Colonial League and EPC baseball and softball titles to be decided in two places – The Morning Call

Almost all teams in all sports start their season with the goal of winning the league championship.

That’s certainly the case for the eight teams that will be in action Thursday when the Colonial League and Eastern Pennsylvania Conference crown their baseball and softball champions.

But for the Notre Dame-Green Pond baseball team and the Northampton softball team, the incentive is a little bigger.

That’s because Crusaders and Konkrete Kids played the league title matches last year and things didn’t go well.

Notre Dame lost to Northwestern Lehigh 13-3 in the Colonial League Baseball Championship game. A day later, Northampton fell to Freedom 10-0 in the EPC Softball Final. Neither game went the distance due to the mercy rule.

Exactly one year after the disappointing loss, Notre Dame-Green Pond gets another shot at league glory when they meet Southern Lehigh at 3:35 p.m. Thursday in DeSales for the Colonial League crown.

“I think that’s a motivation to some degree because you don’t want to go into a league championship game and underperform,” Crusaders coach Mike Bedics said. “There’s a level of respect that we try to get from other teams in the league and other schools in the area and when you’re on a platform like that and trying to show what your baseball program, it was disappointing to lose like that. I think they were embarrassed by what happened and they want an opportunity to play better.

Meanwhile at Patriots Park, Northampton gets its chance at redemption against Parkland for the EPC softball crown.

These games are the openings of the championship doubleheaders. At DeSales, the Colonial League final will be followed by the EPC title match between Emmaus and Nazareth. At Pates Park, the EPC title game will be followed by the Colonial League Championship contest between Bangor and Northwestern Lehigh.

Here is an overview of the four matches:

COLONIAL LEAGUE

Match: Notre Dame (#3, 18-4) vs. Southern Lehigh (#1, 18-3)

Time/place: 3:35 p.m. Thursday at DeSales University.

Crusaders to watch: Notre Dame includes seven seniors who plan to play college baseball: Collin Quintano (Villanova), Logan Castellano (Merrimack), Jackson Shollenberger (Charleston Southern), Ben Moyzan (IMG Academy), Conner Rex (Clarion), Collin Brandon (Mercer CC ), Ben Gagnon (Northampton CC) and Matt Benolken will play soccer in Moravian. The Crusaders are led offensively by Quintano (.493, 9 HR, 27 RBIs), Shollenberger (.418, 32 RBIs, 12 XBH), Castellano (.417, 22 RBIs, 13 XBH), Nick Buchman (.475, 21 RBIs ) and Moyzan (.396, 23BB). On the mound, Moyzan is 7-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 51K in 30⅓ innings. Zach Rodgers is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA and 32K in 21 innings and Rex is 5-1 with a 4.75 ERA and 32K in 28 innings.

Spartans to watch: Luke Lea, who pitched on Tuesday, is 6-0 with a .646 ERA and 32K in 43⅓ innings. Matt Tankred is 3-1 with a .663 ERA and 57K in 31⅔ innings. Janssen Brown is 5-2 with a 1.04 ERA. Offensively, Solehi is led by Tankred (.514, 43 RBI, 33 RBI), Lea (.411, 24 RBI), Michael Andrews (.433, 32 RBI), Christian Pickell (.426, 20 RBI, 20 runs), and Will Woodring (.533, 15 2Bs, 29 RBIs). Tankred heads to East Stroudsburg, Woodring to Inspiration Academy, Pickell and Justin Balliet to Penn State-Berks.

What to expect: The two have met before in an unbeaten battle at Limeport Stadium, a 6-4 win over Southern Lehigh on April 22. Expect this one to be just as tight.

The choice : Notre Dame 5-4.

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONFERENCE

Match: Nazareth (#5, 16-6) versus Emmaus (#3, 18-4)

Time/place: 7:10 p.m. Thursday at DeSales University.

Blue Eagles to Watch: Expected starter Jake Dally is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA and 69K in 36⅓ innings, Jack Bacolo, who kicked a shutout to beat Liberty, is 3-2 with an ERA of 2.14 and 36 K in 26 rounds. The offense is led by Aidan Butz (.333, 11 2G, 21 points), Zach Smethers (.328, 27 RBI), Preston Warne (.413), David Bertz (.393) and Dally (.400).

