the victory.  Ian Myers earned the save pitching the last 1 2/3 innings and shutting Narberth down with the tying run at second base, aided by a nice backhand grab by Pat Lofton, while giving up no hits and allowing no base runners.

Myers also led the offensive attack, with a triple, SF, 2 R, 3 RBIs.  Nick Scheri also knocked in three runs.  Sean Mullarkey was 3-4 with two runs scored, and Jack Lee was 2-2, 1 BB, and two runs scored.

Mullarkey led off the game with a single for the fifth consecutive game.  Lee drew a walk to move Mullarkey to second.  Darien Pass then hit a ground ball to the shortstop, but the second baseman couldn't handle the toss, so everyone was safe to load the bases.  After a force out at home, Scheri drove in Lee with a sacrifice fly to center to give Wayne a 1-0 lead.

Mullarkey got things going again in the third inning with a one out single.  Lee followed with another single to move Mullarkey to second.  A wild pitch allowed Mullarkey to go to third and Lee to second.   After Pass walked to load the bases, Myers doubled the Wayne lead to 2-0 with another sacrifice fly. 

Cohen held Narberth scoreless through three innings to make the 2-0 lead hold up.  Cohen struck out two while inducing six ground outs over the first three innings.

The Wolverines added another single run in the top of the fourth inning.  Keiran Ryan drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a wild pitch.  With one out, Zane Thompson-Bradley lashed a single down the third base line to drive in Ryan for a 3-0 lead.

Narberth scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the Wayne lead to three going into the fifth inning.

Luke Kania got the Wolverines started in the fifth inning with a leadoff single to left.    Mullarkey followed with his third hit of the game, moving Kania to second.  Lee added his second hit of the game to load the bases.  Pass brought home Kania with a ground out to the third baseman.  Myers then uncorked a triple to deep center field, clearing the bases and stretching the lead to 6-1.  Scheri then grounded out to shortstop, bring home Myers for a 7-1 lead.

Cohen retired Narberth in the bottom of the fifth, picking off a Narberth runner and snagging a line drive at the mound to end the inning, his last on the mound.

Narberth showed resilience against the bullpen, striking for five runs in the bottom of the sixth before Myers came in to put out the fire and preserving a 7-6 Wayne lead.

The Wolverines decided to add a few insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning without the benefit of a hit.  Joe Bonini led off the inning with a ground ball that the shortstop couldn't handle.  Pass then walked to put runners on first and second.  After a wild pitch moved Bonini and Pass up a base, Narberth showed a great deal of respect to Myers by intentionally walking him to load the bases.  The strategy backfired when Scheri drew a walk to bring home Bonini for an 8-6 lead.    With one out in the inning, Cohen hit a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing home Pass to make it 9-6.  Consecutive walks to Thompson-Bradley and Camposano brought home the final run for Wayne.

Myers had a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh to close out the game for Wayne.

Wayne improved to 13-4 with the victory, pulling to within 1.5 games of first place in the Main Line Junior Legion league.

The Wayne Wolverines staked themselves to a 7-0 lead and then held on to defeat Mt. Airy, 7-5, at Morris E. Leeds Middle School in Mt. Airy Saturday night.

Sean Mullarkey got things started to open the game with a single to left field.  Jack Lee then hit a grounder that was snagged by the pitcher, but the pitcher overthrew the second baseman, putting Mullarkey on second and Lee on first.  One out later, Ian Myers grounded one past the first baseman to bring home Mullarkey with the game's first run, and moved Lee to third.  Myers then moved up to second on the next pitch.  Keiran Ryan then reached on an infield single to third, plating Lee and moving Myers to third.  Ryan moved up to second before Nick Scheri came through with the biggest hit of the inning, a single to left field that brought home both Myers and Ryan, and gave the Wolverines an early 4-0 lead.

Pat Lofton was the starting pitcher for Wayne,  Lofton held Mt. Airy in check in the first two innings. getting out of first inning bases loaded jam by inducing a pop up and striking out the last batter of the inning.

Wayne built upon their lead in the top of the third inning.  With one out, Ryan worked a base on balls.   Ryan then stole second.  Scheri followed up with another walk.  Ryan and Scheri both advanced a base on a wild pitch.  Matt Cohen then singled to shallow right field, bringing home Ryan with the Wolverines' fifth run of the game.  Joe Bonini (2-3, double) then lined a single to left field, scoring Scheri and moving Cohen to second.  Lofton then walked for the second time today to load the bases.  With two outs, Cohen slid home with Wayne's seventh run on a wild pitch.

