2009

Lehigh Valley Conference and District XI Champions!!

Welcome to the 2009 Parkland High School Trojan's Baseball Web Site.  This site will be updated on a regular basis during the season (March through June)

Feel free to browse our site and learn about our program.

Check Parkland Baseball News Link for latest information, recent game updates and Morning Call articles 

The Tabs on the left most useful are: Photo Albums (to view photos) Parkland Baseball News, Team Calender, Game Schedule/Scores, Player Rosters, Field Directions, Links and Handouts.

Parkland baseball team of the year

By Stephen Miller

OF THE MORNING CALL

June 19, 2009

Copyright © 2009, The Morning Call

Parkland's Galucy baseball coach of the year

http://www.mcall.com/sports/all-s-galucy.6932098jun19,0,3649221.story

Parkland's Andrew Kulp pitcher of the year

http://www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/all-s-kulp.6933125jun19,0,4533620.story

Lehigh Valley Live

Channel 69 Video

http://wfmz.com/sports/view/?id=1170150&title=Parkland%20Loses%20to%20North%20Penn%20in%20Baseball%20Championship

Morning Call On Line Photos

http://www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/all-5baseballpark-061209-pg,0,2197347.photogallery

themorningcall.com

Parkland ends baseball season one rally short

By Stephen Miller

OF THE MORNING CALL

June 13, 2009

-- An M.J. Miorelli foul ball with home-run distance gave the first indication that Parkland had life. Three straight one-out singles, the last of which finally gave the Trojans their first run in the bottom of the seventh inning, sparked hopes of one more comeback in a playoff run that featured a couple of them.

North Penn ace Eric Ruth refused to unravel. He rebounded from allowing back-to-back-to-back hits to get the two outs needed to finish what he started.

The last one, a line drive off the bat of Parkland second baseman Luke Jaindl, kicked off a celebration for the Knights at Blair County Ballpark. It clinched Ruth's complete-game six-hitter and gave District One No. 5 seed North Penn a 3-1 win over District 11 champion Parkland in Friday's PIAA Class 4A baseball state final. The state championship is the first for the Knights' baseball program and denied the Trojans (21-7) the first baseball state title in their history.

'I was picturing [Mike] Tenaglia popping one there to end it,' Parkland coach Tony Galucy said. 'Their kid pitched a good game. We hit the ball pretty well, I thought. We had some line drives that were caught. There were no what-ifs in this. When they got their hits, they were hits.

'Our kids went down swinging. I'm proud of how they battled back all year. This is the best team that's ever gone through.'

A rally from six runs down in the District 11 semifinals against Northampton and from 2-1 down in the eighth inning against Pennridge in the first round of states allowed Parkland to play for a state title Friday. They faced a tough challenge in trying to rally against Ruth, who will continue to pitch at Division I Winthrop next season.

Parkland had just three singles when it came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh down by three runs. A single by Jon Gabriel (2-for-3) and another by Dan Klem got a rally going for Joe Abeln, who ripped an RBI single to center field to make it 3-1.

Undeterred by the hits he allowed, Ruth regrouped. He whiffed Tenaglia for his sixth and final strikeout of the afternoon before Jaindl lined out to first to end the game.

Ruth's third complete game of the postseason capped his brilliant senior season. He finished the year 12-1 with a 1.15 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings.

'I was just ready to fight through it,' Ruth said. 'A couple of hits, I don't get shaken up too much. They stayed behind me after that, got the final two outs of the game, and we're state champions.'

Had a handful of plays gone in Parkland's favor, it could have been celebrating a state title. Starter Casey Cooperman allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings to keep the Trojans close. His line may have been better had one fifth-inning ball not wound up on the ground.

It came off the bat of North Penn No. 9 hitter Mark Grassie (2-for-3, one run). He drove a ball to left field that sent Abeln sprinting to his left. Abeln dove for the ball and had it in his glove for a moment, but it popped out when he hit the ground, allowing Grassie to race to second with a one-out double.

Robbie Zinsmiester followed with an RBI double to snap the scoreless tie, and a two-out RBI single by Scotty Christy gave the Knights a 2-0 lead.

