Postgame Notes 20 May 2021

Game 1 final score:  Covenant Speed/Power 23, Covenant Bengals 3

Game 1 winning pitcher:  Eric Bombeck

Game 1 losing pitcher:  David Dalessandro

Game 2 final score:  Covenant Speed/Power 20, Covenant Bengals 3

Game 2 winning pitcher:  Tyler Allen

Game 2 losing pitcher:  Andrew Campbell

Player of the game: Tyler Allen

Postgame notes (Covenant Speed/Power):

The 10 runs batted in by Tyler Allen over the two games were a personal best for him since joining the team in 2017.  They are also second only to the 11 runs batted in by Tyler Fattman in a doubleheader against New Life on July 12, 2018.

Gray MacKenzie's first inning home run in game one was the first for the team this season.

Tyler Allen (3), Brad Stockdill and Corey Sternthal also hit home runs.

Game 1 winning pitcher Eric Bombeck threw just 57 pitches, 35 of them for strikes.

The Speed/Power are now undefeated in their last 19 games dating back to the 2019 tournament.

Postgame notes (Covenant Bengals):

The two runs scored in the first inning of game two were the first ones scored on Tyler Allen since 2019.

The Bengals are now winless in their last 18 games dating back to the 2019 tournament.

Next up:

Covenant Speed/Power:  a split doubleheader against New Wilmington and St. Joe's Tuesday.  First game on COG field 3 and second game on COG field 1.

Covenant Bengals:  a split doubleheader against Grace Chapel and New Wilmington Tuesday.  First game on COG field 2 and second game on COG field 3.

Pregame Notes Covenant Speed/Power @ Covenant Bengals

Date:  20 May 2021

Site:  Field 1, Council of Governments Softball Complex, West Middlesex, PA

First pitch time:  615pm EDT

Probables (game 1):  Eric Bombeck (Covenant Speed/Power) v. David Dalessandro (Covenant Bengals)

Probables (game 2):  Tyler Allen (Covenant Speed/Power) v. David Dalessandro (Covenant Bengals)

Pregame notes (Covenant Speed/Power):

The Covenant Speed/Power begin their tenth anniversary season.

The Speed/Power are winners of their last 17 consecutive games dating back to the 2019 tournament.

Since 2017, the team has lost a total of only four games.

The Covenant Speed/Power will begin a drive for a fifth consecutive league championship, something that has never been done in the 44 year history of the Lawrence-Mercer County Church Softball League.

The team returns a star contingent including all-star shortstop Gray MacKenzie, pitcher Eric Bombeck, first baseman Matt Durisko, third baseman Corey Sternthal, and left fielder Tyler Allen.

Bobby Mort and Pat DeGeralamo rejoin the team after opting out of the 2020 season due to concerns regarding COVID.

Tay Robinson also rejoins the team after spending the last three years living and working in North Carolina.

Chris Rockwell and Justin Norcross join the team for the first time.  Rockwell spent the 2020 season with the Covenant Bengals.  Norcross last played in 2018 with the now-defunct St. John's Rams.

Pregame Notes (Covenant Bengals):

The Covenant Bengals began their fourth season in the Lawrence-Mercer County Church Softball League on Tuesday night with losses to both the expansion St. Joe's Wildcats and Lebanon Raiders.

The Bengals are winless in their last 16 games dating back to the 2019 tournament.  They are also winless in their last 7 games against the Speed/Power.

The Bengals have a new head coach in Andrew Campbell.

Returning to the Bengals are pitchers David Dalessandro and Gary Shuttleworth, plus Zach Wimer, Jay Bradley, Armando Hernandez and Dacoda Randall.

Joining the team are former Covenant Speed/Power players Josh and Vincent Nichols, Craig Osmon, Nate Anthony and Joe Patton.  Osmon last played in 2019 with the Covenant Speed/Power.

What I learned from the 2020 church softball season

The 2020 season in the Lawrence-Mercer County Church Softball League, though abbreviated, was rewarding not just for me as a podcaster, but also for the Covenant Speed/Power, who won that fourth consecutive championship, which is a feat that had not occurred since 2011 when Lebanon A won four in a row from 2008 to 2011.

Here’s what I learned while podcasting games this past summer:

1.  The New Life Saints’ championship window is slowly closing. The New Life Saints have only one player left from their 2016 championship team, and that is Zach Cyrus. Proven power hitters such as Tom Dobos, Walt Novosel and Mike Wilson did not return in 2020. As a result, the finals of the 2020 tournament were the first since 2015 where New Life was not involved, although Zach Cyrus did not go home empty handed as he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

2.  The Covenant Bengals are in need of a once-in-a-generation talent. Ryan Daniel Zippie must acquire a talented power hitter in the rookie draft during the winter months to teach their team how to win games in the Lawrence-Mercer County Church Softball League.

3.  Marc and Dave Stonebreaker both saw their seats cool off with the Lebanon Raiders’ unexpected Cinderella run in the tournament. Although they were 3-7 in the regular season and lost their first tournament game, they won five consecutive games to reach the finals, where the clock struck midnight on them at the hands of the Covenant Speed/Power.

4.  Could the Grace Chapel Blues be a team on the rise? That’s the $64,000 question that their congregation is asking after Steve and Shannon Neral led their team to a surprise third place finish in the regular season. That question will likely be answered in seasons to come.

5.  The New Wilmington Angels proved once again that they can perform magic in the postseason. Although they did not win a trophy, they received a nice consolation prize in the form of the Sam Blake Sportsmanship Award.

6.  Jim Bombeck’s job as Covenant Speed/Power head coach is secure in the long-term. What else can you say about the players who have won championships with the Covenant Speed/Power from 2017 to the present? Bombeck has done a masterful job in building the team into a championship-caliber unit. And as I said in my call of the final run batted in: “Oh, what a party they’ll be having on Windsor Court!”   If the Lawrence-Mercer County Church Softball League had a hall of fame, former players such as Jeff Newell and current players such as Tyler Allen would be locks, and Bombeck would go in as a builder. I would possibly qualify as a contributor.

What will the 2021 campaign bring? As Jimmy Buffett put it to music, only time will tell.