The Wolverines had several other chances to add to their lead.  Darien Pass hit a monstrous triple to left field with one out in the fourth, but was stranded there.  Bonini hit a dobule to left field with two out in the fifth, but he could get no further than third base.   Wayne also loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning, but could not bring home any additional runs.

Lofton pitched four plus innings, giving up three runs on six hits, striking out three, and walking one for the victory.  Nick Camposano relieved Lofton, pitching the final two innings before the game was called after six innings because of darkness.  Camposano finished the game by striking out the potential  tying run.

Wayne improved to 12-4 in the Main Line Junior Legion league, two games out of first place.

The Wayne Wolverines swept their season series with the first place Upper Darby Titans with their 7-2 victory at Dermond Field tonight.

Keiran Ryan had two hits, including a double, and three RBIs, while Ian Myers had three hits, including a double, and a walk, two runs scored, and two RBIs to lead the offensive attack for the Wolverines.  Darien Pass (1-2, 2 BB, 2 SB) and Jack Dougherty (0-1, 2 BB, 1 SB) both scored two runs for Wayne.  Matt Cohen reached base all three of his plate appearances with two singles and a walk.

Meanwhile, Dougherty held the Titans in check with his arm, hurling 5 strong innings, allowing only one unearned run while scattering 5 hits, striking out three while not issuing a base on balls.  Will O'Brien pitched the final inning to close out the game for the Wolverines.

Wayne started off fast in the top of the first.  Sean Mullarkey singled to center and stole second base.    After one out, Dougherty and Myers drew back to back walks.  Jack Lee then grounded into a fielder's choice to knock in Mullarkey and move Dougherty to third.  Wayne then manufactured a second run in the inning when they executed a double steal with Dougherty swiping home while Upper Darby was focused on Lee moving between first and second base.

The Wolverines added to their lead in the top of the third inning.  Pass and Dougherty led off the inning with back to back walks.  Myers then lined a double down the left field line, scoring Pass and moving Dougherty to third.  With one out, Ryan then lined a single to left field to plate both Dougherty and Myers to give Wayne a 5-0 lead.

With Dougherty holding Upper Darby to just a single unearned run, Wayne took a 5-1 lead into the fifth inning.  The Wolverines were poised to add to their lead.  Pass again got things started, this time with a single.  After Pass stole second base, he moved to third base on a Dougherty ground out.  Myers then singled to center to score Pass.  With two outs, Ryan fought back from an 0-2 count to drive a double to right field, knocking in Myers for a 7-1 lead.

The Wolverines have now handed the Titans their only two league losses this season.  Wayne improved to 11-4, breaking a two game losing streak, and pulled to within 1.5 games of first place.

The Wayne Wolverines took advantage of six Mt. Airy errors, a few hits, some nifty bunting, and strong pitching to down Mt. Airy, 7-3, in a game at Odorisio Park.

Luke Kania did the most damage at the plate, going 1-2 with 3 RBIs, including a clutch two-strike line drive single to RF in the sixth inning that brought home two big insurance runs.

Nick Camposano started on the mound for the Wolverines, taking a no-hitter into the 4th inning.  Camposano did a nice job of keeping Mt. Airy's batters off balance, striking out five and giving up only three hits, all singles, in his 4 1/3 innings of work.

Meanwhile, the Wolverines dented the scoreboard early once again.  Darien Pass led off the bottom of the first with a walk.  He advanced to second on a line drive single to left from Jack Lee.  With one out, Sean Mullarkey hit an infield single to deep short.  After the late throw to first, the Mt. Airy first baseman tried to catch Pass rounding third, but instead threw the ball wide of third and out of play, allowing Pass to score the game's first run and moving Lee to third and Mullarkey to second.   Keiran Ryan then grounded out to second, plating Lee.  In a carbon copy of the previous play, the first baseman again tried to catch a Wayne runner, this time Mullarkey, rounding third base, and again threw the ball wide of his target and out of play resulting in Mullarkey being awarded home.

Camposano cruised through the first three innings.  With one out in the top of the fourth, Mt. Airy got its first hit of the game, a solid line drive to left field.  The next batter got an infield single on a swinging bunt, putting runners on first and second with one out.  Camposano got himself out of the jam with a strikeout and a grounder fielded by Lee.

