I started calling Covenant Speed/Power softball games partway through the 2015 season on a whim. These days I do it just to get out of the house.
Over the years I have been podcasting games, teams in the Lawrence/Mercer County Church Softball League have come and gone. My circle of friends has grown exponentially.
The Covenant Speed/Power have made it to the championship finals on Super Saturday in each of the last seven years, winning it all in each of the last five years. I have observed the following in each of the teams during this current dynasty:
The First Assembly Falcons were no pushovers on Super Saturday, finishing as high as third in 2017 from the fifth seed. Their disbanding after the 2018 campaign was a total shock to me.
The Bethany Colts were a team that was on the rise having had as high as the fourth seed in the 2017 and 2018 tournaments when they disbanded after the 2018 season. One of the contributing factors for that team's demise was their awful performance on Super Saturday.
Grace Chapel had as many as four teams when I came on board in 2015, and two of them had disbanded prior to the 2016 season. The disbanding of Grace Chapel Black came as a complete surprise to me because I had thought that they were the epitome of a championship caliber team. Following the merger of the Blue and Burgundy teams into a single squad known as the Blues, the team had two consecutive years where they didn't win any games; and it wasn't until the pandemic-shortened 2020 season that the Blues started to make noise during the regular season and made serious noise during last year's tournament that resulted in them taking home a third place trophy.
You will recall that Lebanon B won the championship the year that I came on board. However, they were not the only team at Lebanon. There was a Lebanon C team that was often times not playing to win games against certain teams, including Covenant. That's one of the reasons that Lebanon merged its B and C teams in 2017 to form a single squad known as the Raiders, which resulted in certain players having to be unceremoniously put on the waiver wire, including their ace pitcher Tyler Allen, who wound up on the Covenant Speed/Power in 2017. For two seasons, Lebanon found itself in the middle of the pack in the regular season, but finished the 2019 season with a surprise third place finish in the tournament, followed by two consecutive runner-up trophies, letting the league know that they are a team on the rise once again.
The Central Chargers were an expansion team last season. Although they failed to win any games, they had great respect for the other squads in the league, including the Covenant Speed/Power, which was the main reason why they won the Sam Blake Award for Team Sportsmanship on Super Saturday.
Like the Central Chargers, the St. Joseph's Pirates were an expansion team. The Pirates actually made some noise during the regular season, even though they finished with the eight seed and wound up being eliminated by midday on Super Saturday. Against some teams, the Pirates bend but they do not break, which led to some games not being decided until the late stages.
The Clen-Moore Hurricane started in 2019 as an expansion team and had a poor Super Saturday showing. After skipping the 2020 season on account of the pandemic, they returned in 2021 and actually surprised people by finishing near the middle of the pack, although their Super Saturday performance was forgettable at best.
The New Life Saints, who were league champions from the losers' bracket in 2016, have been on a decline ever since. Many of their key contributors from the 2016 squad have left over the last five seasons for other commitments, most notably Walt Novosel, Tom Dobos and Mike Wilson. Even 2017 league MVP Jake Ramirez left the squad to perform mission work. Three consecutive runner-up finishes from 2017 to 2019 and a third place finish in 2020 made me realize that New Life's championship window was likely closing. The squad's 2021 season confirmed my realizations when they finished the regular season around the middle of the pack and led to them leaving COG empty handed on Super Saturday for the first time since 2015. This offseason has been a challenging one to say the least, as the Saints will go into the 2022 season without Ken Stitt. As you will recall, Ken Stitt tragically lost his life in a workplace accident in October, leaving behind a wife and two small children. The accident is still under investigation and is to wrap up next month at the latest.
Although the New Wilmington Angels have had some seasons where they were decent and others where they weren't, we have seen what they can accomplish on Super Saturday with deep runs in the tournament. They were the recipients of the 2020 Sam Blake Award for Team Sportsmanship.
Although the West Middlesex Reds disbanded after the 2019 season, they could take the consolation that Geri Hodges was a steady workhorse that led to her being named league MVP for 2019.
Following the 2018 season, I thought that better days would be ahead for the Neshannock Alliance Eagles, but they wound up becoming the West Middlesex Reds following their merger with West Middlesex Presbyterian.
The St. John's Rams were a decent team for three seasons, and were a rising team following their third place finish in the 2018 tournament. I thought that they would be a force to be reckoned with, but the Rams somehow disbanded after that season.
And then, there's Covenant. The Covenant Bengals started almost similar to the Covenant Speed/Power's inaugural season where they won very few games their first two seasons. They had a winless season in 2020. Last season they surprised many by finishing around the middle of the pack in the league standings and then surprised everyone with a deep run on Super Saturday, even though they left with no trophy.
The Covenant Tabernacles were a somewhat decent team in their only season in the league in 2019, but they were a disappointment when it came to Super Saturday. Even the presence of former Speed/Power players in David Dalessandro and Bob Mariotti didn't help matters.
And what can I say about the Covenant Speed/Power over the years? There's a reason why the team has been among the league's elite teams in recent years. After the collapse in the 2016 finals, I realized that the squad was still missing some pieces to the puzzle. Then Tyler Allen came on board off waivers from Lebanon. Corey Sternthal, Justin Reed, Tyler Fattman, Brad Stockdill, Abby Ferlin and Chris Enos came on board in the rookie draft. John Metzgar, Nate Anthony and Chris Rockwell came on board off the scrap heap. Many of these pickups, along with other members of the star contingent that already had Eric Bombeck, Matt Durisko, Gray MacKenzie and Pat DeGeralamo led to the beginning of this dynasty that might rival that of Reynolds Raiders wrestling.
What will 2022 teach me? I will not know until spring training begins next month.