'It was in my glove,' Abeln said. 'I was pretty upset. What are you going to do? That's baseball.'

North Penn added its final run in the top of the seventh on Justin Davey's RBI triple. Parkland thought it had one more rally in it. 'It didn't happen,' Cooperman said. 'I'm just going to enjoy this. It was a great season. I can't complain about how far we got this year.'

North Penn0000201--390

Parkland0000001--160

Ruth and Albaugh; Cooperman, M. Smith (7) and Gabriel.

Unbelievalble.  What a season this has been.....and we are not done yet.  The Trojans played flawless baseball and Kulp pitched a phenomenal game to lead the team to the state title game in Altoona on Friday June 12 against North Penn.  One more victory to go!

Below are links to newspaper and online articles from local papers and Philadelphia area.  Check out the photo galleries in the online newspapers as well

http://www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/all-philsscore-a-al7mk.6924499jun09,0,3912745.story 

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1244520352178320.xml&coll=3

Channel 69 Video

http://wfmz.com/sports/view/?id=1126111&title=Parkland%20Baseball%2C%20Softball%20Teams%20Reach%20Title%20Games%3B%20Beca%20Too 

Diane McAllister Photos (Personal Site)

www.gallery.me.com/dianemcallister1

Parkland baseball team jelling at right time

By Stephen Miller

OF THE MORNING CALL

June 8, 2009

Copyright © 2009, The Morning Call

The Trojan train keeps rolling along.  Parkland made it look easy in a 7-1 victory over Wyoming Valley West with a combination of outstanding pitching by Casey Cooperman and the 10 hit 7 run assault led by MJ Miorelli (3 for 4 with HR).

Parkland will play in the PIAA State semi-final game on Monday 2PM at Springford High School against the winner of St Joe's Prep vs West Chester East game scheduled for Friday afternoon.

More newpaper stories, photos and video clips on the Trojan victory over Wyoming Valley West can be found at the following links.   You may be expecially interested in reading articles from the perspective of the Wyoming Valley local newspapers, CitizensVoice and TimesLeader.  Also be sure to check out the WFMZ Channel 69 news clip from the game including an interview with MJ Miorelli.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/all-baseball.6921724jun05,0,4465829.story

http://www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/all-5parklandbb-060509,0,3328716.photogallery

http://www.timesleader.com/sports/Parkland_too_much_for_WVW_06-05-2009.html

http://www.citizensvoice.com/articles/2009/06/05/sports/wb_voice.20090605.t.pg36.cv05bavalleywest_s1.2578172_spo1.txt

Video:  Channel 69 News

http://wfmz.com/sports/view/?id=1103612&title=Parkland%20Baseball%20Team%20Beats%20Wyoming%20Valley%20West

Varsity Player of the Week

Casey Cooperman, Parkland ... threw a complete game 2-hitter and struck out 12 in District 11 4A baseball final win over Emmaus.

What a win!!  The Trojan's find another way to win in thrilling fashion!  On to the PIAA Quarterfinals against Wyoming Valley West on June 4. Time and Place TBD 

Here are links to three different articles and video

Morning Call

http://www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/all-baseball.6917495jun02,0,1184435.story

Lehigh Valley Live Sports

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2009/06/parkland_high_school_baseball.html

WFMZ Channel 69 Video

http://wfmz.com/sports/view/?id=1073085&title=Parkland%20Gets%20Walk-Off%20Win%20To%20Open%20State%20Playoffs

Cooperman's gem lifts Trojans

Parkland ace strikes out 12, tosses two-hit shutout to beat Emmaus, giving Trojans the District 11 Class 4A title.

By Stephen Miller

OF THE MORNING CALL

May 30, 2009

Two Lehigh Valley Conference titles and one undefeated regular season had led to zero District 11 titles for Parkland over the last two seasons.

After graduating their top three pitchers from last year, the Trojans finally added district gold to an LVC crown this season.