The Wolverines added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth with a large dose of small ball.  Joe Bonini got things started with a line drive single to center field.  Camposano then followed with a ground ball that the second baseman couldn't corral, allowing Camposano to reach safely and Bonini to move all the way to third .  Camposano moved up to second on defensive indifference on the first pitch to Kania.  Kania then laid down a suicide squeeze that scored Bonini and moved Camposano to third.  The Wolverines liked the result so much that Matt Cohen followed with a carbon copy suicide squeeze to score Camposano for a 5-0 lead.

Mt. Airy put together a rally in the top of the fifth to get back in the game.  With one out, Mt. Airy used a single and two walks to load the bases.  Camposano was replaced on the mound by Lee.  Mt. Airy scored three in the inning before a line drive double play to Nick Scheri at third ended the inning with Wayne clinging to a 5-3 lead.

As the game headed to the top of the sixth inning, Mt. Airy continued to put pressure on the Wolverines with their first two batters of the inning singling to put runners on first and second with no outs.  Cohen took over on the mound and induced two straight pop ups to get the first two outs of the inning.  Pass then helped out his battery mate by picking off the runner on first base on a snap throw from his perch behind the plate.

Kania then decided it would be nice to build upon the two run lead.  Bonini reached on a strikeout/wild pitch.  He moved to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball.  Camposano then drew a walk and moved to second on defensive indifference.  Kania fought off several tough pitches after falling behind 0-2 against Mt. Airy's fire-baller reliever, before lining a single to right field, bringing home both Bonini and Camposano and extending the Wayne lead to 7-3.

Cohen then took care of business in the seventh, allowing only one base runner in saving the victory for Camposano.

Wayne won their fourth straight game in four consecutive days to up their record to 10-2 in the Main Line Junior Legion League, keeping the pressure on Upper Darby and Haverford as the three teams are within a half-game of each other for the top position in the league.

Zane Thompson-Bradley pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed only a single run while striking out three to keep the Taney Dragons in check during a 10-5 Wayne victory at the baseball complex at 7th and Packer in South Philadelphia.

Eight different Wolverines scored runs, while Ian Myers (double, 2 RBIs)  and Jack Dougherty (triple, RBI)  provided extra base hits, Sean Mullarkey contributed three hits and two RBIs, and Joe Bonini added two RBIs as the offense produced 10 runs and 9 hits.

Wayne struck for four runs in the top of the 1st inning.  Darien Pass (1-2, BB, HBP, R) was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and moved to second when Jack Lee drew a walk.  After an errant pickoff throw moved Pass to third and Lee to second, Myers singled to right field to give Wayne a 2-0 lead.  Dougherty then followed with a triple to deep center, scoring Myers for a 3-0 lead.  Mullarkey (3-4, R, RBI, SB) then singled to plate Dougherty and a 4-0 lead.

Thompson-Bradley faced only one batter above the minimum in the first four innings.  He put down the Dragons 1-2-3 in the first inning, faced only three batters in the second when a baserunner was thrown out by Pass trying to steal second on a nice tag by Lee, gave up a single while facing four in the third, and retired the top of the Taney lineup 1-2-3 in the fourth, aided by a nice sliding catch in center field by Nick Camposano..

Meanwhile, Wayne continued to add to their lead.  In the third inning, Myers led off with a ground rule double down the right field line.  Myers moved up to third on a ground out by Lee.  Mullarkey thensingled to left, scoring Myers.  An out later with Nick Scheri on first and Mullarkey on third, the Wolverines executed a double steal with Scheri drawing the throw from the catcher allowing Mullarkey to race home with Wayne's 6th run of the game.  

In the fourth inning, Matt Cohen (1-2, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 SB) drew a one out walk, stole second, scampered to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a fielder's choice grounder from Bonini.

Taney got its only run off of Thompson-Bradley on a solo home run by Jordan Bingham in the bottom of the 5th inning.  Mullarkey then made a phenomenal play to get to a grounder deep in the hole at shortstop and made a strong one hop throw to first base to get the first out of the inning.  Will O'Brien entered in relief a few batters later with a couple of runners on base.  O'Brien got out of a one out bases loaded jam by striking out the next two batters to preserve Wayne's 7-1 lead.

The Wolverines added two more runs in the 6th as they loaded the bases with no outs on consecutive walks by Jackson Beers (2 BB, R) and Cohen and a single by Pass.  Bonini knocked in Beers with a sacrifice fly to left, with Cohen moving up to third and Pass to second.  After Wayne reloaded the bases, Camposano hit a grounder to short that scored Cohen to make it 9-1.

After Taney struck for four runs in the bottom of the 6th to pull within 9-5, Wayne tacked on another run in the top of the 7th as Keiran Ryan walked and came around to score later in the inning.