Green hornets to watch out for: The Green Hornets are led on the mound by Luke Deschenes, the Seton Hill-bound senior who went 6⅔ innings twice in recent weeks to beat Parkland and was a key figure in last year’s run for the championships. league and district. Deschênes is 9-1 with a 1.43 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 53⅔ innings, but he won’t be allowed to pitch Thursday due to pitch counting rules. So, mound options include Colin Foley (5-1, 2.1 ERA), Alex Pion (4-1, 3.6 ERA) and Ryan Latchford (0-1, 3.13 ERA), and Tyler LePage, which has two stops, could be used in relief. The offense is led by LePage (.419, 20 RBI), Zach McEllroy (.403), Anthony Viola (.373), Colin Foley (.377, 22 RBI) and Josiah Williams (.364, 20 RBI, 26 RBIs). ).

What to expect: Both teams will play with confidence. Nazareth has his ace on the mound, but Emmaus’ batting order could be a little deeper and the Green Hornets have an advantage in recent championship game experience. Still, anyone who saw the Nazareth-Liberty game should have no doubts about the Blue Eagles who have been terrific since April 27 with an 8-1 mark.

The choice : Nazareth 4-2.

COLONIAL LEAGUE

Match: Bangor (#2, 14-7) vs. Northwestern Lehigh (#1, 16-3)

Time/place: 7 p.m. Thursday at Patriots Park.

Slaters to watch: Senior Lexi Bussenger leads the standings with an average of .458 and Kristina Langdon strikes. .500. Jenna Rex (.328), Brook Hermanski (.373), Jaeylyn Silfies (.321) and Emma Etzkorn (.364) are all capable of big hits. Silfies will get the ball and has 71 strikeouts this season.

Tigers to watch out for: The Colonial League isn’t building an all-star team or announcing an MVP, but Morgan Farthing would be a prime candidate. She is hitting .515 with 8 HRs, 32 RBIs and 35 runs. Marissa Christman (.438, 27 RBIs), Sage Toman (.469, 20 RBIs), Olivia Stofflet (.417, 20 RBIs) and Brynn Balliet (.418, 4 HRs) are all prime weapons and Balliet is a veteran of the throwing circle.

What to expect: Potentially another slugfest like last year’s 8-7 thriller the Tigers won that went nine innings. Bangor’s heartbreaking losses in last year’s championship and district finals, two 9-inning games, motivated the Slaters to redeem themselves. But magical things seem to be happening for Northwestern at Patriots Park, and the Tigers have the deepest, most experienced team.

The choice : Northwest 9-6.

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONFERENCE

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Match: Parkland (#2, 16-5) vs. Northampton (#1, 21-1)

Time/place: 5 p.m. Thursday at Patriots Park.

Trojans to watch out for: Jenna Piatkiewicz (.460, 32 RBI, 14 XBH), Cassidy Sweeney (.524, 11 XBH, 30 RBI) and Shana Gugliandolo (.345, 17 RBI) start the offense and senior Ashley Hillenbrand is next in line. a long line of quality Parkland pitchers ready for their big moment on the playoff stage. Hillenbrand is 16-5 with a 1.57 ERA and 123 Ks in 129⅔ IP.

Konkrete Kids to watch: A powerful Northampton team is led by league MVP Taylor Kranzley (.528). Devyn Demchak (.471, 3 HRs, 28 RBIs), Alexa Chromey (.401), Arianna Patterson (.429), Kaira Zamadics (.483) and Rilee Ehrlacher (.448) are all giving pitching adjustments. Zamadics and Kaitlyn Renson give the team big-game experience in the pitching circle.

What to expect: Northampton have won the previous two meetings 12-2 earlier and 5-2 more recently. But Parkland is playing its best softball of the season and no one does a better job of bringing a team over the course of a season than Barry Search and his staff. The Trojans want their own dose of revenge after failing to win either the league or the district last year despite having the best regular season record. It’s highly unusual for the 22-time league champion Trojans to play an underdog role, but they are in this one. Northampton haven’t won a league title since 2007 and this talented group of seniors would love to secure one, but it won’t be easy.

The choice : Northampton 3-2.

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