Northeast Baseball League

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Games 1 & 2 - After splitting games one and two with the Maroons, winning the first game by a 5-3 count, with Mark Davis getting his 8th win, we proceeded to lost game two by a 5-2 score, with Juan Aguilar taking the loss.

Game 3 - The Aces put their hitting shoes on for this game, 15 hits all together in a 12-4 win! Bryan Freake gets his 8th win, Javier Sanchez has two triples and a homerun!






Another nice win for the Aces, 7-3, as Eisuke Heida gets his fourth win, and reminded us today, why we took him with the very first pick in the inaugural NBL draft!




So, with our last win, the Aces now sit tied with the best record in the NBL at 51-29, with the Catskill Cougars in the American Conference! What a turnaround so far compared to last year, as all that young talent is now rising to the top!!

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So we finished up the month of June with two straight wins over the Allentown Ambassadors, winning the first game 12-1, and the second, 2-0.

Game 1 - We jumped on the Ambassadors starter Barry Wilcox, scoring early and often in the 12-1 rout! The Aces pounded out ten hits, and Denny White gets his 8th win!





Game 2 -Mark Davis showed why he is one of the best, young pitchers in the NBL with a five hit shutout!

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So the end of June shows the Coatesville Aces with the best record in the NBL. And we opened a nice, five game lead on Lebanon and Allentown in the division! Still two months to go, but we are looking good right now!!




And as you can see, the Aces pitching this season has been phenomenal!!



Some awards for the month of June!!



League Stats Hitters! Nice to see Greg Griffith leading in stolen bases!



League Stats Pitchers:

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Game 3 - Allentown - We started July out losing to the Ambassadors 3-0, as four Allentown pitchers limited the Aces to just five hits!


Game 4 - We won the "getaway" game 4-3 as the Aces won in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth. Xavier Chacon gets his sixth win in relief!




Here's how the bottom of the ninth went down!!



The players were "pumped" after that win, and as they bordered the bus to Mahanoy City, the team was really loose and looking forward to putting together another solid month!

After winning game one against the Brewers by a count of 7-6, with Eisuke Heida getting his 5th win, the players and coaches were able to enjoy the 4th of July festivities, including a parade, fireworks, and a Mahanoy City tradition, the July 4th Bikini Contest!





Besides the bikini contestants, the Aces bats were "red hot" as well, as that evening the Aces tied a season high with 17 hits in an 11-0 rout of the Brewers!
Denny White got his ninth win, and our shortstop, Bob Donaldson went 4 for 5 with two homeruns!!





The Aces went on to win game three as well, 4-1, as Mark Davis won his 10th game! It was the fourth win in a row for the Aces, and saw our record go to 57-30, and again pad our division lead to seven games!

Game 4 - In the getaway game, the Brewers got a bit of revenge, as they beat the Aces 10-4 to snap our winning streak! Juan Aguilar suffered the loss, and his record now stands at 7-8.

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Before our home stand with Carbondale, our scout, John Mizer had been "combing" the baseball leagues in Mexico to find yet another "gem" for the Aces to sign. Our last signing, Franciso Mercado, is currently hitting .159 at our single A affiliate, Lancaster.

But John swears this player has loads of potential, so......




I decided to sign him! We'll see how this player works out!


*The Carbondale Pioneers rolled into town as the defending champs, but some key injuries, and losing some players to free agency, or in one case, to retirement, has really hurt them, and they find themselves in last place in the National Conference's Western Division with a record of 38-50.

However, that didn't stop them from taking game 1, 4-2, as the Aces banged out ten hits, but could only cross the plate twice!

In this series, the Aces proceeded to drop games two(6-4), and four(7-4), as well, sandwiching a victory in between, in game three by a 4-3 count, with Denny White gaining his 10th victory!

Game four was a brutal loss for the Aces, as we had a 4-0 lead going into the ninth, only to have the Pioneers score seven runs!!




After this series, we did lose some ground in the division, but are still in first place!!