Camposano came on to pitch a scoreless bottom of the 7th inning to close out the victory for the Wolverines.

Wayne improved to 9-2 in the Main Line Junior Legion league.

Ian Meyers shut out the previously unbeaten Upper Darby Titans while Nick Scheri provided the Wolverines' only hit of the game, a clutch, two-out single that put the Wolverines on the scoreboard in Wayne's 4-0 victory at Odorisio Park.

Myers limited Upper Darby to two hits, both singles, struck out four, and allowed only one runner to reach third base.    Myers also showed his athleticism by making a couple of nice plays on the mound, snagging a line drive, and tracking down a dribbler to the left of the mound.  He also caught an Upper Darby runner off first with a nice pickoff move. 

Darien Pass started the bottom of the second inning by drawing a walk.  Sean Mullarkey then moved Pass into scoring position with a ground ball to the right side of the infoeld.  With two outs, an observant Pass alertly scampered to third as the pitch squirmed slightly away from the Upper Darby catcher.  Scheri made Pass' alert base running pay dividends by lining a hard scorcher to left field, plating Pass with what turned out to be the game-winning run.

Scheri then made a nice stop of a ground ball moving to his left, popping up quickly to throw the Titan batter out at first for the last out of the top of the third inning. 

Wayne added to its slim lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning by scoring three times without a hit or even getting the ball out of the infield.  Nick Camposano got things started with a lead off walk.  He moved to second on a wild pitch.  JAck Dougherty followed with another base on balls, putting runners at first and second.  Camposano and Dougherty then moved up one base on another wild pitch.  With runners at second and third, Jack Lee did his job by grounding out to the second baseman, driving in Camposano and moving Dougherty to third.  Myers then reached first safely as he hustled down to first on a strikeout/wild pitch.  Pass then hit a slow roller in front of the plate that was fielded by the catcher who threw to first.  The first baseman couldn't come up with the ball, with Dougherty scoring and Myers hustling all the way to third base on the play.  Mullarkey then hit a ground ball to the first baseman who got the quick out at first, but Myers had a very good jump on the play and was able to score standing up on the putout.

Myers' only semblance of  trouble came in the top of the fourth inning when a walk, infield single, and fielder's choice put Upper Darby runners on the corner with two outs.  Myers calmly induced a ground out to end the Titans' threat.  From there, Myers allowed only one more base runner over the last three innings.

Wayne improved to 8-2 in the Main Line Junior Legion League with the victory, pulling to within a half game of the first place Titans who dropped to 8-1. 

Wayne rebounded from a sub par effort on Saturday with a 4-2 victory over Glenolden today at Shipley.  Nick Scheri and Nick Camposano had RBI singles and Sean Mullarkey knocked in another run in a big three run 2nd inning, Darien Pass manufactured an insurance run in the fifth, while Matt Cohen shut the door on Glenolden with four innings of perfect relief to earn the victory.

Will O'Brien started the game on the mound for the Wolverines.  Glenolden nicked him for a run in the first playing some small ball, with a bunt single, stolen base, wild pitch, and sacrifice fly.  Glenolden converted a lead off double into a second run in the second inning, again on a sacrifice fly.  O'Brien did a nice job on the mound in his three innings of work, allowing 2 runs on three hits while recording two strikeouts.

Trailing 2-0, the Wolverines put their bats to work in the bottom of the second inning.  Patrick Lofton led off the inning with a hard hit single to center field.  Keiran Ryan followed with a single just past the third baseman, moving Lofton to second.  When the throw from the outfield skipped away, Lofton moved up to third and Ryan to second.  Scheri then delivered with a line single to center, scoring Lofton and bringing Wayne within one.  Scheri alertly moved up to second on the throw home.  With one out, O'Brien drew a walk to load the bases.  Camposano stroked a single to right field, plating Ryan and knotting the game at 2.  Mullarkey then sent a grounder to the third baseman who could not handle it cleanly, allowing Scheri to score, giving Wayne a 3-2 lead.

Wayne threatened again in the bottom of the third, starting the inning with a Pass double and a walk to Ian Myers.  However, Pass would only get as far as third base as he and Myers were stranded.

Cohen took the mound in relief to start the 4th inning protecting a 3-2 lead for the Wolverines.  Cohen was very efficient in setting down Glenolden over the final four innings of the game.  He needed only 32 pitches, striking out three, to dispatch all twelve batters he faced.

