Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Week Two: Comets split with Expansion Generals

GAME ONE:  Generals 15, Comets 14
WP - Randy Schwaeble
LP - Clancy Philbrick

The Comets never say die attitude was on display again this Sunday at Boyce Field in Roxborough. The Comets scored six runs in the sixth inning an four more runs in the seventh inning to keep the Generals nervous.

Behind those rallies were a two-run double from Andrew Dean and a pinch-hit RBI single from Brian Chernuta. Gavin White had three hits and 4 RBIs in the loss as Comets defense and pitching could not hold of the Generals in the bottom of the seventh inning.

While the Comets will rebound from the loss, they will miss center fielder Dennis Rudzinski, who was injured in the sixth inning of the contest. They Comets cannot wait to have the rookie back healthy to be a spark to the squad in the playoffs.

GAME TWO: Comets 11, Generals 5

Jason Rompola was back to the mound again to help the Comets rebound from a toss Game One loss. Rompola allowed five unearned runs in the third inning, while the other six frames were scoreless. Rompola struck out seven Generals. He also had two hits in the win.

Matt Allen drove in three runs and JR Llanot made his 2016 debut with a pair of hits of his own, including a nice grab in right field.

The Comets host the Muckdogs this week, who enter Week Three sporting a 4-0 record.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Week One: Romp fans 14, Comets split with Irish

GAME ONE: Irish 7, Comets 4 (8 innings)
WP - Jason Aikens
LP - John Estok

The Comets rallied to force extra innings in the season opener, but failed to come through in the extra frame. The 40-year old rookie Peter Harper poked a double down the right field line to tie the contest in the sixth inning.

Another newcomer John Estok made quick work of the Irish in the seventh inning to force free baseball. Andrew Napoli drove in two runs in the first inning and rookie Dennis "D-Ski" Rudzinski recorded his first two GPMABL hits in the loss.

Manager Andrew Marcus set the new GPMABL record with his second steal of the afternoon, surpassing Ryan Golderer's 82 mark. Marcus now has 85 career steals.

GAME TWO: Comets 8, Irish 0
WP - Jason Rompola
LP - Christian Rahman

Jason "J-Romp" Rompola cruised through the Irish order, scattering three hits over a complete game shutout. He fanned 14 batters and added two hits, including a two-run triple.

His battery-mate Andrew Dean had three hits and three RBIs in the first win of the young season. Matt Allen and Rudzinski also had multiple hits in the win.

The Comets will take on the expansion team Germantown Generals next week at Boyce Field in Roxborough.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Milestones for the Comet Cornerstones

Now that GPMABL commissioner Brett Mandel is playing in the "GPMABL Classic League" and the longtime Comet has records left to be broken. Several of them could fall during the 2016 season. As several of the longtime Comets are coming up on special milestone numbers.

While the humble Gavin White thinks nothing of his excellent 7 seasons, stating "it's just longevity", he is about to hit historic league standards because he has put up MVP numbers for almost a decade. These Comets certainly have earned all the stats they have accrued and they should all be very proud of their accomplishments.

White, the 28 year-old first basemen, sits at 161 hits entering his 8th season. His 10th hit will make him the Comets All-Time Hits Leader surpassing Mandel (170) and his 27th hit will make him the GPMABL All-Time Hit King surpassing the A's Billy Mason (187).

Former GPMABL MVP Jason Rompola enters his sixth season with 106 hits. A 24-hit season would make "Romp" the 10th player in GPMABL history to record 130 hits. Considering the infielder/pitcher had 42 hits in 2014, he should be able to reach that mark in 2016.

The current manager Andrew Marcus enters his 9th season with a chance to be the GPMABL's version of Rickey Henderson. Sitting at 81 steals the infielder will tie former Montco Phillie Ryan Golderer (82) with his first bag of the season and be alone at the top of the list with his second steal of the season.

Middle-of-the-order bats Matt Allen and Kyle Riley should both record their 50th career RBIs this season. Riley has 48 steaks and Allen has 42 runs knocked in. Riley also has 87 hits and could have his 100th hit this season.

Phil Motley already the Comets all-time win leader (45) hopefully will record five more this season become the 3rd pitcher in GPMABL to have 50 career wins with Colt .45's Ian Downes and Red Sox Brett Binder.

Motley's personal catcher and longtime Comet manager Matt Gionta has built this winning culture since 2006. Already the team's winningest manager, the backstop has been a part of 133 wins and with a successful 2016 could hit an impressive 150 win.