Casey Cooperman, the one pitcher Parkland expected to front its rotation when this season began, continued his late-season brilliance Friday against his team's No. 1 rival. He struck out 12 in a two-hit complete-game shutout to lead the second-seeded Trojans to a 3-0 win over fourth-seeded Emmaus in the District 11 Class 4A baseball final at Sammy Balliet Stadium.

The district championship is Parkland's first since baseball added a 4A classification in 2005. Parkland's last district title came as a Class 3A team in 2003.

'This feels like it gets the monkey off our back,' Parkland coach Tony Galucy said. 'My first year here, we won it in 2003. Now it's 2009. You had to wait six years for another one. The opportunity was in front of us tonight, and boy, these kids came up huge.'

Parkland will open play in the PIAA Class 4A tournament Monday with a first-round game against Pennridge, the District One No. 3 qualifier, at 2:30 p.m. at Sammy Balliet Stadium. Emmaus ended its season at 19-4, finishing second to Parkland (18-6) for both the LVC and district titles.

Emmaus had little chance Friday against Cooperman. With one of his best fastballs of the season and a wicked slurve, he limited the Green Hornets to two singles and walked none. He overmatched the heart of Emmaus' lineup, striking out three-four-five hitters Dan Johnson, John Barr and Brandon Wilt seven times while holding them hitless in nine at-bats.

The complete-game win was the fourth straight for Cooperman (5-3). His hot streak started with a no-hitter against Freedom and included a three-hit shutout of Nazareth in the district quarterfinals.

Friday's effort was his best yet considering the circumstances. So much for the slow start he had after opening the year as Parkland's No. 1 pitcher in place of the departed Joe Candelmo, Cody Weiss and Dan Moller.

'Working on different things at home, in the basement, working on my mechanics, has definitely helped,' Cooperman said. 'Other than that, I've just been going out there throwing and having fun.'

Said Emmaus coach John Schreiner: 'The kid threw a heck of a game. We had chances, and we couldn't get him. The kid threw strikes and he struck us out.'

Parkland gave Cooperman an early lead as catcher Jon Gabriel (2-for-2) had an RBI single and Joe Abeln added an RBI groundout in the first. Ryan Korp's solo homer in the fourth gave the Trojans their final run.

Emmaus had its biggest threat in the fifth with runners at the corners and no outs. Cooperman helped squash the rally by fielding a comebacker and firing to third to get Chris Clay for the first out.

Parkland first baseman Mike Tenaglia ended the inning with a diving stop of Kyle Gable's liner, stranding two runners in scoring position.

Cooperman breezed from there, with an error accounting for Emmaus' only baserunner in the last two innings.

'I pretty much just put my mitt out and helped him out on a few calls,' Gabriel said. 'For the most part, I didn't have to work too hard.'

Emmaus0000000–020

Parkland200100X–363

Knerr, Groh (6) and B. Wilt; Cooperman and Gabriel.

PARKLAND3

EMMAUS0

From The Morning Call

Parkland stormed back from a six-run deficit 4 1/2 innings into the second 4A semifinal Thursday to stun No. 6 Northampton 8-6. Andy Brandstetter's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth brought home the winning runs for the Trojans, who scored four runs each in the fifth and sixth innings.

ANDREW KULP of Parkland has been voted The Morning Call's Varsity Web page player of the week. The pitcher improved to 7-0 by holding Emmaus to three runs as the Trojans won their third straight Lehigh Valley Conference baseball title. He received about two-thirds of the 2,076 votes in the unscientific poll.

Next week's poll begins Wednesday at themorningcall.com/varsity

Parkland High School defeats Emmaus 4-3 to win the Lehigh Valley Conference baseball title

COPLAY | Dan Klem dove to his right, gloved a hard ground ball, jumped to his feet and fired a strike across the diamond for the final out.

Parkland High School baseball coach Tony Galucy called it fitting that Klem, his senior shortstop who is a four-year starter and captain, was the hero of the Trojans' Lehigh Valley Conference championship game win.

Third-seeded Parkland opened a four-run lead and held on to knock off No. 1 Emmaus 4-3 Friday at Sammy Balliet Stadium.

The conference title is the third in a row for the Trojans, who improved to 16-6 entering next week's District 11 tournament.

