Pa Legion Hall of Famers

It is fitting that John “Doc” Kennedy and Rod Johnson entered the Pennsylvania American Legion Sports Hall of Fame together Monday night.
Kennedy and Johnson have become good friends despite their many confrontations as managers of opposing ballclubs in Chester County League circles. Kennedy coached Phoenixville at the senior high school and American Legion levels while Johnson, a former Spring-Ford High School, Spring City and Temple University star infielder who played in the Cincinnati Reds minor league system, coached during the summer months at Spring City and later Paoli.
The two men were honored during the banquet that precedes the State Tournament each year. This year’s tournament is being staged at Boyertown’s Bear Stadium and the banquet was held at Gilbertsville Fire Company’s banquet hall.
I have come to know both men quite well during my many years covering sports in this area. They are both well-deserving of the honors they received for what they accomplished during their respective coaching careers over a long period of time.
Their teams did well in the Chester County League regular season as well as the postseason playoffs.
Both men went on to coach at the collegiate level at Villanova University under Phoenixville’s Joe Godri. Kennedy has moved on to become an associate scout for the Boston Red Sox while Johnson remains on Godri’s staff with the Wildcats.

Summer tournaments

Baseball and softball tournaments for all age groups are prevalent at this time during the summer months.
It is a good experience for kids to participate in these tourneys. However, it also puts a lot of pressure on them as far as succeeding. The more young the kids are, the more they just should have fun and enjoy themselves while trying to win at the same time. There is plenty of time for high-level playoffs and championship runs as they grow older later on in life.
Basketball playoffs are around the corner in the Valley Forge Christian College (VFCC) men’s league as well as the PAPA/PARD league for youngsters outdoors at the Reservoir Park and C’Jon Saunders Park courts.
Phoenixville boys tennis coach Leo Scoda will also hold his annual Orange Crush Tennis Tournament for boys and girls at all age levels the week of July 20-25.
While baseball, softball, tennis and golf are considered the main outdoor sports during the summer, players like to hone their skills in basketall and other sports, too, in order to prepare for the next scholastic season and/or play at the collegiate level.

Senior American Legion Baseball makes playoffs

Phoenixville’s Senior American Legion baseball team has qualified for the Chester County League playoffs that start Wednesday.
The Athletics clobbered Paoli, 25-0, in 4 1/2 innings Monday night at “Doc” Kennedy Field in their regular season finale to close with a 9-9 record in the North Conference. The A’s are the seventh seed in the eight-team field and will meet No. 2 NorChester at Owen J. Roberts High School Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the first round of the double-elimination playoffs.
In other first-round action, No. 1 Kennett hosts No.l 8 Westtown at Unionville High School; No. 3 Downingtown hosts No. 6 Exton at Downingtown West High School and No. 4 Spring City entertains No. 5 Caln at Spring-Ford High School’s Ram Stadium.
Against Paoli, Phoenixville banged out 18 hits, including a grand slam home run by Jesse Daywalt, a two-run triple by Thomas Romano and an RBI double by John Wieland.
Cal Milano finished 5-for-5 with five singles, four RBI and three runs scored. Robby Werner finished 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs scored and one hit by pitch. Matt Cohen scored four runs with three walks and two RBI out of the leadoff spot in the batting order.
Dillon Fina picked up the pitching victory with three innings of work while Gary Moses and Matt Pilewski each hurled an inning of relief. The trio combined on a two-hit shutout.
Despite not having three of their top pitchers and players from the Phoenixville Area High School team, the A’s fought their way into the playoffs. Moses, Fina, Pilewski, Mike Jones and Wieland stepped up with some solid pitching during the summer schedule to help the club qualify for the playoffs.
Manager Jack Sturgeon guided the team along with assistant coaches Geoff Thomas, the pitching coach, and Craig Jeffers.