WHITE WASHED
COMETS SWEEP BEHIND 7 RBI EFFORT FROM GAVIN WHITE
The rains came late in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader between the Comets and the Aston Outlaws, but Gavin White provided the thunder all day as the Comets took a pair of games from the expansion Outlaws. The Comets (8-14) won the first game 11-3 and the second game 15-5.
White knocked in 7 runs and collected four hits, three of which were for extra bases. The big blow came in the first inning of game two, as White hit his first career home run, deep over the 30 foot fence in leftfield at DeVincent Field.
Jon Kemp picked up the victory in game one, allowing one earned run in four innings of work. Matt Breen recorded his first career save,with three scoreless innings in relief.
Breen also recorded the save in game two, after Dana Erb pitched four innings, and allowed one run. Erb (1-0) knotched his twelfth career victory, the most in Comets history.
The Comets offense pounded out 11 hits in the first game, led by: Matt Breen, Adam Goldstein and Gavin White, who each had two hits. Phil Motley had three hits in the second game, and Goldstein added another three. Jon Gerwitz also hit his first career homer, an inside-the-park liner to right that found acres of DeVincent Field Sprinturf.
The Comets are locked in as the GPMABL fifth seed, but will close the season out on Sunday at beautiful Richie Ashburn Field in FDR Park against the Phillies.
OFFENSE ABSENT IN LOSSES TO COLT .45s
The Comets offense disappeared on Sunday in two losses to the Colt .45s at Villanova Ballpark in Plymouth. The Colt .45s took the first game 4-0 and completed the sweep with a 6-2 victory in game two.
The Comets (6-14) now trail the Franklin Division leading Phillies by 3.5 games with four left to play. The teams will meet on the final Sunday of the regular season at Richie Ashburn Field. The Comets host the Outlaws on Sunday at La Salle's DeVincent Field.
COMETS DROP PAIR TO GPMABL LEADERS
July 11 - The Comets lost a pair of tough games to the Red Sox on Sunday at Latshaw-McCarthy Field in Norristown. The Red Sox (17-2) escaped with a 3-2 win in game one and a 4-3 victory in the second game.
Comets starter Jon Kemp allowed two runs in six innings of work against a Red Sox offense that average 12 runs per game in their last 3 contests. Kemp also cracked a two-out triple to put the go-ahead run 90 feet away in the top of the seventh. Brett Mandel grounded a ball up the middle, which was deflected by Red Sox pitcher Eric Guise and scooped up by Sox second baseman Steve McDermet. McDermet's throw narrowly beat a hustling Mandel, as the Sox squashed the Comets scoring opportunity.
Kemp was followed on the mound by Matt Breen, who worked a scoreless seventh to push the game to extra frames. With runners on first and second and one out in the bottom of the eight, Breen seemingly rolled a double-play ball to get out of the jam. The Comets were unable to complete the back-end of the double-play, however, and the winning run crossed the plate for the Sox.
The Comets rallied from a 4-1 deficit in game two to make it a one run game. The maroon and gold loaded the bases in the botom of the sixth with nobody out, but the Sox converted an improbable triple play to get out of the inning. Starter Phil Motley was the hard-luck loser, allowing four unearned runs in the complete game loss.
The Comets (6-12) trail the Montco Phillies (8-11) by 1.5 games in the Franklin Division pennat race. The club will travel to beautiful Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth to play the Colt .45s on Sunday at 10A.
GPMABL PLAYS AT DOUBLEDAY FIELD
Members of the GPMABL spent the Fourth of July weekend in Cooperstown, NY playing ball at historic Doubleday Field. The GPMABL took on the Capital District MSBL (Albany, NY) on Saturday, July 3. In front of a steady crowd of visitors to the Hall of Fame, the CDMSBL won 12-2.
Comets Brett Mandel, Dana Erb, Adam Goldstein, Patrique Mickens, and Matt Gionta. Erb started the game for Philadelphia, hurling six innings. Erb wasn't helped by a shaky Philadelphia defense, which had several players playing out of position. Goldstein played centerfield, shortstop and threw two innings on the mound.
Brett Mandel paced the Philadelphia offense at the plate with two hit, including a double. Mandel also turned a double-play on a line drive, much to the delight of the Cooperstown crowd. Patrique Mickens also thrilled the crowd with a diving catch while patrolling center field.
Catcher Matt Gionta scored one of the two Philadelphia runs, after walking and stealing second. Gionta's trip to the Hall of Fame was a rough one, however, after being run over in a close play at the plate and knocked over by the CDMSBL's first baseman on an errant throw.
Three members of the Athletics joined the Comets on the GPMABL squad: Brian Simon, Sol Raie and Bill Mason.
COMETS SWEEP PHILLIES; TIGHTEN PENNANT RACE
The Comets put themselves right back in the thick of the Franklin Division pennant race, after sweeping the Phillies at DeVincent Field on Sunday, June 27. The Comets (6-10) now trail the Phillies (7-10) by just a half game entering the Fourth of July break.
Rookie hurlers Jon Kemp and Matt Breen each picked up complete-game victories. Kemp held the Phillies to just one run in a 2-1 opening game victory, while Breen allowed four runs (all unearned) in eight gutsy innings to finish the sweep.
Trailing 1-0 late in the opening game, DeWitt Brown stroked a two-out triple to plate Phil Motley. Andrew Marcus followed with another triple, a shot to right field that scored Brown to put the Comets ahead for good, 2-1.
Game two started with a bang, as leadoff hitter Matt Breen walked and came around to score to put the Comets ahead 1-0. The offense was held scoreless until exploding for 7 runs in the last two innings.
A defensive lapse and string of errors helped the Phillies mount at 4-1 lead going into the last frame. The game looked all but lost, as the Phillies had one out in the seventh and struck out DeWitt Brown for what appeared to be out number two. The ball hit the dirt however, and the Phillies could not get a hustling Brown. Rafi Cave came in to run for Brown, narrowly beating out a fielders choice at second on the next pitch. With still only one out, Patrique Mickens worked a walk to load the bases for pinch-hitter Andrew Marcus.
Marcus drove a fly-ball to right field, easily scoring Cave. Down to their last out and trailing by a pair, Comets hurler Matt Breen drove in Mandel and Mickens to dramatically tie the game and force extra frames.
Perhaps the oppressive heat bursting off the SprinTurf surface at DeVincent Field helped the Comets bats stayed hot during extra innings. It may have been, however, just a matter of a team playing with confidence and refusing to back down from a challenge.
Joe Cice led off the Comets seventh with a single, followed by Adam Goldstein being hit by a pitch and a Gavin White infield single. Phil Motley, fresh off a 2 week stint on the Disabled List with a strained oblique, lined a two-run single up the middle to put the Comets ahead for good. DeWitt Brown and Brett Mandel (RBI) followed with singles, and Andrew Marcus hit into a fielders' choice to score Motley. Breen pitched a perfect eighth to secure the win.
Several Comets including: Matt Gionta, Patrique Mickens, Brett Mandel, Adam Goldstein and Dana Erb will compete for the GPMABL team against the Capital District (NY) MSBL on July 3 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY. The Comets will then move their attention to a battle with the overall standings leading Red Sox, with a July 11 game at Latshaw-McCarthy Field in Norristown.
