JOHNSTOWN —
Just a day after leading Bishop McCort to its first PIAA Class A baseball title, it was a return to AAABA business for manager Chris Pfeil and Martella’s Pharmacy on Saturday, sweeping a doubleheader from Altoona’s Ketrow Insurance in interleague play.
With Pfeil and four of his Crimson Crushers otherwise occupied with winning a District 6 title then defeating California (7-1), OLSH (9-8), Elk County Catholic (17-0) and Montgomery (14-2) in the state championship run, Martella’s had been juggling its schedule.
Outfielder Christian Leech, infielder Jimmy Stenger, infielder Luke Williams and right-hander Jesse Cooper, who can also play infield, were all key contributors for McCort and are currently listed on the Martella’s roster.
Martella’s also has Tony Strasiser, an outfielder for North Star, which advanced to the Class AA semifinals before being eliminated by eventual state champion Riverside.
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Speaking of interruptions: Delweld faced some challenges if its own with competition for players’ time last week as several players were participating in the Ken Lantzy Finest 40 All-Star football game.
Delweld teammates Justin Gdula of Forest Hills and Marcus Shippey of Bedford shared quarterbacking duties for the North squad.
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Belting Berkley boys: Berkley Hills has been hitting its way to the top of the AAABA Standings.
With a 13-5 record, the Renegades held a two-game advantage over Martella’s Pharmacy prior to Wednesday night’s game and coincidentally, the team has the top three spots among the league’s hitters.
A.J. Rievel (12 of 24) currently holds the lead with a .500 average followed by Nate Campbell (25 of 51) at .490 and Ryan Uhl (13 of 27) at .481.
The other hitters who are batting over .400 include: Logan Brown of Delweld, Eric Weyant of Delweld, Luke Williams of Martella’s, Jesse Cooper of Martella’s and Dylan Woisonovich of Laurel Auto Group.
Campball has also scored 27 runs for the Renegades, who also have the league leader in home runs and RBIs. John Jones has a league-high four home runs and also has driven in 24 runs while Campbell has 20 RBIs.
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Pitching prowess: Martella’s Derek Younker and Laurel Auto Group’s Ryan Bills each have three wins among the league’s best hurlers.
Mike Nowicki of Laurel has the top ERA with an 0.56 in 16 innings of work and Younker has the most strikeouts with 23.
Cory Isenberg is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.
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CORY ISENBERG| Martella’s gets boost from Crushers
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