Olympic-Colonial All-Stars One Step Closer to Citizens Bank Park

Written and reported by Bryan Littel

If the Olympic-Colonial all-stars needed any motivation to kick off this year’s Carpenter Cup against Suburban One League-National/Bicentennial Monday, all they needed to do was look above the tree line from their vantage point in the third-base dugout at Richie Ashburn Field in Philadelphia’s FDR Park.

There, rising in the humid morning air, were the light towers above Citizens Bank Park—the one spot the team has never played since the tournament moved from Veterans Stadium in 2003.

It took all of two at-bats for them to get things going in that direction, as Tom Flacco (Eastern) drove in Nick Tierno (Eastern) with an RBI triple for the first run of what would become a 16-8 romp that put Olympic-Colonial one step closer to getting on the big stage for a shot at the team's first title since 1997.

“Playing in South Jersey, we all want to be those guys—we want to be the Phillies,” said Brad Machinski, a senior at Cherry Hill West and the starting third baseman for Olympic-Colonial, as he gestured across the intersection of Broad and Pattison. “We’re this close, let’s just get to there. It would mean so much.”

Machinski, who singled and drove in two runs in the game, was one of six players on the team with at least one run batted in, as Olympic-Colonial pounded out 15 hits and took advantage of an absurd nine errors by Suburban One League-National/Bicentennial.

The locals had at least one baserunner every inning, and put up runs in bunches, at one point taking a 12-1 lead, thanks to a three-run single by Joe Craig (Camden Catholic) and a two-run home Jon Gonzalez (Winslow Township), which came back-to-back in the fifth.

Even when Suburban One League-National/Bicentennial chipped back, Olympic-Colonial didn’t falter, pushing three more runs across in the seventh and one more in the ninth.

The two teams ended up combing for 24 runs on 26 hits and 12 errors—not exactly stellar play, but indicative of the offensive advantage the team has, the players said.

“We were all just locked in on hitting the fastball—if it was over the plate, we were swinging,” Machinski said. “We’ll get enough runs in for all of our pitchers.”

Tyler Strano (West Deptford), who reached base on a walk in the fifth to load the bases, was part of that backbreaking inning, one of three runners who scored when Craig’s single dropped into center field, thanks in part to some puzzling fielder indifference.

Olympic-Colonial will play again Friday at Ashburn Field, taking on Lehigh Valley, an 11-3 winner over Delaware South. The winner of that game moves on to the semifinals at Citizens Bank Park, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. June 24.