What was an anti-climatic contest for five innings turned into a drama-fest for the final three outs.

Emmaus (17-3) scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning and put runners on second and third with two outs. No. 2 hitter Kyle Gable then cracked a hard ground ball into the hole at shortstop. Klem made an outstanding diving stab and then finished the play with a strong, accurate throw to get the speedy Gable by a step.

Game over.

"My first thought was to knock it down to stop the winning run from scoring," said Klem, who was 2-for-4 with an RBI batting out of the cleanup spot. "But once I got it cleanly and got up, I just thought, 'what the heck?'

"It's fitting because the last time we played Emmaus, I made two key errors and we lost the game late. So this is a heck of a feeling."

Galucy was especially proud of a player he described as "humble" and an all-around "great kid."

"That was a special play," the coach called it.

Senior Andrew Kulp started for the Trojans and was close to unhittable for five innings. Pitching with a 4-0 lead, he allowed a long fly ball to center field in the sixth inning that Ryan Korp struggled to pick up in the sun. Emmaus' No. 4 batter Dan Johnson ended up circling the bases for a two-run homer.

Kulp, the LVC's first-team pitcher, regrouped and recorded the first out in the seventh, then Matt Smith came in to get a strikeout and the groundout to shortstop after the Green Hornets' third run scored on a wild pitch.

"I had a lot of confidence in 'Squirt' (Smith)," Kulp said. "He pitched well against Emmaus last time. Yeah, I was a little nervous but coach made the right call because I was getting tired."

Klem and Mike Tenaglia both had two hits and an RBI for Parkland. Andy Brandstetter also contributed two singles.

Johnson led Emmaus with two hits, including the homer. Joe Groh started for the Green Hornets and suffered the defeat.

"The kid (Klem) made a great play," Emmaus coach John Schreiner said. "What are you going to do? It was a great game and congratulations to Parkland. They made the plays they had to."

From the Morning Call 5/14/2009.  click headline link to see full article and photos

Casey Cooperman wasn't even sure he was going to pitch.

Now, his team is heading to the Lehigh Valley Conference championship game.

The Parkland junior tossed a complete game in an 8-4 victory over Liberty at Sammy Balliet Stadium in Coplay on Wednesday to send the No. 3-seeded Trojans into the finals.

Parkland will meet Emmaus, a 4-3 winner over Northampton, in the 7 p.m. final today at Balliet Stadium.

Parkland coach Tony Galucy wasn't sure Cooperman would be his starter, but felt confident going with him.

'We felt that Coop had pitched well his last few times out and it was his turn (in the rotation)' said Galucy. 'If we are going to go anywhere in the playoffs we are going to need more than one pitcher. He did a great job for us today.'

Cooperman allowed five hits and struck out nine. The only damage done against him was a game-tying three-run home run by Liberty's Scott Kalamar in the fourth inning.

Parkland squandered several opportunities early but rallied late, scoring its final five runs in the sixth inning.

'We capitalized late,' Galucy said. 'We cannot let teams off the hook like that tomorrow. In these games we've got to get the run in.'

The loss ends Liberty's seven-game winning streak.

Parkland will meet top-seeded Emmaus, which defeated Northampton 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning when Emmaus senior John Barr drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in the winning run.

Emmaus took a 1-0 lead in the first inning against Northampton, but fell behind 3-1 after the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, the Hornets made their comeback charge.

Brandon Wilt and Kyle Gable hit back-to-back doubles. Dan Johnson followed with a single to score Gable and even the score. It would stay that way until the bottom of the seventh.

Northampton pitcher Mike Glassic gave up a leadoff triple to Wilt Glassic, intentionally walked the next two batters in order to set up a force play, but walked in Barr to end the game.

'That was how playoff baseball is supposed to be,' Emmaus coach John Schreiner said. 'We're going to have our hands full with Parkland tomorrow.'

The LVC final is scheduled for at 7 p.m. at Sammy Balliet Stadium.

