Pilots get third win of the year on walk-off against Tide

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

The Jersey Pilots defeated the Staten Island Tide 3-2 on Wednesday, June 15 on a walk-off walk by Pilot shortstop Justin Trochiano.

With the game tied at two, Colby Smith singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Rob DeAngelis, who has four stolen bases this season, then entered in as a pinch runner. Noah Clark bunted him over to second to put him in scoring position.

The Pilots loaded the bases after Aidan Favia reached on an error and Vic Konstantinovsky waked. With only one out, the Pilots had two chances to score the winning run. Lukas DeRenzi hit a fly ball to left field but not far enough to score DeAngelis from third.

Trochiano then stepped up to the plate. He worked a full count and then took ball four, allowing the game-winning run to score.

Jersey had taken the lead in the bottom of the third inning when, after Alex Wright reached on a single, Tom Marcinczyk crushed his first home run of the season over right field fall.

Starter Tim Pilrun went six strong for the Pilots, giving up only one run on five hits and three walks. Andrew Ciolli and winning pitcher Tyler Poulin were strong out of the bullpen, combining to give up only one run and three hits.

For the Tide, Douglas Molnar pitched eight innings, giving up seven hits and two earned runs. Austin Pollack led the Staten Island offense with three hits, and RBI, and a run scored.

The Pilots next home game is on Sunday against the South Jersey Giants at Snyder Ave. Park. The two teams will play a doubleheader with game one set for a 4:30 start time.

For more updates on the Jersey Pilots, visit jerseypilots.com or @ACBL_Pilots on twitter.

Pilots lose both games of a doubleheader against Allentown

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

The Pilots dropped two games of a doubleheader against the Allentown Railers on Sunday, June 12 at Snyder Avenue Park.

The Pilots lost game one of the doubleheader 11-7 in extra innings and then were defeated 6-2 in game two.

The Pilots were down 7-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning of game one. After a strikeout, Malcolm Kelsey doubled and Justin Trochiano walked to put two runners on base. Drew DeAngelis then singled home Kelsey and Tom Marcinczyk followed that up with a double into the gap that scored two runners and put the Pilots down by one.

After another out, Colby Smith walked up to the plate with two outs and the game-tying run in scoring position. After fouling off a few pitches, Smith hit a single up the middle that brought in Marcinczyk and tied the game for the Pilots.

After being held scoreless in the eighth, the Railers blew the game open in the ninth, scoring four runs and putting the game out of reach.

The leading Pilots in the game were Trochiano, who went 2-3 with two walks; Marcinczyk, who had three hits, including two doubles, and three RBIs; and Kelsey with two hits off the bench.

In game two of the doubleheader, the Pilots fell behind early, giving up one run in the second and four runs in the third.

The Pilots managed to get two runs in the third when Colby Smith and Alex Wright scored after a Trochiano pop fly was caught but the ball was thrown away. The throwing error allowed the two Pilots to score. However, that was all the Pilots were able to muster.

Rhett Jacoby picked up the victory for the Railers while Matt Ratner received the loss. Alvin Vega and Andrew Ciolli pitched well out of the bullpen for the Pilots. Both went two innings and had three strikeouts while only giving up one hit.

The Pilots next home game is Wednesday June 15 at Snyder Avenue Park at 6:30 against the Staten Island Tide.

Pilot of the Week: Pitcher Tim Pilrun

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

Rising junior southpaw Tim Pilrun is in his second season with the Jersey Pilots. After going 4-1 with a 3.02 ERA for the Muhlenberg Mules this spring, Pilrun continued his great pitching in the Pilots season opener. Against the New Jersey Eagles on June 1, Pirun went six strong innings, only giving up one hit and two walks while striking out five. The Pilots won the game 7-0.

Q: How did you feel after the Opening Day win?

TP: I felt good. I think it was cool to get out there and pitch live after finishing the spring season. Playing with all these guys, they are all great guys; it’s fun to be out there.

Q: Coming back for your second season with the Pilots, what are you hoping to improve on?

TP: I would really like to work on be able throwing all of my pitches for strikes and zone in on a couple certain pitches that I want to be able to throw in any count, specifically my change-up and my slider. I want to be able to thrown them on command when I want and hit my spots.

Q: What pitches do you have in your repertoire?

TP: I have a four-seam and a two-seam fastball, a change, a curveball, and a slider.

Q: With another start this week, what are you going to look to improve on?


TP: I would like to be a little bit more in the zone. I think I was in the zone a lot the first game but there were a couple batters where I had a mental lapse. I walked a guy on four pitches. I fell behind in the count to another guy. I really like to work on getting ahead of guys, especially throwing first pitch strikes. I think that is the one thing I am going to really work on for this next start: getting ahead of batters early with the first pitch.

Q: What do you like about playing for the Pilots?

TP: I like the competitive aspect of it. Everyone in this league is a solid player. Everyone can crush the ball. You can’t take anything for granted. You have to go after guys hard every single time.

Q: When the end of the season comes around, what did hope to look back and say: “I’m glad I got this accomplished?”