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After a successful trip to Gettysburg, where we took three of four from the Ponies, on the bus ride back, I was talking to our owner, Bill Huston, and the subject of "expansion" came up. It appears that several cities in both PA and NY have taken notice of the Northeast Baseball League, and the success we've had in our infancy! In PA, cities like Hershey, Hazleton, and Latrobe have taken special notice. Bill doesn't feel it will happen after this season, but it is on the horizon!

There is also strong conversation between the owners that the league will go to the "DH rule" in both Conferences next season. And that's fine by me, as the Aces have the luxury of extra good hitters that could help us offensively!

To the delight of the fans who sat through some extremely hot temperatures, the Aces took three out of four from the Johnnies. Mark Davis won his 11th game in the opener, and the combo of Bryan Freake and Broderick MacDonald ptiched a nice, four hit shutout in game three.


Our first ever overall pick, Eisuke Heida won his 7th in game four, 3-1. He has really come on this season for us, and has been a savior after replacing Jesus Castaneda due to injury!




Injury bug - Only downside about this series, was our steady second baseman Gene Brown, who was hitting .327, went on the 15 day DL with a sprained ankle! He will be sorely missed!

All teams in the NBL have now played exactly 100 games, and with just 40 to go, here's where things stand!

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Friday, July 20th brought a rare day off for the Aces, and I spent my time accepting the Coatesville Rotary Club's "Service Above Self Reward".

As Rotary’s highest honor for individual Rotarians, this award recognizes up to Rotarians annually who have demonstrated exemplary humanitarian service, with an emphasis on personal volunteer efforts and active involvement in helping others through Rotary. Bottom line, the Aces are very much involved in the community, and I happen to be the "point" person for all of those efforts!

And yes, I wore my Aces cap!!


So it's back to baseball, and the Aces are hosting the Shamokin Miners for a four game home set!!

7/21-7/24 - This homestand was a disaster from the start! The Aces lose the first game 2-1 in eleven innings after Denny White piched his heart out for nine!
After winning game two, we got clobbered in game three 11-1, and then lose a heartbreaker 4-2, when we collected eight hits, but hit into two rally killing double plays!

The Game Three Disaster!!




Right after this game, I called my Manager, Ed Bane, the pitching coach, and our scout, into a meeting to decide what to do with Aguilar? Last season, on a young team that was not nearly as good, I could somewhat understand his 9-12 record with a 4.25 ERA, but this season, he is again three games under .500 at 7-10, and his ERA has climbed to 4.77, on a very good team! We have a young pitcher, Billy Thornton in AAA, who at the age of 22 has a "boatload" of potential. The question is do we bring him up when rosters expand and move him into the rotation? The consensus was "yes", and so that's what we'll go with!

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Should've added this in the last posting, but here's the "book" on Thornton! ERA is a bit high at 5.06, but again, our coaches feel he is ready!

Billy Thornton





So we roll into Greensburg to play the Green Sox in four games that will hopefully get us back on track. And for whatever reason, Green Sox apparel/memorabilia sells like crazy! The stands are a sea of green, and they definitely have some loyal fans! The Sox are currently two games over .500, and six games behind both the Division Leader, Mahanoy City, and six games out of the wild card race!




Although the Aces lost game one, 9-6, when, for the first time in three starts, Eisuke Heida wasn't on his game, giving up all six runs, the Aces did come back and win three straight from the Green Sox! In game two, we won 11-7, pounding out 14 hits, and our rookie, Devin Forrest, hit his first ever home run at the professional level!!

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The last three games in July, were home against the Berwick Slaters. The forecast was for perfect weather, and we expected good crowds all three nights!

Befor the series, the Gettysburg GM called me and proposed a trade for our backup first baseman Bartolo Zamora, which I had no interest in. The trade deadline in the NBL is August 1st, and we have no intentions of moving, or acquiring any player(s).

The first three games of this series, couldn't have went any better, with the Aces winning all three, by the scores of 9-8, 4-0, and 6-5, to extend our winning streak to six games! As predicted, the stands were "overflowing" and the fans got treated to some great baseball!