Pass gave the Wolverines some breathing room with an insurance run in the fifth inning.  Pass worked a lead off walk, stole second, then on the next pitch stole third base and trotted home when the throw from the catcher wound up in left field.

Wayne is now 7-2 in the Main Line Junior Legion League with a key game against league-leading Upper Darby tomorrow night.

Ian Myers and Jack Dougherty combined to shutout the Aston-Media Pirates, 4-0, in a Main Line Junior Legion game at Odorisio Park.  

Myers hurled the first four innings, giving up four hits, striking out five, and walking none in allowing only one Aston-Media runner to reach third base to earn the victory.  Luke Kania supported Myers by making a diving catch of a line drive to center field to rob the game's leadoff hitter of a base hit.  Myers helped out his own cause in the second inning by hopping off the mound to field a swinging bunt by the third base line and rifling the ball to first base for the out.

Dougherty earned the save with three shutout innings in relief.  Dougherty had four strikeouts while allowing only one hit and a base on balls. 

Wayne struck for most of its runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning.  Myers got things started with a single to right field to lead off the inning.  Keiran Ryan then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Myers to second and the Aston-Media pitcher threw wildy to first base, allowing Ryan to each safely, Myers to go to third base, and Ryan to take second base.  Nick Scheri then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Myers with the game's first run.  Joe Bonini then battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk.  Ryan and Bonini then advanced a base on a wild pitch, with Ryan coming home when the catcher's throw to third bounced into left field.  Nick Camposano followed with a ground ball that eluded the first baseman and went down the line for a double, knocking in Bonini to make it 3-0.

The Wolverines tacked on a final run in the bottom of the sixth.  Again, Myers got things started with a single.  Myers advanced to second base on an errant pickoff throw.  After two outs were made, Myers alertly stole third base, then scored on a subsequent wild pitch for a 4-0 lead.

Wayne is now 6-1 in league play this season, with two consecutive shutouts, and having allowed only three runs in its last five games.  

Luke Kania laid down a suicide squeeze with one out in the bottom of the seventh that scored Nick Scheri with the lone run of the game to lift the Wayne Wolverines to a key 1-0 win over the formerly unbeaten Nether Providence Bulldogs in a Junior Legion game at Odorisio.

The Wolverines used a combination of strong pitching, timely defense, and a seventh inning run without the benefit of a hit to hold off the 2014 PA Junior Legion State Runners Up.   Matt Cohen and Nick Camposano held Nether scoreless in the combined shutout, together outdueling Ryan Meyer from Nether in a pitchers' duel.

Cohen started and went 4 innings, surrendering 4 hits, but striking out three and stranding 7 baserunners to keep Nether off the scoreboard.  Camposano took over from there, going the final three innings, surrendering only a single walk while striking out three, and earning the victory.

The Wolverines also threw out two Nether runners on the base paths.  In the 1st inning with runners on first and second and one out, Cohen and Darien Pass combined on a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play to end the inning when Pass nailed the Bulldogs' runner trying to steal third base.  In the 2nd inning, with Nether runners on first and third, Nether sent the runner on first base.  Pass threw down to Jack Lee who corralled the throw and sent it right back to Pass to apply the tag on the runner trying to score from third.

Ian Myers also made a diving catch of a fly ball that was slicing away from him in center field to secure the first out of the 6th inning.

Wayne had several chances to take a lead throughout the game, but could not capitalize until the final frame.  In the 1st inning, an infield single by Pass and a walk to Myers with two outs looked like it might lead to runs when the line drive left Pat Lofton's bat.  Unfortunately, the line drive went right to Nether's left fielder who was perfect positioned to make the catch and end the inning.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, leadoff singles by Keiran Ryan and Scheri, followed by a wild pitch put Wolverines on second and third with no outs.  One suicide squeeze attempt was bunted just foul and a couple of strike outs later, the Wolverines could not capitalize on this opportunity.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Mullarkey reached safely on a ground ball to the second baseman and Jack Lee drew a walk, but a line drive to the third baseman turned into a double play to put a cramp in that rally.

Meyer then settled in for the next three innings with minimal trouble, but as his pitch count climbed above 90, he met with some resistance in the bottom of the 7th.  Ryan led off the bottom of the 7th by getting hit on the leg by an 0-2 offering.  Although Ryan was thrown out trying to steal second, Scheri fought back from an 0-2 count to draw a base on balls.  Pinch hitter William O'Brien drew another walk to move Scheri into scoring position.  Nether changed pitchers in an attempt to staunch the threat and force extra innings.  Cohen sent a hard grounder to the third baseman who was unable to field it cleanly, loading the bases.  That set up Kania for the walk-off suicide squeeze which he expertly dropped to the right side of the mound and sending the Wolverines to a hard fought 1-0 victory.

