Catholic league baseball
preview: A lot of changes

By Melissa Yerkov
Times Sports Editor

There are going to be a lot of new sights on the Philadelphia Catholic League baseball fields this season.
New players. New coaches. New schedule.
But hopefully there will be the same determination driving local teams toward playoff contention.
The four local high schools — Archbishop Ryan, Cardinal Dougherty, North Catholic and Father Judge — will again face off to compete for a spot in the Northern Division postseason.
But there will be some twists and turns along the way. For one, there is a new schedule this season. Every team in the PCL will face one another in a three-game series. As a result of the extended season, local teams are preparing for a vigorous year, which will average about four games per week.
There are new coaches and dozens of new players, making for an exciting and unpredictable season on the baseball diamond.
So here is a glance at the schools’ prospects in baseball this season.

ARCHBISHOP RYAN
The Raiders lost about seven seniors last year, but the Archbishop Ryan baseball team is looking better than ever.
With eight returning players this season — including stars Nick Ferdinand and Andrew Lacovara — coach Ron Gerhart is confident in the Raiders’ upcoming season.
"We certainly have some talented players," said Gerhart. "Our goal is to get into the playoffs and then see what happens from there. But we feel pretty good about the experience of the team."
Infield players include third basemen Anthony Covely and Devin Weiss, shortstop Ferdinand, second baseman Seth Magagna and John Ross at first.
Newcomer Kevin McGovern will be covering first base as well. The lefthanded pitcher and infielder transferred to Ryan from Cardinal Dougherty this season, and should add some talent to the Raiders’ already strong infield.
"The players are working hard. We’re going to be playing a lot more . . . sometimes four games a week," said Gerhart. "So I want to keep the pitching healthy and make sure that we have enough pitchers."
Pitcher Mike Kovacs will start most games, with backups Covely, Ferdinand, Lacovara, Weiss, McGovern and Jim Edelman sharing the mound.
Lacovara, Rob McArdle and Mike Siravo will round out the outfield, with catcher Jerry Smith guarding home plate.

CARDINAL DOUGHERTY
It’s not easy inheriting a team that finished the season 0-15 last year. But coach Steve Carr has big plans to reverse those numbers and lead the Cardinals to victory this season.
"This is definitely a rebuilding year, but I think we have a lot of potential," said Carr, in his first year of coaching the Cardinal Dougherty High School baseball team. "We have a very strong defensive team this year and a lot of guys who are contact hitters."
Leading the Cardinals’ defensive skills is centerfielder Joe Gallagher. With TJ Dormer in leftfield and Dave Boginski in right, this all-junior outfield looks to be one of the Cardinals’ greatest strengths this season.
Seniors Jon Swing and Mark McAllister will share first base and catching positions. Leadoff hitter Anthony Cataldi will play second base and John Furphy will cover shortstop, forming a sophomore middle infield. Senior John Ruzzo will play third base and join the pitching staff.
The Cardinals have some talented pitching this season with seniors Mark McGuinn and Ruzzo.
"We have excellent participation from the whole team," said Carr. "They have been working hard and practicing to prepare for the season. They have the desire to win, and I think we’ll have a good year."

NORTH CATHOLIC
With six returning seniors this season, the Falcons are among the few fortunate teams that will not be experiencing a rebuilding year.
"I really think we have a playoff team this year," said coach Gene Bryan. "We have a close-knit team. The players have a lot of heart and are really enthusiastic about the season."
Senior and team co-captain Adam Miller will be playing third base and pitching. Chris Bonecorse will cover shortstop, with Derrek Etsell at first base. Sophomore Bobby Hopkins will play a second base; he’s the only non-senior in the infield.
Etsell will also spend some time on the mound, as will senior and team co-captain Ryan Nally and junior Kegan Smith. Senior Ed Hepworth will be behind home plate.
Junior Chris James will play rightfield, with Nally in center. Joe Morrin will round out the Eagles’ outfield in left.
"We need to keep doing what we have been doing and we’ll be fine," said Bryan. "The team is working really hard, and they’ll do their best until the last pitch of the last out of every game." oo

FATHER JUDGE
This will be coach Tim Ginter’s first year heading the Crusaders, although the Father Judge High School alumnus is no stranger to the baseball field. For the past three years Ginter was assistant coach under Joe McDermott, who recently retired.
Ginter has some big shoes to fill this season. The Crusaders were Philadelphia Catholic League champions in 2000 and finished last year’s regular season in fourth place after defeating Archbishop Ryan in the quarterfinals.
"Once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen," said Ginter. "So everything we do is to get to the playoffs."
This season, senior Ryan Kreider will return to the Crusaders. The powerhouse pitcher and first baseman is one of the most dominant players, both offensively and defensively.
Junior Tim Ashenbrenner will be covering third base and also pitching a few innings throughout the year. Shortstop Keith Chichearo and second baseman Tom Carey will round out the infield. Joe Thompson will be catching and senior Brian Nolan will spend some innings on the mound.
All three outfielders from last season graduated, leaving plenty of opportunity for this year’s teammates to cover those positions.
"There’s a couple of guys duking it out for various spots," said Ginter. "We lost a lot of valuable seniors, so there’s a lot of competition now for those positions."
There is plenty of talent with rightfielder Jim Dilisio, centerfielder Paul McLaughlin and leftfielder Andrew McHale, but other Crusaders are hungry for playing time as well.
"These guys are thinking a lot more as a team," said Ginter. "They are competitive, but they’re also working together. I think we have a strong team this year." ••