BRUCE SHAW LED IN ALL PITCHING CATEGORIES

The Washington Township Senators roster appears to be set for the 2007 season barring any unforeseen events or unexpected signings. With the addition of Gary Shears and Ray Jobson, the Nats appear to have greatly improved themselves. They are certain to remain one of the top teams in the SJMSBL. With a deep pitching staff consisting of aces Bruce Shaw and Ed Horner, plus a deep bullpen of Kevin Moriarty, Al Stowell, Bruce Stowell, Joe Fortunato, and Jobson, the Senators should be able to keep everyone fresh throughout the season, and hence be a formidable presence in August.

Offense has always been a Senator strong suit, and this year will be no different. The new bats of Jobson and  Shears will be a big boost, and having Fortunato around for all 18 games can only help. The Senators eagerly await April 1, and hope they can bring the SJMSBL title back to Washington Township. The club's last pennant was back in 2003.

The 28/38 Senators began 2007 on the right foot this morning by registering a 4-2 victory in a 7 inning affair over their Over 18 counterparts. Bruce Shaw picked up the win while Ken Benevour registered the save. Notable at the plate today was Pete Conlin with an RBI single, Frank Chandler who led off the game with a double and run scored as well as "Slim Jim" Toth who got todays game winning RBI. The highlight of the game occured in the top of the 7th inning when GM Nick Frese faced off against his son, Tony Frese. It was a touching moment that resulted in Nick reach on an error. The 28 squad will look to face the 18's again next week.

On the personnel front, Randy MacNair announced his retirement earlier this past week as a number of personal commitments have required his time and attention. Also, it is rumored that representatives for Conlin Baseball slugger Kevin Hoffman have been in contact with the Senators to join the team in 2007. He would be an excellent addition and would only bolster an already potent offense.  It was also announced that the Senators will open versus the Rancocas Valley Pilots on April 15th at the Deptford H.S. JV field.

The 28 Senators completed an undefeated preseason with a 3-1 victory over the 18 Senators this morning at Woodbury YMCA Field. Bruce Shaw picked up his second win of the Spring going 6 strong innings while Joe Fortunato notched the save.

The Senators jumped out to a 2 run lead in the top of the first when Gary Shears doubled plating two runs, his first RBI's in a Senators uniform. The Senators would pick up their third run in the fifth inning when Joe Fortunato sacraficed in Gary Barbara. Notable offensive performances were turned in by Senators manager Mike Pavlik who returned to action with 2 hits and a run scored while Gary Barbara added a hit and two runs scored. Gary also turned in the defensive play of the game in the fifth inning when he through out Doug Butabi at the plate which would have tied the game. 

The Senators begin their quest for a fifth title on April 15th as they square off against the Rancocas Valley Pilots at Deptford High School JV Field.    

The 2007 season kicked off for the Washington Twp. Senators versus the Indians on Sunday morning at Cinnaminson Park. It didn't take long for the Sens to get on the board as they tacked on 5 runs in the top of the first and never looked back. When all was said and done the "Township 9" pounded out 16 hits and scored 17 runs over 7 innings on their way to the first victory of the season. Ed Horner got the win going a strong 6 innings that saw him strike out 12 Indians and only surrendering 4 hits.

There were several good performances turned out at the plate today but most notable were that of Pete Conlin (3 for 5, 2 RBI) and Frank Chandler (1 for 1, 3 RBI, 2 SB). The Senators will be put to the test next week versus the 2 time reigning champs the Swedesboro Devil Rays in a double dip at Washington Twp. High School.

The 28+ Senators snapped their scoreless/winless strek this morning with a 9-7 victory over the Riverside Pirates. Bruce Shaw picked up his 30th career victory in the effort as he went 7 strong innings that saw him fan 8 and only surrender 2 earned runs. Joe Fortunato came in and closed things out with a two inning save.

Starring at the plate today were Derek Fochic (2 hits, 2 RBI's) and Al Stowell (2 RBI's). Frank Chandler returned to the line up for the first time in 3 games which added some punch to the line up. The Senators face the Voorhees Phillies next week in a HUGE divisional face off prior to the off week.

The Senators rallied with a 5 run seventh inning to come back and win 7-3 this Sunday at Deptford JV Field against the Bordentown Patriots. Bruce Shaw went a strong 8 innings to pick up his 2nd win of the season and Ed Horner notched his first save of 2007 by closing out the ninth against a tough Patriots team. The win was the first divisional victory on the season for the Senators and today marked the first time all season that they had their full roster.

Notable offensive performances today were turned in by CF Frank Chandler (2 for 2, 2 SB) and 2B Gary Shears (3 for 3, 2B, 2 RS). Next up for Washington Township is a rematch on the road with the 2 time defending champions Swedesboro Devil Rays.

