Skippack atop Perky League standings
With two weeks left in the regular season, the Skippack Lumberjacks have a 2.5 game lead atop the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League standings.
While the Lumberjacks are a new team in the Perky League, they have plenty of familiar faces.
Skippack features five former Perky League Most Valuable Players. Charlie Hooker won the award last year, Kyle Wenger won in 2018, Lenny DelGrippo in 2017 and 2010, Rob Zinsmeister in 2016 and 2014 and Matt Sperling in 2015, 2005 and 2004.
The Lumberjacks have built their 15-2 record with dominance on both offense and defense. They lead the league in runs scored with 163 and runs allowed with 42.
The offense is led by five every day players hitting .400 or better. Frank Pollock leads the way at .477 while Hooker is hitting .422, DelGrippo .412, Wenger .410 and Jim Fasano .405.
DelGrippo leads the team with 11 extra-base hits — six doubles and five home runs — and is tied with Pollock for a team-high 22 RBI.
Skippack’s defensive success can be attributed to a strong pitching staff. All 10 pitchers that have thrown at least one inning have an ERA of 3.00 or better.
Sperling has the best record at 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA while Tyler Eckman is 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA. Brett Moyer and Pete Moore have each allowed just one earned run with matching 2-0 records. Moyer has thrown 17 innings and Moore 12.
Skippack’s toughest games remaining in the regular season figure to be a pair against the Plymouth Diamonds on July 6 and July 8. The Diamonds are in third place with a 13-6-1 record.
DEFENDING CHAMPS >> The 2020 Perky League champions Valley Forge are in second place, 2.5 games behind Skippack at 14-6. The Bucks lost two games against the Lumberjacks on backto-back days in the middle of June, 9-2 and 3-2.
After making it three straight losses against Plymouth, 12-5, Valley Forge got back on track. They’ve won five straight games by a combined
score of 34-11. Colt Narciso leads the offense with a .423 average while Zach Smiley’s 0.30 ERA paces the pitchers with more than 10 innings.
BUX-MONT >> The Bux-Mont American Legion League regular season ends next week and the race for first place is a tight one.
Hatfield-Towamencin, Perkiomen and Nor-Gwyn are tied for first place with 14 points apiece. H-T holds the tiebreaker with a 7-1 record while the other two teams are 7-2.
H-T and Perkiomen split their two meetings this season. H-T’s win came in extra innings earlier this week.
Nor-Gwyn beat Perkiomen earlier this season and lost to H-T, but still plays each team one more time over its final three games of the regular season.
GNALB >> The Greater Norristown American Legion Baseball League regular season ends next week and the fiveteam standings are taking shape.
Whitemarsh and Perk Valley are contending for first place. Whitemarsh has the inside track with a 1.5 game lead and two games remaining.
Valley Forge holds a 1.5 game lead over JP Mascaro for third place. Each team has three games remaining and they play each other twice.
Mount Carmel is in fifth place with a 1-9-1 record and one game remaining.