Sports

                Perkiomen Post 184 sure has shown a sense of urgency.

                With the Bux-Mont Legion League season at the halfway point, Perkiomen realized it was going to need to finish strong if it hopes to earn its spot in playoffs.

                Up until last Thursday, the team was on a six-game slide that left Perk with a 2-7 mark on the season.

                But boy have things changed.

                No one outside the team knows exactly what veteran manager Ernie Quatrani said, or exactly what buttons the master motivator decided to push, but whatever the case, the results have spoken for themselves.

                Post 184 turned things around starting last Thursday with a 4-2 victory over Plumstead at Bonekemper Field. They built momentum a day later with an 18-4 romp at Lansdale and kept things rolling Sunday with a hard-fought 3-2 nod on the road again at Doylestown.

                The three-game win streak has not only boosted Perk’s morale, but its position in the standings as well. As of Tuesday, Perkiomen was holding down the eighth spot in the 12-team league with a 5-7 mark. If Perk wants to make the playoffs, they’ll need to hold down their current spot as the top eight teams qualify.

                Perk’s one-run win over Doylestown on Saturday avenged a loss to the latter on June 14. Post 184 fell behind early, but rallied to make a game of it in a 15-11 setback. Both offenses were off that pace Saturday as Perk mustered just three hits. Nonetheless, Perk jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second on a single by Jake Dougherty and a sac fly by Dan Rodenberger.

                Perk went ahead 3-1 on a suicide squeeze by Kyle Saylor, who supported his own effort on the hill (5 1/3 innings, seven hits, two walks, strikeout). Andrew Farris took over and worked his way out of a jam in the sixth inning, then hurled a scoreless ninth.

                Against Lansdale, Farris knocked in four runs as pitcher Jarrett Tornetta totaled a career-high 10 strikeouts as part of a complete-game effort. He also toted one of his team’s bigger bats with 3 RBI on two hits. Collin Weiss was 2-2 with three runs scored and 3 RBI. Tim Mayza had two hits.

                Against Plumstead, Alex Moll threw a complete-game four-hitter as Mayza blasted a two-run homer and Mike Paul went 3 for 3 with two doubles.

                Perk will look to continue its upward trend this week. The team played at Quakertown’s Memorial Stadium yesterday, and will travel to Silver Creek (1-12) today before coming home to host Silver Creek on Friday. Nor-Gwyn (11-1) holds the top stop in the league standings, followed by Pennridge (9-2), Hatfield (9-3), Warrington (9-4), Pottstown (8-4), Doylestown (9-6) and Quakertown (8-7).

                Play a sport long enough and you get to experience the highs and lows it has to offer. Unfortunately for the Upper Perk Jr. Legion Braves team, their season has seen a lot more lows than highs.                                 

                That first victory was just outs away last Saturday when the Braves hosted Phoenixville at Bonekemper Field, but as luck, or bad luck, would have it, the home team would come away on the wrong side of the score yet again as they fell to Phoenixville 6-1.

                The game was much closer than the score might suggest. In the home half of the first, the Braves put runners on the corners but the inning ended on a double play as a ball headed for center field was scooped up by the Phoenixville shortstop and turned into an inning-ending double play.

                In the second the Braves left a man on second and in the third another scoring threat was wiped out when Phoenixville turned its second double play of the game.                            

                Meanwhile the Braves starting pitcher David Hoffman was doing all he could to keep the opponents off of the scoreboard.

                When Phoenixville put a runner on third in the top of the second, Hoffman ended the inning with a strikeout. When Phoenixville challenged again by putting runners on second and third with one out, Hoffman recorded another strikeout then induced an infield pop up to end the threat.                                         

                When James Clingman led off the home half of the fourth with a triple, Hoffman made sure he would return to the mound with a lead. Hoffman singled plating Clingman for the 1-0 lead. The RBI single came none too soon as the inning ended on Phoenixville’s third double play of the game.

                Phoenixville came close to scoring again in the fifth but Hoffman stranded yet another runner 90 feet away.

                The visitors threatened again in the sixth putting two on with one out. Hoffman came through with another strikeout and, once again, could see his way out of the inning.

                When the next batter hit a high fly ball, it appeared Hoffman had made the pitch he needed to preserve the 1-0 lead, but once again things would go terribly wrong for the Braves.

                Lost in the afternoon sky, the inning-ending fly ball landed untouched in the outfield and before the Brave defense could retrieve the ball, both Phoenixville runners had crossed home plate and the Braves trailed 2-1.

                Hoffman would leave at the end of six and Phoenixville would score four more runs in the top of the seventh on their way to the 6-1 win.

                “Today was a tough one," said Braves Head Coach Tristan Harner. "We’ve had a tough year but we played pretty well the last few games. We are improving.”

                For Hoffman it was his best outing of the year, scattering six hits while striking out eight.

                “David was very good today," said Harner. "He hit his spots and pitched out of jams. It would have been nice to get him a win.”

                The Braves next home game is Saturday at 10 a.m. against Boyertown.