On a day that was defined by heat, humidity and ended by a forest fire, the Washington Township Senators lost a pair of crucial games to division foe Voorhees Phillies. For only the second time all season the Senators had a full, although not completely healthy line up. 

In the first game of the doubleheader, Bruce Shaw (2-5) once again battled admirably but due to a couple of crucial defensive gaffes and untimely lack of hitting, the Voorhees Phillies were able to scratch out a come from behind victory. In the second game the defensive woes continued as the Phillies were able to tkae advantage of Senator miscues and capitalized on them at almost every opportunity. Ed Horner (1-2) was pinned with the loss in the nightcap although pitching well.  

Notable offensive performances were turned in by Ed Horner, Ray Jobson, Bruce Stowell and Gary Shears all collected 2 hits each during the double header.

The Senators concluded the 2007 regular season with a doubleheader sweep over the Bordentown Patriots (4-14) this Sunday at Gilder Field. The pair of victories gave the Senators 8 straight to finish the season after starting out 3-7, the worst in club history. With the win and the Voorhees Phillies unexpected loss to the Cinnaminson Indians plus a split between the Camco Mudcats and Swedesboro Devil Rays, the Senators vaulted from the Wild Card qualifier they were when the day started to finishing the day as the second place finisher in the American Division and the #3 seed in the playoff tournament. This was a far cry from the 3-7 record that the Senators sported just after the halfway point of the season where there were those in the league who questioned the teams’ age and commitment as a reason for their performance up to that point. Since then the Senators team have been undefeated and in the process notching 5 vital divisional wins.
In Sundays’ action the Senators got solid pitching and timely hitting on their way to their two wins. In the opener Bruce Shaw pitched his 6^th complete game of the season on his way to his league leading 7^th win of the season. Bruce was the beneficiary of two big blasts off the bats of Derek Forchic and Joe Fortunato. Derek hit a 2 run shot over the right field fence with a "5 iron" shot over the right field mini Green Monster in the third inning. Joe Fortunato then pulled the club cover off of his "Big Bertha" and hit a seed into Ewing Township over the left field fence for a Grand Slam. In the second game, Ed Horner pitched a solid 5 innings and helped his own cause by going 3 for 4 at the plate with an almost homerun in the 6^th inning. Also notable at the plate today was Senators manager Mike Pavlik who went 4 for 5 on the day with 4 RBI’s.
The Senators open the "second season" next week versus the 3^rd place finishing Riverside Pirates of the Colonial Division at home on Sunday.

The streaking Senators faced off against the Riverside Pirates this morning in opening round action of the 2007 SJMSBL Playoffs this morning at Washington Twp. High School. Pirates pitcher Drew Kirchner held his team in the game for 4 solid innings by keeping Senator hitters off balance and reaching for pitches that he moved in and out of the strike zone. In the home half of the fifth inning the bats came alive for Mike Pavlik's "Over The Hill Gang" as they pounded out 8 hits and scored 7 runs, batting around in the inning. Bruce Shaw remained hot by winning his fifth straight decision going a solid 7 innings, retiring the final 17 consecutive hitters to come to the plate. Offensive standouts today were DH Gary Shears (2 for 3, RBI, run) and Joe Fortunato (2 for 3, 2B, 2 RBI, Run). Joe has been on a hot streak lately going 4 for his last 7 at bats with a homerun driving in 7 runs in the process.

The Senators play host to the Voorhees Phillies who are coming off a big victory over the Marlton A's this past weekend. The Phils swept the season series versus the Senators this year. Game time is 9 am at Washington Township High School.

Riding the wave of recent success the Senators went intot he weekend needing to win a pair in order to reach the Championship Round of the SJMSBL playoffs. In their way were the only two teams in the SJMSBL to defeat the Senators in the regular season.

 On Saturday the Phillies sent Tadd Kozeniewski to the hill against the Senators. After jumping out to a two run lead in the first the Phils let the Senators right back in it in the 3rd. In the 4th things got a little dicey when Joe Fortunato was hit by a pitch that the Phillies felt he could have gotten out of the way of. The Sens added 2 more runs that inning. In the 6th inning Fortunato hit a 340 ft. blast in his next at bat and in the Senators put up 2 more the following inning to make it 7-3. Refusing to go quietly the Phils would score 3 runs in the top of the 9th to bring it to 7-6 with the tying run at third. Reliever Al Stowell struck out Kozeniewski to end the threat and allow the Sens to move on to the next round.

