Catching Up

Mabye it's been the rotten weather. Or maybe it's the fact nobody is that good. Whatever's going on, its really been difficult to get a gauge on what's going to happen in this high school softball season. As most of you know, Cherokee won the Rancocas Valley Tournament with two more wins on Saturday, beating Washington Township and Rancocas Valley, 3-0. This is the same Cherokee team that is 6-6. Or to put it another way, the Chiefs are 4-0 on Saturday and 2-6 the rest of the week. You figure it out. Entering the tourney Cherokee had to be one of the bigger longshots, but here we are.
Also on Saturday, Pennsbury followed up its win over Neshaminy by scoring two runs in two games at the St. Dominics tournament in Jersey City. And Pennsbury lost to Absegami, making it two losses for the Falcons against Jersey teams this year. When was the last time that happened? On paper Pennsbury looks very good, but it's on the field that counts. Hopefully, guys like Lou Hartmann and Pinky won't bail out on the Falcons. A big addition to the schedule last week was Conwell-Egan at Steinert. Conwell-Egan won, 6-3, but the Spartans did get to Angel Bunner a bit and it makes you wonder what might have happened if Steinert pitched No. 1 pitcher Angela Rand. We've been saying for years New Jersey is catching up to Pennsylvania in softball and the results so far this year have done nothing to disprove that. Now, if only we could have had the Notre Dame-Conwell Egan game.
It's the big week in Mercer with Notre Dame and Steinert playing Peddie and Notre DAme and Steinert playing each other. If Peddie wins, hopefully some of those obnoxious Peddie fans won't run around thumping their chests. It's doubtful Peddie will see the No. 1 pitcher for either ND or Steinert, and it's for a simple reason. The public schools simply don't give a darn about the preps. Interestingly, Peddie still can get into the Mercer County Tournament. Hun plays in it so why not Peddie? The Peddie administration will say it's a matter of principle, but the heck with that. Ever since Peddie got all that money from Annenberg it's tried to act like it's a bunch of elitist blue bloods, but it's not and needs to get back to its blue collar roots.
For those who are counting, that's three wins in a row for Morrisville. We said this team was pretty good and you can expect the Dogs to prove it with some interesting games this week. The Trentonian also said Bensalem would improve once the weather warms up. Sure enough, the Owls lost by the score of 1-0 to William Tennent Saturday. See. We expect Bensalem to get so hot Bogie will again have to get his oil changed.
That's about it for now, although there will obviously be a lot to talk about later this week with so many big games on the immediate horizon.
As for you rec softballers out there, you can start calling your games into The Trentonian and they'll be printed on a daily basis now that the season is about to really start up.
As for you travel ball softball people out there we have one thing to say: Just because you had to take out a second mortgage to get your daughter on a team doesn't necessarily mean she's any good.

Joke of the Day

It's another rainy and dreary day so we thought we'd brighten things up with this great old softball joke.

Question: What do you call a basement full of softball parents?
Answer: A whine cellar.

RV Tourney and Travel Ball Thoughts.

Well, the first day of the RV Tourney is over and it's still the same question before it even began. Why were Conwell-Egan and WAshington Township placed so close to each other in the bracket? Nobody else at the tourney was throwing the ball like Bunner or Maise, and it's a shame these teams had to meet so early. Anyone of the remaining teams can still win, of course, and it's a huge and dangerous jump to say CE-Townhip was the "championship game.'' Similiarly, RV is the host of the tournament and has every right in the world to put itself anywhere it wants in the bracket. Heck, it's not only their right, but it''s something every other team in the world would do as well. But couldn't Township and Conwell-Egan be placed far enough apart so that it was at least a semifinal? With the feature game already played, it takes a little bit away from when the tourney resumes this Saturday. Oh, well, it won't happen again with Conwell-Egan because that was its last year in the tourney. For those who don't know, the PCL is joining the PIAA next year, which means only 20 total games under the antiquated PIAA rules. When Conwell-Egan gets done playing its league games and a couple of its usual rival in Lower Bucks, there won't be much room left. The one good thing is by losing in the quarterfinals, Conwell-Egan now has two more games available this year. Something tells us you might see Conwell-Egan against Notre Dame after all. Obviously, The Trentonian's Ratings are going to undergo an even bigger shakeup.

