Quakertown Blazers Baseball

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Quakertown Takes 2 From Trenton July 2, 2022 Article Courtesy of Will Neusidl for PA Sports Beat, Covering the Lehigh Valley Today the Quakertown Blazers played the Trenton Generals in a Doubleheader. The Blazers won game one 10-7 after withstanding an 7th inning rally by the Generals. Owen Petrich of Delaware University went 3 for 4 including 2 HRs in his first to plate appearances on the day, while Andrew Nole and Riley Davis of Lehigh, Conlan Wall of St. Joes, and Eric Shandler of UMBC all added RBI singles. Ben Christian of Lehigh scattered 3 runs over 6 IP striking out 6 and Malachai Duka of LVC slammed the door with the same to close it out. In game two, the Blazers got the scoring started in the bottom of the 1st when Zack Kovalchik of Sacred Heart hit a single to score Riley Davis of Lehigh. Kovalchik would score on a double by Dominic Proietto of Kutztown to make it 2-0 Blazers. The Blazers would cap the scoring in the bottom of the 4th when Lucas Floyd of Alvernia singled in Conlan Wall of St Joes and Sean Szestowicki of West Chester hit a sacrifice fly to score RJ Huth of Chestnut Hill. That would be all of the run support Joe Valenti needed as the Misericordia Senior threw a complete game shutout, allowing only 3 hits and struck out 2 batters in a 4-0 victory. Click here to see interview with Joe Valenti, at PA Sportsbeat
Heavy Hearts Everywhere, Dr. Tom Bonekemper has Passed Away June 29, 2022 It is with a heavy heart that today we announce and mourn the death of long time Quakertown Blazers owner, Dr. Tom Bonekemper. Tom was a founding member of the Quakertown Blazers when they moved the Allentown Wings franchise prior to the 1984 season instead of letting the franchise fold. Tom and his twin brother George saved the franchise and provided 38 years worth of players and coaches the opportunity to play high level baseball and develop both on and off the field. Tom always put the organization first for the benefit of the kids and ensured that the Blazers were role models to their fans and the community. This level of drive, passion, and selflessness led to him becoming the president of the ACBL where he led the league for years until 2020. Under Tom’s guidance, the league thrived, year after year, despite a growing competitive market and teams coming and leaving the league. Tom’s steadiness and graciousness served as the ultimate example of leadership to his colleagues will never be forgotten.
Blazers Split DH on the Road June 25, 2022 Joe Valenti (Misericordia) recorded another complete game shutout in a 2-0 game 1 victory over the New Brunswick Matrix Saturday afternoon. Valenti went the distance scattering 3 hits while striking out 6, bringing his season ERA to a 0.43. Offensively, Tom Faggioni (Alvernia), Riley Davis (Lehigh), Cole Hertzler (Liberty), Zack Kovalchik, Conlan Wall (St. Joes), and Josh Hankins (Coppin St) had the hits for the Blazers, with Wall and Carter Jagiela (St. Joes) having the RBIs. In game 2, the Matrix hit 2 3-run homeruns in the game and another RBI ground out to take the win 7-2. Ben Christian (Lehigh) went for 5 innings and Tom McLaughlin (Franklin & Marshall) threw the 6th inning. Owen Petrich (Delaware) had two hits including a double to CF, while Faggioni, Hertzler, and Andrew Nole (Lehigh) added a hit each. The Blazers are back in action on the road tomorrow at Ocean for a double header starting at 2:30 pm.
Blazers Beat Metros 11-1 June 21, 2022 The Quakertown Blazers took sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) with their win over divisional foe Bergen County Metros at Memorial Park in Quakertown tonight. Quinn Warmkessel of East Stroudsburg University earned the win on the mound tossing 5 innings of 3 hit baseball and surrendering just 1 run while striking out 4 hitters. Cody Barberio of West Chester University threw 2 scoreless innings of relief and Blaise Sclafani of Penn State University threw a perfect 8th inning. Offensively, the Blazers were led by Domenic Proietto of Kutztown University and Cole Hertzler of Liberty University who both had 3 hits and 2 RBIs in tonight’s action. Proietto’s success included a 2-run home run in 5th inning, which was his first of the season, and Owen Petrich of The University of Delaware added 2 doubles and 4 RBIs to round out the Blazer 11-1 victory. The Blazers hit the road for tilts against the New Brunswick Matrix, Ocean Ospreys, and the Jersey Pilots before they return home next Thursday night at 7 pm vs the Ocean Ospreys.
