Photos/Videos: Adam Ashburn, Zack Beavers, Donna Eckert, John Knebels, Nick Mastripolito, Ryan Nix, Kevin Rowley, Grayson Rupp, Ryan Sullivan & Mike Szcepkowski

By: John Knebels

PHILADELPHIA – One-run decisions aplenty . . . celebratory and disappointing outcomes . . . disagreements with umpires . . . perusing the always-changing standings . . . figuring out the mathematical possibilities.

Regardless of the path, 10 of the 13 Philadelphia Catholic League baseball teams ultimately reached the postseason. Now it’s time to get hot with the bats, field flawlessly with the gloves, and find a consistent groove from the mound.

“We need everything we have in playoffs,” said sophomore second-team All-Catholic Caleb Flannery. “We are a different team than what we started off with. If we are able to keep the energy up and be able to really play together, we will be very hard to beat.

“Finishing the season on a high note will help us so much for our confidence going into playoffs and being able to compete at our best.” 

In a small twist of irony, the Saints reversed the one-run theme by edging Devon Prep, 3-2, on April 9. 

“We still have the same goal, to end the season in a dog pile,” said senior Chris Meitzler. “We had our ups and downs during the season, but we learned from our mistakes. I am really looking forward to the playoffs because everyone thought we wouldn’t make it because we have a brand new team. But I know every single one of these boys want to fight and end the season with a dog pile.” 

An eight seed with a 6-6 record, St. Joseph’s Prep has been unable to build momentum. Two losses . . . two wins . . . two losses . . . win . . . loss . . . two wins . . . loss . . . win. Three of those defeats were by one run against toughies Devon Prep, Neumann-Goretti (eight innings), and La Salle.

Following two losses, the Hawks’ first win occurred on April 9 at the expense of Cardinal O’Hara, 12-7, the team they’ll face in the first round.

“It’s definitely been an up and down season for us this year,” said Prep junior Emilio Iannacone. “I feel like we definitely are getting hot at the right time, even though we fell to La Salle (4-3 on May 6).

“Our main key to success in the playoffs is going to be playing for each other, having short memories within games, and manufacturing runs, which we had some trouble with in the beginning of the year. But this team is very talented. We just have to trust our guys and play as a family; emphasis on family.”

As a nine-seed, Cardinal O’Hara (6-6) earned early juggernaut status after winning its first four games. Conversely, the Lions’ will carry a four-game losing streak – during with they only scored four runs – into the playoffs.

“Contrary to popular belief, I think we are in a really good spot coming into playoffs as the nine seed,” said first-team All-Catholic senior Brendan Till. “We get to throw all of the ups and downs from the regular season in the rear-view mirror as we get the fresh start we have been looking for throughout this rough second half of our season.

“Not only that. St. Joe’s Prep was our first league loss and kind of led to our second-half spiral, so this game means a bit more to our guys, especially the seniors, which for most of them is the last time ever stepping foot on a baseball field.”

When you’re the defending champion and have seized four of the previous six PCL titles, expectations sometimes border on absurdity.   

“It’s really hard to make it feel extra special,” said Pye. “Even around school everyone just expects it, and a loss can feel like a shock. The culture of our program is so powerful that being the number-one seed is expected, not something special.

“It takes hours and hours of coming together and talking as a group to understand how special the program is and how special our team is this year. Our team over the past couple years has set a bar, but bars are meant to be broken. Not only are we competing against the other teams, but against ourselves to set an even higher bar.

“Losing the state championship last year (3-2 against Hempfield at Penn State University) set a fire to our team that burns strong and bright. ‘Unfinished business’ is the feeling for our team this year. The group we have is special, and after a couple losses is more dangerous than ever coming into these playoffs.”

After winning its first three and then losing three of five, Archbishop Wood cemented the two seed by winning its last four, including a 1-0 decision at La Salle.

“I think our team is something special, and if we continue to do the little things right, we will be in a good position to win games and make a run in the playoffs.”

With a record of 8-4, Father Judge enters the tourney red-hot. Before losing their finale, the Crusaders, led by first-team All-Catholic Kevin Krause, had won seven straight to help offset dropping three of their first four.

The Crusaders will host six-seed Bonner-Prendergast and try to avenge a 7-0 defeat on April 2. After a rugged and frustrating stretch during which they lost four of their first six, the Friars (7-5) collected five wins in their last six tries. Senior Michael Coleman and junior Ryan Friel were named first-team All-Catholic.

“We have learned a lot from what happened in the beginning of the year,” said Bonner-Prendergast senior Jack Redding. “It was like a building block for us. I feel that now we are a completely different team. We have been playing really good as a team lately and look to continue that going into the playoffs.” 

Four-seed Conwell-Egan finished strong with two one-run losses, a 3-0 victory over La Salle, a loss to Judge, and two wins via blowout over Archbishop Ryan, 11-1, and nail biter at Neumann-Goretti, 1-0.

“I’m thankful to be given the opportunity to compete with the best of the best team teams in the PCL,” said sophomore Brady Guzzie, a first-team All-Catholic as both a hitter and pitcher, who shared first-team All-Catholic pitching honors with senior teammate Chase Forester. “Making the playoffs as the number-four seed is really big to the team. It shows how far we made it and how the hard work paid off. But, of course, we don't stop now.

“We had the same goal since the beginning of the season, and that was to win the PCL. So we are going to really lock in this week and have quality practices getting us in the right mindset to compete on May 17. The stress levels are going to be high, but I feel the team will rise to the occasion and we will continue to battle out games and come out on top.”

Fresh off the aforementioned 11-1 loss to Conwell-Egan on May 7, Archbishop Ryan (7-5) seeks to learn quickly and turn the page. After a strong finish with three wins in their last four games and six wins in their final nine, the resurgent Raiders reached the playoffs for a third straight season following a winless 2022 campaign.

Three teams fell short of playoff aspirations.

Archbishop Carroll (4-8) came close. In their final game on May 7, the Patriots could have clinched the final spot, but fell at Devon Prep, 7-2. Thus ended a season highlighted by a mid-season, three-game winning streak, but what, unfortunately, finished with a four-game losing string and defeats in six of their last seven.

At 3-9, Lansdale Catholic could not recover from early-season woes. After dropping their first four decisions and six of their first seven, the Crusaders upended Devon Prep, 7-2, on April 25. They then lost three straight before upending Roman Catholic, 4-1.

Speaking of Roman Catholic, a struggling offense defined a winless struggle. The Cahillites managed only 14 runs along the way and scored one or zero runs in nine games. Roman came close in its finale in a 4-1 loss at Lansdale Catholic.

(Contact John Knebels at jknebels@gmail.com of on ‘X’ @johnknebels.)