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.

Olympics returning to Beijing in 2022

128th IOC Session
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The IOC announced on Friday that the 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing, 14 years after the Chinese capital hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Beijing's only opponent was Almaty, Kazakstan. If Almaty won, it would have become the first city in Central Asia to host the Olympics.

On the surface, Beijing may seem like the obvious choice, but that is far from the truth. Almaty may be a minor city compared to Beijing, but it has snow and a growing economy. There could have been a big returns for having the Olympics in Kazakstan's largest city. However, after the debacles in Sochi, the IOC made the right choice by going with a city that has a proven track record: Beijing.

The biggest issue with having the Winter Olympics in Beijing is snow. There is no natural snow in the city, so some events will be held in Yanhgqing (40 miles from Beijing) and Zhangjiakou (90 miles from Beijing). 

I think the big key to the Olympics in Beijing is that it will expand interest in the games in China. At Sochi 2014, China had 66 participants and won only 3 gold medals and 9 overall (12th). Having the Olympics in China will garner more interest in civilians and in athletes. China is still an untaped market in many winter sports (most notably ice hockey) and by having the games in Beijing, interest and participation in the events will rise. 

There are a lot of questions going forward for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but today is a day for China to celebrate.

Pilots, Eagles split Wednesday’s doubleheader

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

After playing a doubleheader on Tuesday, the North Jersey Eagles and Jersey Pilots played another doubleheader Wednesday. The Pilots won game one in walk-off fashion, 9-8, while the Eagles won game two 7-5.

The Eagles led for most of game one. Luis Amaro hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning and Zachary Tondi hit a solo home run in second inning to make the score 2-0. The Eagles added three more runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Ryan Rivera and Andrew Murnane and on an error on a ball hit by Paul Rufo.

The Pilots added two runs of their own in the fourth on a Rob DeAngelis triple and Austin Unglaub groundout. Both teams also scored runs in the sixth. Rivera hit a solo homer for the Eagles and Greg Kocinski had a 2 RBI single for the Pilots.

After scoring two more runs in the top of the seventh, the Eagles had an 8-4 lead. With one out, the Pilots loaded the bases with David Young at bat. He hit a single that scored one run and then Greg Kocinski hit a double that scored two runners. Those two hits cut North Jersey’s lead to one. Kocinski’s double was followed up by a Stephen Petriello sacrifice fly to tie the game. Kocinski advanced to third on the sacrifice fly.

With the game tied, Brian Dudeck came to the plate. After getting two strikes on Dudeck, Eagles pitcher Anthony Auletta threw a wild pitch. Kocinski broke immediately from third and slid in just ahead of the tag to give the Pilots the win.

In game two, the Eagles again took an early lead. They scored two runs in the first and one run in the second. The Pilots responded with two runs of their own in the third and one run in the fourth. Both teams score one run in the fifth inning. The score was 4-4 through five innings.

The Eagles blew the game open in the sixth. Murnane knocked in two runs with on an error and Amaro knocked in a run to make the score 7-4.

The Pilots did rally in the seventh, but they fell just short of tying the game. Young knocked in a run on a double and the Pilots also had runners on second and third with no outs. However, they could not manage to get the runners to cross home plate.

The Pilots are now 10-25-1, while the Eagles are now 17-21.

The Pilots will be at Quakertown on Friday and the season finale is currently set for Sunday with a doubleheader.

Slugfest between Pilots and Tide suspended in ninth inning

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com and acbl-online.com

Sunday’s game between the Jersey Pilots and the Staten Island Tide was suspended in the middle of an at-bat in the ninth inning with the game tied at 14. 

The game was also under protest by Staten Island due to a disputed run scored in the seventh inning. With the bases loaded, one out, and the score 14-10 in favor of Staten Island, Pilot first basemen David Young hit a ball to center field. Tide centerfielder Connor Powers made the catch, but ball was hit deep enough for the runner on third base to score easily. However, the runner on second base broke early. Powers threw the ball into the infield, the Tide stepped on second base, and the umpire called the runner out. The umpires said the runner that scored counted, but the Tide disagreed and put in a formal protest.

The scoring started right from the start. Charles Misiano led off the game with a double. He then stole third and scored on single. The Pilots then countered with two runs of their own in the second and three runs of their own in third. 

The Pilots four run lead was short lived. In the third, the Tide led off with back-to-back singles. Anthony Godino then hit a three run home run to cut the lead to one run.

A Justin Cassinelli sacrifice fly and a Zachary Leone RBI single gave the Tide the lead in the top of the fifth. Jersey retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning. John Scarr and Drew DeAngelis both hit singles that knocked in two runs. Through five, the score was 9-6 in favor of the Pilots.

The Tide reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth. Staten Island batted around and plated six runners in the inning. The Tide added two more runs in the seventh to take a 14-9 lead.

After the controversial seventh inning, the Pilots tied the game in the eighth. Scarr knocked in one run with a double and Brian Dudeck knocked in two with a double of his own.

There were two outs and a runner on base in the top of ninth when the game was stopped due to lightning. After a few more streaks of lightning were seen, the managers agreed to suspend the game to a later date.

At this time, a date to continue the game has not been selected.

Staten Island and Jersey will play tomorrow in Staten Island with a 5:00 start time. The Pilots return to Snyder Avenue Park on Wednesday to play a doubleheader against the North Jersey Eagles. For updates on the Pilots, visit jerseypilots.com and @ACBL_Pilots.