Wayne is now 5-1 in league play, while Nether dropped to 4-1.

Wayne rode the strong pitching of Pat Lofton and William O'Brien to a 7-1 victory over the Taney Dragons at Shipley.

Lofton was sharp from the very beginning, recording strikes on the first 17 pitches he offered to the free-swinging Dragons.  Lofton struck out the first two batters of the game, and had things in control throughout his four innings and 42 pitches worth of work.  He struck out four and allowed 5 hits while surrendering only an unearned run in the 4th inning to claim the victory.

While Lofton was holding Taney at bay, Wayne  took advantage of some Taney mistakes to build a large lead.  In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Lofton got things started with one out when he was hit on the shoulder by the first pitch he faced.  Jackson Beers came in as a courtesy runner for Lofton.  Keiran Ryan then singled to left field to move Beers to second.  Matt Cohen then broke his bat on a grounder fielded by the pitcher on the left hand side of the mound.  The pitcher tried to get Beers at third, but threw the ball past the third baseman, allowing Beers to get up and score on the play, with Ryan and Cohen moving up to third and second, respectively.  Ryan then scored on a wild pitch to give Wayne a 2-0 lead.

The Wolverines added to their lead in the 3rd inning.  Jack Lee led off with a single.  Darien Pass then reached safely when the Taney shortstop could not handle his grounder, putting runners on first and second with no outs.  Ian Myers then singled sharply to center to load the bases.  One out later, Lofton was again hit by the first pitch offered to him, but this time he got an RBI for his troubles as the lead stretched to 3-0.  Ryan then followed by drawing a base on balls, bringing home Pass to make it 4-0.  Myers scored on a wild pitch to raise the lead to five.  After another walk to Cohen, Zane Thompson-Bradley brought home the sixth run with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Taney rallied to score their only run of the game in the top of the 4th.  Kurt Butler ripped a gapper to left center field.  Butler tried to go to third and would have been nailed by a nice set of relay throws from Luke Kania and Sean Mullarkey but the last throw to third was not pulled in.  Butler scored on a single to left field by Justice Avery who tried to stretch his hit into a double, but this time the Kania to Mullarkey connection got their man at second when Lee applied the tag on Avery.  Lofton finished the inning from there and left the game with a comfortable 6-1 lead.

Wayne tacked on their final run of the game in the bottom of the 4th inning.  With two outs, Pass drew his second walk of the game, proceeded to steal second (his second SB of the game), then scampered to third on a wild pitch.  Myers then delivered with a line drive double to center field, knocking in his team-high 9th RBI of the young season.

O'Brien took over on the mound for Lofton to start the 5th inning.  O'Brien held Taney hitless over the last three innings to earn his first save of the season.  O'Brien flashed some glove to end the top of the 5th when he snagged a line drive flying by the mound.  Pass also helped out his battery mate in the 7th inning by gunning down a would-be base stealer for the second out of the inning.

With the victory, Wayne is now 4-1 in the Main Line Junior Legion league, with a key match up against Nether Providence awaiting them tomorrow.

Wayne only hit three balls all game that made it out of the infield, but they manufactured two runs, rode strong pitching, and turned two double plays to prevail over the Haverford Heat, 2-1, in a Main Line Jr. Legion League game at Odorisio Park.

Ian Myers took the hill for the Wolverines and provided five strong innings keeping Haverford in check.  The Heat did  take an early lead with a first inning run.  Haverford parlayed a one out single, an errant pickoff throw, a wild pitch, and another single to plate the game's first run.  That would the only run yielded by Myers, who recorded 5 strikeouts during the game.

Myers was opposed by Haverford's Corey Hunt.  Hunt had a very strong outing as well in the pitchers' duel.  who surrendered only three hits (two of them infield hits) and struck out 6.

Hunt set down the Wolverines 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first, but had to face Myers to start off the bottom of the second.  Myers sent a blast to deep right center field.  By the time the center fielder had tracked it down, Myers was standing on third base with a leadoff triple.  Keiran Ryan battled Hunt to a 2-2 count before grounding out to the second baseman and bringing home Myers to knot the game at 1.