 On Sunday the Devil Rays were waiting for the Sens and proceeded to play their usual solid game. Ed Horner pitched extremely well considering the microscopic strike zone that the plate umpire had for both he and Devil Rays pitchers. The Senators stranded 12 runners over the course of the games as their signature timely hitting was not there this day. The Rays earned a solid victory and nothing can be taken from them for their effort.

Washington Township now awaits the winner of the Marlton A's/Voorhees Phillies match up to determine who will face Dan Shannon's D Rays in the Championship round.

After a bumpy start to the 2007 season, the Washington Township Senators will play the Swedesboro Devil Rays for the league championship for the second time in as many seasons. In a season that had many skeptics referring to this team as "over the hill" and "backing into the playoffs", the Senators got healthy and won their final 8 regular season games which catapulted them into second place in the American Division. Their 7-3 win on Sunday over the Voorhees Phillies on the backs of The Bruce and Bruce Battery (Triple B) of Shaw and Stowell which got 7 strong innings of Bruce Shaw and the 3 for 4, 3 RBI performance of his catcher Bruce Stowell. Also coming up big was Derek Forchic who picked up 2 RBI's, Mike Pavlik who went 3 for 3 and the awakening (literally and figuratively) of the sleeping giant, Pete Conlin who went 2 for 3 on the day.

The Senators will be the visiting team on Saturday versus Dan Shannons juggernaut and if they win will play host on Sunday with the goal of winning a fifth title in the organizations history with the last one dating back to 2004.

The Washington Township Senators finished one victory short of their fifth title in team history when they split the weekend series with the Swedesboro Devil Rays for the SJMSBL 28+ Championship. This marks the second consecutive year that the Sens took the D Rays to the deciding game to determine who the best team in the league was to be.

2007 was a roller coaster ride for Mike Pavlik's "Over the Hill Gang" as they stumbled out of the blocks to a 3-7 start, the worst in team history. Once they got a complete roster and a healthy line up, they got rolling. The Sens won their remaining 8 regular season games which brought them to an 11-7 mark and vaulted them into a second place finish in the American Division. Their 4-2 post season record capped off a 15-9 season.

Notable performanced were turned in by Bruce Shaw who notched 7 regular season victories, lead all American/Colonial pitchers not only in wins but in innings pitched, appearances and strikeouts. His 4-0 record in the post season was also tops amongst all pitchers in the SJMSBL in 2007. Frank Chandler closed out the 2007 season hitting a lusty .511 and shared the regular season homerun lead with smooth swinging 1B Derek Forchic and slugging 3B Joe Fortunato.

The Senators head into the offseason with the goal of a return to the finals to challenge the Devil Rays for the title in 2008 and the goal of bringing a 5th title back to Washington Township.  

In the months following their second straight defeat in the SJMSBL Championship game to the Swedesboro Devil Rays, the management of the Washington Township Senators began the task of assessing the needs of the ball club that they thought would allow them to achieve the Herculean task of dethroning the 3 time champs who only got better during the offseason by getting back 3 of the best offensive players in the league in Mike Harris, Kris “Frenchy” Doiron and Big John Shannon.  ComplicatinG the issue was the brief retirement of offensive catalyst Ray Jobson who intended to head back to the RVL.

As is the hallmark of all successful baseball teams, the first area that was addressed was the acquisition of a back of the bullpen stopper. With that the signing of Henry Williams was announced in January. Williams, a former Rowan University standout, was in the Florida Marlins minor league system for 2 years following his graduation from Rowan. Following his minor league stint he pitched in the Tri-County League for Conlin Baseball before a sore arm forced him to hang them up for a little while. Adding Williams to the bullpen along with Joe Fortunato and Allen Stowell, the Senators have provided starters Bruce Shaw and Ed Horner with strong armed late inning insurance come playoff time. Another big acquisition was that of 26 year old pitcher Josh Copskey in February. Josh pitched at Div. I Siena from 2000-2004 before returning as a pitching coach at Rider University. He is also a former Brooklawn American Legion alumni and will solidify a very talented Senators pitching staff. 

If the acquisition of Williams wasn’t enough, free agents John Mader and Bill “Bull” Radeke were granted their releases and chose to play close to home and sign with the Senators after spending many successful seasons with the Camco Mudcats.  The acquisition of Mader and Radeke reunites them with their other Bellmawr Baseball teammates Derek Forchic and the Stowell brothers.  John will bring an All Star bat to the line up and Radeke will give the Senators another hard playing gamer who can be plugged into the infield or outfield at any given time in the season.  

With the new acquisitions, the Senators offense has been bolstered and their pitching staff made deeper.  2007 MVP, Frank Chandler will pace the high octane offense and with the addition of Mader will have more run scoring opportunities available to him. The highly competitive American Division will offer the Senators all the competition they can handle and should provide a very exciting 2008 season.