Blazers Split with Bergen June 20, 2022 Article Courtesy of Will Neusidl for PA Sports Beat, Covering the Lehigh Valley Greetings sports fanatics! Today the Quakertown Blazers played host to the Bergen Metros in a double header. In Game one, the Metros started the scoring in the 4th inning when Christian Alonso of Ramapo hit a single to drive in Michael Taylor of Fordham. Jimmy Brennan of Post and Frankie Demaro of Southern New Hampshire scored on Blazers errors in the top of the 6th to extend Bergens lead to 3-0. Ethan Young of Bergen hit a sacrifice fly to score Robert Estrada of Bergen to make it 4-0. That would be be all the run support Kyle McCaffrey of Albany would need, as he needed only 77 pitches to complete the shutout. Kyle stated after the game that the shutout was an amazing accomplishment after not starting a game since high school! Click here to see interview with Kyle McCaffrey, at PA Sportsbeat In game 2, the Metros again started the scoring off in the top of the 3rd when Michael Taylor drove Drew Guerra of St. Thomas Aquinus home with a single. AJ Donofrio of Fairfield would drive Taylor home with another single to make it 2-0 Metros. The Blazers would get one back in the bottom of the 3rd when Lucas Floyd of Alvernia hit a long fly to right to score Carter Jagiela of St Joes. Josh Hankins of Coppin St would tie it at 2 with a single to score Floyd. Tommy Faggioni of Alvernia would give the Blazers the lead when he scored on a wild pitch. Riley Davis of Lehigh would then hit a single to drive Hankins home and make the Blazers lead 4-2. Zack Kovalchik of Sacred Heart hit a SF to center to score Owen Petrich of Delaware and extend the Blazers lead to 3. Davis would score on an error to cap a 6 run 3rd for the Blazers. Pablo Santos of Rutgers and Taylor would score on a Blazers error in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-4. The Blazers would score 8 runs in the bottom of the 6th to end the game on a mercy rule 14-4. Eddie Olson of Moravian earned the victory in his Blazers debut, allowing 4 runs, only 2 were earned, and striking out 6 in a complete game. Olsen and Jagiela, who went 3-4 with an RBI, both stated that the victory was important for the teams morale after a lackluster game 1 loss. Click here to see interview with Eddie Olson and Carter Jagiela, at PA Sportsbeat
Reese, Shandler Lead Blazers Past Trenton 4-2 June 17, 2022 Article Courtesy of Will Neusidl for PA Sports Beat, Covering the Lehigh Valley Greetings sports fanatics! The Quakertown Blazers hosted the Trenton Generals today. The Generals started the scoring early in top of the 2nd inning when Chris Reeder of TCNJ hit a SF to center to score Brian Nicolas of Coppin State. The Blazers would take the lead in the bottom of the 4th when Eric Shandler hit a double off Anthony St John of Babson to drive in Thomas Faggioni of Alvernia and Conlan Wall of St Joes. Wall would score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 6th to make it 3-1 Blazers. Faggioni scored the final run on another wild pitch in the bottom of the 7th to extend the Blazers lead by 3. Nicolas would hit a deep double to center to score Kevin Putsky of NJIT to make it 4-2. Carter Heller of Gardner Webb would get Reeder to ground out to shortstop to preserve the Blazers victory! Jake Reese earned the victory going 7 innings and allowing only 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 8. Shandler stated after the game he was looking for a curveball and finally got one during his crucial at bat! Click here to see interview with Eric Shandler, at PA Sportsbeat
Blazers Split a Pair with Kings June 14, 2022 Article Courtesy of Will Neusidl for PA Sports Beat, Covering the Lehigh Valley The Quakertown Blazers hosted the South Jersey Kings in a doubleheader today. In game 1, South Jersey score the first run of the game in the top of the 2nd on an RBI groundout by Anthony Swenda of UMBC. Chase Conklin of Richmond hit a groundout to second that scored Swenda in the top of the 4th to make it 2-0 Kings. The Blazers would cut the deficit in the bottom of the 4th when Dominic Proietto of Kutztown hit an RBI groundout to score Riley Davis of Lehigh. The next batter, Conlan Wall of St Joes, hit a double that scored Owen Petrich of Delaware to give the Blazers their first lead of the game. The Kings would tie the game up when John DeMucci of West Chester scored on a wild pitch. In the 8th inning, Swenda scored from first when the Blazers suffered a series of errors while trying to throw him out stealing second base. The sequence gave the Kings the lead back 4-3. Robby Barrientos of Old Dominion added an insurance run by hitting a double to score Conklin. The Blazers would cut the deficit by one again when Cole Hertzler of Liberty scored on a error by the third baseman. However, Hunter Sibley of Arcadia would strike out the final hitter to leave the tying run on 3rd and the go ahead run on 1st to end the game and give the Kings a 5-4 victory in game 1. Matt Choi threw 2 innings of scoreless relief for the Blazers while striking out 4. Click here to see interview with the Kings, Hunter Sibley, at PA Sportsbeat In Game 2, Luke Lesch of Rider hit a 2 Run HR in the top of the 4th to give the Kings a 2-0 lead. The Blazers would cut the lead to one as Cole Hertzler scored on wild pitch in the bottom of the 4th. Riley Davis of Lehigh would hit a double to score Thomas Faggioni and Eric Shandler of UMBC and gave the Blazers a 3-2 lead. An error by the shortstop scored Davis to increase the Blazers lead to 4-2. in the bottom of the 5th, Faggioni hit a double to score Hertzler and Andrew Nole of Lehigh to make the lead 6-2. Faggioni would score on an error by the shortstop to make it 7-2 Blazers. The Kings then cut the deficit down to 7-3 in the top of the 6th when Matthew Sheppard of Cumberland Community College hit a single to score Chris Baker of Virginia. In the bottom of the 6th, Sheppard overthrew the third baseman trying to catch a stealing RJ Huth of Chestnut Hill College, allowing Huth to score and make it 8-3 Blazers. In the top of the 7th, Lesch hit a single to score Baker and Anthony Swenda to cut the Blazers lead to 3. Baker would score on a wild pitch to make it a two run game. However. Tom McLaughlin of Franklin & Marshall got Michael Decker of Columbia to fly out to 3rd to preserve the 8-6 victory. Quinn Warmkessel of East Stroudsburg earned the victory by going 4.2 innings allowing only 2 runs and striking out 9. Quinn stated that pitching well is a confidence booster after redshirting his freshman year at ESU. Click here to see interview with Quinn Warmkessel the winning pitcher for the Blazers in Game 2, at PA Sportsbeat