The Wolverines managed an infield single in the third, and two infield singles in the fourth, but sloppy baserunning cost them a chance to score in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Myers faced only the minimum nine batters from the third inning to the fifth, helped by two twin killings, one in the third, and one in the fifth.  Second baseman Joe Bonini was kept busy as he was involved in six of the nine outs.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, The Wolverines took advantage of Haverford's generosity to take the lead.  With one out, Nick Camposano drew a four pitch walk.  He then proceeded to steal second base.  The throw from the Haverford catcher bounced through to center field.  Camposano popped up and raced toward third base.  There might have been a close play on Camposano at third, but the throw from the center fielder bounded by the third baseman and out of play, resulting in Camposano being awarded home to give Wayne a 2-1 lead.

Camposano took over for Myers on the mound to start off the top of the sixth.  After Camposano opened with a strikeout of the leadoff hitter,  Haverford's Gerard Sweeney blasted a shot to deep left field for a one out triple.  Camposano dug in and induced a shallow fly out to left fielder Matt Cohen with Sweeney holding at third.  After a base on balls, Camposano got out of the inning unscathed on a pop out to Bonini.

Wayne could not add to their lead in the bottom of the sixth, so Camposano and the Wolverines had no margin for error in the top of the seventh.  After getting two quick outs, including a strikeout, Camposano issued a walk to put the tying run on base with the top of Haverford's lineup coming up.  Camposano closed the door on the Heat by getting a ground ball to third baseman Nick Scheri who fired across to first baseman Ryan who snagged the strong throw and held the bag for the final out of the game.

Myers got credit for the win with Camposano earning his first save of the season.  Wayne is now 3-1 in Main Line Junior Legion league play.   

Ian Myers crushed a grand slam home run to center field in the bottom of the 5th inning to break open a taut 1-0 game and lead the Wayne Wolverines to a 5-1 Junior Legion victory over Springfield at Odorisio Field.  Myers also doubled in the Wolverines' first run of the game and set Springfield down with a scoreless 7th inning from the mound. 

The game started out as a low-scoring affair despite both teams having a number of base runners and great opportunities to score.  Wayne starting pitcher Matt Cohen gave up two singles to start the game and had to work out of a second and third with no outs jam.  Cohen induced Springfield's number three hitter to fly out to shallow left field with the runners holding.  Cohen then struck out Springfield's clean up hitter before getting the third out on a grounder to second base.

Wayne threatened in the bottom of the 1st on a Sean Mullarkey single and stolen base, a walk drawn by Darien Pass, and a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with two outs.  However, Springfield got the third out on a strikeout to end the inning knotted at 0-0.

In the top of the 2nd inning, Springfield against seemed on the precipice of denting the scoreboard when a one out double followed by a single put Springfield runners on second and third base.  Cohen and the Wolverines once again escaped without any harm on a shallow fly ball to right and a soft line drive that first baseman Keiran Ryan nicely snagged for the final out.

The Wolverines had a golden chance to take the lead in the bottom of the 2nd inning after a single by Nick Scheri, a wild pitch, a base on balls drawn by William O'Brien and a second wild pitch put Scheri and O'Brien in scoring position with no outs.  However, Wayne was unable to capitalize as Springfield's pitcher struck out the next three batters to end the threat.

Cohen continued his Houdini act in the top of the 3rd inning.  A Wayne error on an infield ground ball put a runner on second, and a ground out to Jack Lee, the second baseman, moved the runner to third with one out.  The next Springfield batter hit a hard grounder that third baseman Scheri made a nice backhand grab on, but chose to keep the runner at third as the batter reached safely on the infield single.  Springfield's runner on first subsequently went to second base on a following pitch, putting Springfield runners again on second and third base with one out and their clean up hitter coming to bat.  Cohen induced a ground out to shortstop Mullarkey who was playing in and was able to hold the runner at third before securing the out at first base.  Cohen then kept the scoreboard clean by getting a ground out to Ryan at first to end the inning.

Wayne finally broke the ice in the bottom of the 3rd inning.  Lee singled with one out and went to second on a passed ball with two outs.  Myers then  foreshadowed his later blast with a double to left center field, plating Lee with the game's first run and giving Wayne a 1-0 lead.

Wayne brought in Lee to take over on the mound after Cohen gritted out three scoreless innings.  Lee, after getting the first batter out in the top of the 4th inning, found himself in a tight spot after giving up a single and a base on balls to consecutive batters.  After a ground out to new second baseman Joe Bonini put runners again on second and third, this time with two outs, Lee kept the shutout going by getting a ground out to Mullarkey at short.

Wayne had a 1-2-3 bottom of the 4th inning followed by Springfield's only 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 5th.  Wayne clung to a precarious 1-0 lead entering the bottom of the 5th.