Game 2 was particularly enjoyable as Eisuke Heida worked his "magic" with a five hit shutout, to get his 8th win of the season!





So, as the month of July came to a close, here are where the teams in the National Conference shake out!!

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Team Stats through the Month of July:




Aces Hitting Stats



Aces Pitching Stats


Started August off with a nice win in the getaway game against the Slaters. Mark Davis continues to be a dominating force on the mound, and Dale Roberson continues to be one of the best hitters in the league!

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Boxing Night in Lebanon

After our win over Berwick, we were headed to Lebanon for a Friday to Monday series with the Chix. We had Thursday off, but decided to spend Thursday night in Lebanon. Players will do different things on a day off, but here's what some of the Aces did that night, as they left the pub early and headed to the Lebanon Boxing Club for "Womens Night". Boys will be Boys!!





Whoever bet on her, lost big!!


I was told, at the end of the night these two were the Champs!



So it's on to play Lebanon at Chix Ballpark!

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We ended up taking three of four from the Chix, and got solid pitching performances from Juan Aguilar in the first game, winning 3-2. Aguilar was the pitcher we were thinking about either sending down, or replacing in the rotation with Billy Thornton, but were going to sit tight for now!





Game 3 - The Aces took care of business in game 2, 11-3, as Bryan Freake won his 11th game, and the Aces pounded out sixteen hits! But game three was the one we were all excited about, as the Aces got to face the best pitcher in the league in Michael "Slim" Anderson, who came into the game with a15-6 record! Going up against him was our number one overall pick, Eisuke Heida, and here's the result!




We lost game four to Lebanon's Pablo Rosa, a young 25 year old, who is going to be a star in this league. Final score was 4-1, and despite the loss, the Aces are now seven games ahead of Allentown in the east, with a record of 75-41. The Aces are truly having an AWESOME season!!

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The Aces welcomed Hanover into town, and the season has been a real struggle for the Raiders, as they have the worst record in the NBL.

Game 1 - Mark Davis was brilliant in pitching a three hit shutout for his 13th win of the season! Aces only had two hits, but one was a Devin Forrest two run homer!





Injury Bug Again - Greg Griffith, who was having an awesome year for us, is now out for five weeks due to a strained medial collateral ligament! Griffith was hitting .325, and leading the league in stolen bases with 35. Big shoes to fill for Devin Forrest!!

Game 2 - Saw the Aces score two runs in the bottom of the eighth, and hold onto a 3-2 win, as Juan Aguilar, who again we were getting worried about, won his second straight game to even his record at 10-10.

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Game 3 - The Aces hammered the Raiders 13-5, collecting 15 hits along the way! Dale Roberson continued his "hot streak", going 3 for 4, and second baaseman Juan Montoya hit his first homer of the season!

Game 4 - Quite a pitching duel here, as Eisuke Heida recorded his 10th victory of the season in a 2-1 win!





What an awesome, four game homestand, as the Aces pitched and hit well, and got timely hits when needed. We are playing really good, fundamental baseball, and now lead our division by eight games!!

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8/11-8/14 - Coatesville Aces at Chambersburg Maroons

The Aces rode into Chambersburg with an air of confidence after winning three of four from Hanover, but in game one, Denny White was not himself, and the Aces dropped a 6-4 decision! White game up four runs through six innings, and the usual steady Loren O'Conner came in and gave up two more, and took the loss.

Game 2 - But as they have done all season, the Aces bounced back and pounded the Maroons in game two, 14-3. Even our winning pitcher, Mark Davis got into the act, and went two for three with four RBI's. The Aces also smacked seven doubles!




The game was so bad for the Maroons, that not even having Darth Vader, who threw out the first pitch, and was available in the bullpen, could help them!


And, for icing on the Maroons cake, their Manager got tossed in the seventh inning! Maybe if he would've worn the Maroons home uniform, instead of one that was designed by a sponsor, it would've helped his cause some!!