Parkland 100 205 0 – 8 13 1

Liberty 000 310 0 – 4 5 2

Cooperman and Gabriel; Dwyer, Ortiz(6) and Lule 2B: P Abeln, Miorelli, Tenaglia HR: P: Abeln 1st, 0 on; L: Kalamar 4th, 2 on

Kulp, Gabriel and Brandstetter selected to First Team All Conference

Korp, Abeln, Miorelli and Klem receive Honorable Mention Selection.  Click on headline link to read full article on LehighValleyLive.com

To All Players:  

If anyone is interested in volunteering to help at any of the Miracle League baseball games please contact Mary Ann 610.398.9247 or via email at MACKCOMMUN@aol.com.   Mary Ann will take your information and put your names down for that date.   In case of bad weather please check the Miracle League website at www.miracleleaguelv.org to get the latest on cancellations.   Please go to the handout section of the website and locate the folder called "Volunteer Opportunties" to download the "Nationals" schedule.   

There are really no requirements, just the willingness to help.  We need people that are going to be able to be a 'buddy' to a handicapped child on our team.  Just help them bat and run the bases plus catch in the outfield.  There are no winners or losers and everyone scores a run. We may need some announcers or pitchers from time to time but we will decide that at game time.  

Call if you have any questions
Thanks for your help! Mary Ann

For those interested here is the upcoming Lehigh Valley Conference and District Playoff Schedule.

LVC Championships are May 12 and May 14 (both of these games are at Sammy Balliet Stadium, Coplay) 

Update May 5, 2009 

NOTE:  Due to weather delays LVC semi-Final game will be on May 13th NOT May 12.

Districts are May 18, May 20, May 26 and May 27 

May 18 – home game to higher seedMay 20 – home game to higher seed

May 26 and May 27 – Semi-Finals and Championship Game at Coplay Stadium

Click on the link to read the full Article in March 20th edition of The Morning Call.  Read excert below...

The Lehigh Valley Conference will feature a new divisional alignment for the 2009 baseball season.

The same teams that met in last year's league title game are still expected to be among the LVC's elite.

Parkland, which won the Lehigh Division and overall league title last season, and Liberty, last year's Northampton Division co-champion, were the teams most often mentioned as contenders in a preseason survey of LVC coaches. Parkland will head up the North Division in the LVC's new three-division baseball format, while Liberty will play in the East Division.

The three four-team divisions, which are the same ones used in the recently completed basketball season, group teams by geography. The three division winners (East, North and West) plus a wild-card team (the non-division winner with the best league record) will play in a four-team tournament to decide a league champion.

PARKLAND

Coach: Tony Galucy (seventh year, 102-34)

Last year: 21-1 overall, 16-0 LVC

Postseason: Won LVC title game against Liberty; lost to Whitehall in District 11 Class 4A quarterfinals.

Top returnees: Jr. P Casey Cooperman (1-0, two saves, 2.27 ERA), jr. OF Andy Brandstetter (.313, .529 OBP), jr. OF/C/2B Joe Abeln, sr. P Jeremy Smith, sr. C Jon Gabriel, sr. 2B Luke Jaindl, sr. 1B/P John Torok, sr. OF/P Ryan Korp, sr. 3B MJ Miorelli (.318, 16 RBIs), sr. 1B Sam Zaccaro, sr. P Ernie Stiegler, sr. SS Dan Klem (.459, 18 RBIs).

Key newcomers: Jr. C JR McAllister, jr. 3B/P Mike Tenaglia, jr. SS Ryan Carlon, jr. P Matt Smith, jr. OF Matt Tulio, jr. P Dan O'Leary, sr. P Andrew Kulp.

Outlook: The Trojans lost three pitchers who went a combined 19-1 for last season's LVC championship squad. They have the returning position players to challenge for the league title again but will need a few arms to emerge.

Here are the Baseball Booster Club meeting dates for the year.  Please mark your calendars so you can keep these dates and times open.   All meetings are in the Driver Training Room D-133 and will take place on Monday evenings at 7:00 PM.  October 20, 2008

April 13, 2009  (Rescheduled to April 20, 2009 at 7PM)

May 11, 2009

June ***TBA***