Opening the Mail

As for the West Windsor fan who wrote, I've never been down on travel ball sofball. I'm down on some of the travel ball parents, who think they actually know something about the sport because their summer coach let them coach first for an innning after their daughter raised all kinds of money for the team. Obviously, travel softball is crucial for a player's development. Just because someone's daughter is on a team, however, doesn't mean the parent has a clue. It really shows at some schools where the high school coach does a good job, but they still get their chops busted by the idiots whose daughter is on the team. Go West Windsor North and go West Windsor South. I've been on this beat for over 20 years and to the best of my recollection no West Windsor team has won any kind of softball title other than a CVC division crown or two. It would really be great to see West Windsor step up and join some of the other programs in the county.

Rainy Day Blues

Here it is a rainy Thursday night with hardly any games, but we did just hear from Notre Dame in Florida. The Irish (4-2) lost again, but didn't use Tomlinson to make sure she's OK following some sort of injury. It didn't sound too serious. Anyway, Notre Dame will probably still bump ahead of Pennsbury into the second spot in the ratings Saturday morning. After all, Pennsbury lost to Mt. St. Dominic last week and Notre Dame whipped a Mt. St. Dominic team with the same pitcher in the state final last year. Pennsbury is at North Penn today and it doesn't look like it will be real warm. . Does that mean Falcon fan Lou "Mr. Freeze'' Hartman once again won't make the trip?
Well, the Rancocas Valley tournament is now only a day away and we can't wait. It really is a fun day. If one games get boring, just go to another. Something tells us Steinert - thanks for the earlier - compliment Bob - is going to make some noise this year. We still can't understand why Dom "Steinert's Greatest Three-Sport Athlete'' Cuniglio is not in the Spartan Hall of Fame, but that's another story. If "Big'' Dom was related to Dr. Neil he would have been the first guy in.
There's talk the Conwell-Egan vs. Pennsbury night game might be moved to Bristol. Why? Where are people going to park? And if they are going to play a double-header, why not make it a triple-header with Morrsiville playing New Hope. That will really pack in the fans.
There's been another shakeup in The Trentonians ratings (see tomorrow's paper). The team heading up is Lenape. The team heading down is Allentown after losing to a West Windsor South team that , in turn, got whacked by North Hunterdon, 14-0. Nothing against West Windsor South, but it seems like what that area needs is more ASA travel ball for the young girls and less of the Little League. Does anyone in Hamilton Township even play Little League?
That's about it for now. We'll update you on the RV Tourney this weekend.

To the Ice Man

Great to hear from you. What are you doing in Delaware? I think it's time you went in the Trenton Softball Hall of Fame. I'll call you later this week. Sam "Captain Midnight'' Pellitieri says hello, too.

And by the Way

How about Ivan Colon's Morrisville team? On Monday the team got crushed. On Tuesday it bounced back with 19 hits in just three innings. That's resiliency. That's a never-get-down spirit. And Moville did it against a pretty tough Plumstead Christian team. For anyone who wants a day full of softball, head toRancocas Valley Saturday. You get 12 games with a lot of good teams, including Steinert which is looking great and has started three different pitchers in three games. How many teams have a staff like that? That's it for now. I'm off to see defending state champion North Hunterdon at West Windsor South.

How right you are

To Hugger. You're absolutely right on Jerry Reeves. John Martini went right in and Jerry should have too. The problem is a lot of these guys who vote haven't a clue about the guys from Pennsylvania. Bobby Latt should go right in as well. AS to JB-88 , I thought we had Harvey in this year, but it got screwed up at the last second. What a disgrace. We'll try again. You're right about Harvey. On the high school front, Bob Noter is right as well. Games decided by one hit with no fence is tough indeed. Who knows if Schafer wanted an outside pitch. It's possible she just threw it in the wrong place. There will be new blogs posted tomorrow. At least when it rains it's good for something.

Slow-pitch update

There will actually be two blogs here. One is for high school softball and the other is for recreation softball, which we're happy to report will heat up in two weeks.

This one is for rec softball.

We're issuing an all-points bulletin for "The Ice Man,'' a.k.a. Pete Barszewski. Has anyone seen this guy? If so, let us know. There's a big reunion coming up at Vets's Tavern and the Ice Man should be there. We heard he's hanging out Delaware, but we have no idea how to reach him. Maybe Sam "I Can Stay Out Past Midnight'' Pellitieri can help us out.