Games 3 & 4 - The Aces bats stayed red hot, as we hammered the Maroons in both games, 9-3, and 9-4. Juan Aguilar won his third straight, and while at one point we were considering replacing him in the rotation, he has now won three in a row, and has his record above .500, at 11-10. Game four's victory went to Brian Freake(12-8), as the Aces hammered out 17 hits. The Maroons will certainly be glad this is the last time they see us this season!

There is now talk around the league about the Aces having a chance to tie or break Buffalo's win total of 92 from last season! With just 16 games to go, I'm happy we're sitting atop the division and with the best record in the league by far!

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After the "pasting" we put on the Maroons, it was nice to see our centerfielder, Michael Lacy get some headlines! Lacy has done an excellent job of filling in for the injured Greg Griffith!




The next eight games could be a prelude to the upcoming playoffs, as we travel to Allentown to take on the Ambassadors, and then play host to the Brewers of Mahanoy City! Allentown is currently four up in the Wild Card spot, and the Brewers are eight games up in the National Conferences Western Division!

8/16-8/19 - The Allentown fans came out in droves for this improtant, four game series, and the Aces put a damper on their evening, in fact three nights in a row, as we won, 6-4, 2-0, and 7-6. Game two was an incredible pitching display by the Aces, as the trio of Denny White, Broderick MacDonald, and Loren O'Conner pitched a 10 inning shoutout!




Game four didn't turn out like the Aces wanted, as we lost 6-2. Juan Aguilar was wild, and couldn't deal with the hot bats of the Ambassadors. His record is back to .500 at 11-11. But I'm still feeling really good, as this team now has 85 wins, and are just four games away from clinching the Division title, with just 12 games left!

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Well the fans were pumped for the four game series with Mahanoy City as this could be a prelude to the National Conference final in the playoffs. The Brewers appear to be on their way to winning the Western Division, and with the Aces nearly ready to clinch the Eastern Division, this should be a fun series to watch!






Game 1 - Well if the rest of the games are like this one, it will be a series to remember. Leading 4-3 in the ninth, old reliable Broderick MacDonald comes in for the save, gives up a double and then a single and the game is tied. But in the bottom of the ninth, Michael Lacy gets hit by a pitch, steals second(his third stolen base of the game), then Devin Forrest does a nice job of hitting to the right side for an out, but moves Lacy to third, and then our struggling first baeseman, Javier Sanchez, hits a deep fly ball to center, and Lacy scores to end the game! What a barnburner!!

[Painmantle]

Love the Boxing night! Nicely done LOL

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Game 2 - Mahanoy City clobbers the Aces 10-5, as Eisuke Heida only goes an inning and a third, giving up only four hits, but six runs, as two of those hits were homeruns! When Heida is on, he is awesome, but when he's off, he can be terrible! We had eight hits, but couldn't get that "timely" hit when we needed it!

Game 3 - Didn't go much better, as the Brewers beat the Aces 10-4 in eleven innings. Game was tied at four, until the Brewers scored six times in the eleventh as our steady closer, Broderick MacDonald has a "meltdown", and was charged with all, six runs! If we do see the Brewers in the playoffs, it will be no easy task!

Game 4 - Much like the opening game, as once again it was "nip and tuck" the entire game, but the Aces came out on top in dramatic fashion, 4-3, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth! Javier Sanchez doubled, and our third baseman, Marcelino Trevino singles him home!






What a way to end this series, and it certainly gave the fans something to cheer about! With only eight games left, both the Aces and the Brewers magic number is down to two!! We have an away series with Carbondale, who is playing much better, and then finish at home against Gettysburg. The coaches and I will sit down tomorrow, and determine when and who we'll rest in the starting rotation as we get ready for the playoffs!!

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So we rolled into Carbondale needing only two wins to clinch our first Division title. And one thing I will say about this team, they never give up. In a game that was as intense as you could ask for, the Aces scored three runs in the top of the 14th, to secure a 5-2 win! Victor Alvarado pitched two and a third to earn his 5th victory! No matter who you were rooting for, as a baseball fan, you had to enjoy this game!








THE ACES CLINCH THEIR FIRST EVER DIVISION TITLE!!!






LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN!!




AND THE STANDINGS SAY IT ALL!!