TP: I really want to get a lot of good innings in. I would like to consistently give my team good, quality starts. Hopefully, we win a lot of games and accomplish a lot.

Pilots run clinic; visit local children’s hospital

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

Over the last few days, the Jersey Pilots participated in two community events for local children. 

On Saturday, the team held a baseball clinic for little leagues in the area. About 35 youth ballplayers aged seven to 12 participated in a plethora of drills and activities at Snyder Ave. Field.

“[The clinic] ran for two hours, said Pilots manager Aaron Kalb. “We took them through stretch and proper throwing. We took them through a couple of stations: infield, outfield, and defensive pitching drills. Then they all got a chance to hit.”

Pilots players Drew DeAngelis, Tommy Giunta, Greg Kocinski, Tom Marcinczyk, Colby Smith, and Alex Wright helped run the clinic with Kalb and assistant coach Joe Tomachick.

DeAngelis, in his second season with the Pilots, found the experience rewarding and enjoyable.

“I thought the clinic went really well,” said DeAngelis. “It was a lot of fun for us to give back the community like that. Hopefully, it was fun for the kids. It seemed like they were having a fun time. We were happy to do it.”

On Monday, members of the Pilots went to the Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside to help with the cleaning up of the hospital playground.

Mike Gibbons, Vic Konstantinovsky, Tim Pilrun, Tyler Poulin, Taylor Parsons, and Harrison Walls cleaned the playground equipment and picked up loose tree branches and pine needles.

Before the clean-up, the players watched a video on the impact of the Hospital's volunteers and went on a tour of the facility.

“When I was setting up the season and the events, I was trying to think of something for the community,” said Kalb. “The goal was to help the kids. We didn’t personally get to meet the kids, but we were able to do something that could help them out.”

The Pilots plan to hold more community events going forward, including another clinic and a camp.

Visit jerseypilots.com for more information on upcoming games and events.

Where to Watch my Sports Reporting

Last week, I posted where to read my school sports writing (at thefanscotian.com). Now, I am posting where to find my work for my school's TV channel, where I do a multiple of projects, including on-air reporting, voice overs for highlight packages, and podcast hosting.

The link to this work is: https://www.youtube.com/user/RaidersNews. Hope you check it out and enjoy it.

Where to Read my School Writing

I apologize for not posting on the blog recently. Due to my current role as co-sports editor of my school newspaper, I have had less time for posting stories on this platform. So, I have decided to share the link to my work for my school here.

To read my articles for The Fanscotian, visit: http://www.thefanscotian.com/?author_name=peterwarren

Quick Hits On The 2015 Barclays Golf Tournament

Jordan Spieth
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Spieth Struggles

In his first (and now his only) tournament as the number one player in the world, Jordan Spieth underperformed. He shot +7 and missed the cut. It was a tournament to forget for Spieth. After starting off well on Thursday on the back nine, Spieth was 6+ on the front nine and never got back on track. With the FedEx Cup lead out of his hands, he has to put in a good performance in Boston to regain his place atop the standings.

More Stars Struggle

Rickie Fowler shot a +5 on Friday to miss the cut by one stroke. Adam Scott (+4),  Brooks Koepka (+5), and Padraig Harrington (+8) were other notables to miss the cut, along with defending FedEx Cup champ Billy Horschel. Horschel shot +13 and never looked happy with how he was playing. On the bright side, Herschel also missed the cut at the Barclays last season so he knows how to rebound.

Celebrities Show Up

Wayne Gretzky followed his son-in-law Dustin Johnson as he played his rounds throughout the tournament. Gretzky dressed in normal attire and did his best to blend in with the crowd. When Donald Trump appeared on Sunday, he did the opposite. He (and his police escorts) could be seen from holes away.

Camilo Comes Up Clutch

Heading into the tournament, Camilo Villegas was in 124 in the FedEx Cup standings. By the end of Sunday, he had snuck into the top 100, placing in at 99. By doing so, he qualified for the Deutsche Bank Championship. It did not come without difficulties. After starting off hot on Thursday, Villegas cooled down as the days progressed, shooting even on Friday and Saturday and +3 on Sunday. However, he did enough to secure his spot in Boston.

Harmon with Two Holes-In-One

For only the third time in history, a golfer hit two holes-in-one in one round. Lefty Brian Harmon aced hole 3 and 14, both par 3s and under 230 yards, on Sunday. Harmon was way out of contention at that point, but proved to be a highlight of the weekend. Harmon finished -2 for the day and for the tournament.

Jason Day
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Jason Day is the FedEx Cup Favorite

Two weeks after winning the PGA Championship with the lowest score to par ever, Jason Day won the Barclays by six strokes over Henrik Stenson. With the win, Day overtook Speith for first place in the FedEx Cup standings. And it looks like he will not give up the spot. Day shot -15 on the weekend and held the lead for most of Sunday. He looked dominant and unstoppable. With his performance in the past month-plus (three wins: RBC Canada Open, PGA, and now The Barclays) Day is the favorite to win title.