With one out, Nick Camposano drew a walk.  Mullarkey then reached base and moved Camposano to second on a ground ball that the Springfield shortstop could not corral, perhaps seeing Camposano running on the play to second and trying to rush a force out.  After a pop out for the second out, Pass deposited a single into left field.  Third base coach Moe Mallory held Camposano at third, knowing that Myers was heading to the plate for the Wolverines.  Myers quickly got into an 0-2 hole when he clocked the 0-2 offering over the center fielder's head.  Camposano, Mullarkey, and Pass all scored in front of Myers who crossed home standing up with a game-breaking grand slam homerun.  

Springfield broke up the shutout in the 6th inning when they turned a single, an error, and a balk into a single run.  They still trailed 5-1 heading to the 7th inning.

Myers was brought in to secure the final three outs.  After surrendering a leadoff walk, he got the next two outs on a ground out and a fly out (nice running catch by Camposano in right field) before ending the game with a strikeout.

Springfield wound up stranding 10 base runners during the game to Wayne' 5.

Wayne is now 2-1 in Main Line League play this season.

The Wayne Wolverines Junior Legion team held off game rival Narberth, 4-3, in the opening game of the 2015 season in a game the Wolverines hosted at Shipley.

Both teams' starting pitchers were getting the job done early, with the Wolverines' Matt Cohen setting the first 10 batters down perfectly, and Narberth's Marshall Worth setting down the first 7 Wolverines he faced.  Neither team had a hit through 3 innings, although Nick Camposano and Cohen drew back to back walks (the latter on a 12 pitch at-bat) with one out in the bottom of the third to threaten.  With Camposano on third and Cohen on second, the Wolverines looked to be thinking suicide squeeze, but the signals were a bit crossed and Camposano was a dead duck in a rundown between third and home.

Narberth got two runners on base against Cohen in the top of the 4th with a single and a walk, but Wayne got out of the inning without any further trouble.

Wayne struck in the bottom of the 4th inning to take a 2-0 lead.  Sean Mullarkey opened the inning with a single, but he was gunned down trying to steal second base.  Jack Lee then hit a smash down the third base line that Narberth's third baseman made an incredible diving stop on, got up, and rifled a throw over to first that Lee beat out by a fraction of a step.  Lee advanced to second on a wild pitch where he got a great read on the pitch where the ball didn't get too far away from the catcher, but far enough for Lee to advance.  Jackson Beers then drew a walk to put Wayne runners on first and second.  Ian Myers hit a grounder to the second baseman who flipped to the shortstop for the force on Beers.  However, as the ball slipped away from the shortstop during the exchange, Lee never stopped running as he rounded third and scored the game's first run.  Myers advanced to second after an errant pickoff throw by Narberth's catcher sailed into right field.  Nick Scheri and Patrick Lofton both worked walks to load the bases with two outs.  Keiran Ryan delivered with a single to left field to score Myers and give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead.

Narberth finally got to Cohen in the top of the 5th inning.  The first two Narberth players doubled and tripled to cut the lead to 2-1.  After a balk, the game was tied at 2-2.  Cohen got the next batter to pop out, but then gave up a single to the next batter.  Zane Thompson-Bradley replaced Cohen on the mound.  After a couple of walks and a strikeout, the Wolverines seemed to be out of the inning with a slow rolling ground ball for the third out.  However, the ball was thrown over the first baseman, allowing one Narberth runner to score.  An alert play by second baseman Joe Bonini prevented further damage.  He was backing up the play at the edge of the infield, made a nice catch of the errant throw, and then threw to Darien Pass, the catcher who was scrambling back to the plate after chasing the ground ball, who made a nice tag of the second Narberth runner trying to score.  However, Narberth now had the lead at 3-2.

Wayne wasted little time in evening the score back up in the bottom of the 5th inning.  With one out, Jack Dougherty tripled to deep left center field and scored on a wild pitch. 

Camposano came in to pitch for Wayne and shut down Narberth in the top of the 6th, allowing only a double in the inning. Pass got things started for the Wolverines in the bottom of the 6th with a hard ground single to right center field.  He advanced to second base on a wild pitch.  Myers then promptly launched a double to left center field, scoring Pass and giving the Wolverines a 4-3 lead. Wayne got runners on second and third with no outs, but were unable to score when two runners were thrown out on close plays at home plate.

Camposano shut the door on Narberth in the top of the 7th to secure the hard-fought victory in the league opener for Wayne.