Saw Willie Allen at a softball game yesterday. Low and behold, the standout Burlington County shortstop has joined the Jean Shoppe team in Tennessee. Mooch is already on this team, so that now gives the area two players on the fourth ranked team in the country. Allen said the team is loaded with defense and looking good. Hopefully, both Allen and Mooch will still be able to play in The Trentonian Tourney this year.

Allen also revealed the Medford League is up to 24 teams and stronger than ever with the Camden County teams joining the fold. This list includes Deluxe Bakery and Billy Sampolski's Santino Bistro. Wow! That's a great league and Alternative Air is really going to have to earn it to repeat again as the champion. There's no other league in the state that can even come close to this. Now, if only a Trenton team would go there. Yeah, right.

As a member of The Trenton Softball Hall of Fame I will always support it, but you really have to wonder about some of the decisions that are made these days. How can a guy like Harvey Hyman not get in as a coach or whatever after giving a good 20 years of his life to the sport. How can Bobby Lattanzi come up short in votes. All he did is play for a Class A National champion, hit like 750 every year and play a great outfield. He's better than 75 percent of the players that are a lready in. It really makes you wonder.

Can Manny Brown's replace Kevin Gowton? That seems to be a big question as Gowton has now hooked up with Rob Sendlock's team and has departed Manny Browns. Gowton gave a lot to the Manny Browns lineup and it's hard to figure how they could let this guy get away.

Just a reminder to call your scores into The Trentonian on weeknights between 5 and 9:30 p.m. when your league season gets started. Tournament results are welcome as well. The number is 1-800-806-7705 (press 6 for sports). Also, the entry forms for The Trentonian Tourney are beginning to be mailed out.

If anyone has questions about The Trentonian Tournament, I can be reached at matburns2@aol.com

Rain, rain go away

This stinks. Everyone was all pumped up for the Bristol at Morrisville game today in a collision of coaching geniuses between Mike Lalli and Ivan "The Guru of High School Softball'' Colon. Instead, it's raining like crazy and we'll have to wait until later in the year. The big story in Lower Bucks right now is it looks like the Moville pitcher could be out for a while with an arm injury. We're not sure how serious it is, but that could change everything and is a brutal blow to the rising Dawg program. Ouch!
Well, we got our first blog responses. Thanks, Noter. Keep em coming. Were you at the Conwell-Egan game yesterday. I didn't get to attend, but the strikeout fest was the pitching duel of all pitching duels. Conwell-Egan is going to miss Geragi's bats and could have a bunch of marathons this year. Will there be a shakeup in The Trentonian's ratings? Everyone will have to wait until Saturday to find out.
In addition to Conwell-Egan losing, there were a lot of other developments as the season heated up yesterday. It looked like the gap had closed between Florence and New Egypt, but nobody saw Florence pounding the defending state champs by seven runs. It's the biggest win at Florence since Lou Guadagnino was there and a great moment for the Florence players who have known nothing but tough times against New Egypt. It won't get any easier for New Egypt with Bordentown on the horizon Monday. With players like pitcher Hillary Allen and Nicole Walls, the Scotties are legit and in for a huge season.
The other big score from yesterday found Northern Burlington beating Rancocas Valley. Dana Bieniek didn't pitch and if she doesn't pitch in this game, just who will she throw against? Should be interesting to see how this pans out because she's such a defensive force in the circle with her quickness it really makes a difference. Anyway, Northern is fun to watch. It seems like the game has changed these days with a lot of teams relying on power, but NBC is a throwback to a lot of speed, lefty hitters and slappers. Obviously, Wolverton is also a heckuva coach.
Between the rain, Good Friday and a limited schedule for Saturday, it's shaping up as a slow week. The one exception is Pennsbury making its annual trek to North Jersey to play two games in a tournament. We'll have more on this later in the week, but it looks like coach Frank McSherry will not be there as he continues to recover from pneumonia. That's got to be killing the guy but so far the Falcons haven't skipped a beat. The big question for Saturday is whether Lou Hartmann and "Pinky'' will make the trip to Newark to support their Falcons. Judging by the way he was all covered up last week against Abington, expect Hartmann to bag it and opt for the warmth at the Boot.
It's now only a week and a half until the Rancocas Valley Tourney. Quite frankly, one side of the bracket is a lot more stacked than the other, but this will only make the tournament great from the get-go from a fan's viewpoint. A possible quarterfinal round game will pit Conwell-Egan vs. Washington Township. This would be even better after what happened last year,
As mentioned last week, feel free to send comments and opinions. This is your chance to pop off. Any posts that are worthy will receive a response.