MURPHY'S MAKES STATEMENT, ROLLS TO A PAIR OF CONVINCING VICTORIES IN PLAYOFF OPENER

Now that's a fucking statement.

Murphy's, the highest-seeded team in the eight-team Lower Bucks Softball League playoffs, opened the 2012 postseason in dominating fashion by steamrolling the Not So Athletics to the tune of a pair of mercy-rule victories Sunday at Bensalem Community Park's Lower Field.

Every player had multiple hits, nine of eleven players contributed multiple runs and Murphy's combined for nine extra-base hits in a 30-18, six-inning victory in Game One. Kevin Maloney went 4-for-5 and hit for the cycle and Colin Tosti, Jim Trochak and Mike Simpson each had four hits in the 35-hit barrage - besting Murphy's previous season high of 30 hits against Hot Movies back on April 29th.

Murphy's carried that momentum over to Game Two by pounding out 11 runs over the first two innings en route to a 19-6 triumph. Tosti went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and a monster homer, Trochak was 4-for-4 with four RBIs and Graham went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a pair of RBIs in the win.

Top-seeded Murphy's (19-3) advances to take on third-seeded Pasquales (14-8), which defeated Schaffers, Sunday at 9 a.m. at Poplar Park for the South Division title. Murphy's swept Pasquales, 27-11 and 11-10, back on April 22nd.

No. 1 seed Harrington's Pub takes on No. 3 seed Paddywhack's for the North Division title Sunday at 9 a.m. at Core Creek Park. The winners of each games will meet next Sunday at a field to be determined for the LBSL Lower Division championship.

Murphy's wasted little time getting their prolific offensive day started. The 49 runs and 56 hits (in 11 innings) was by far their highest output thus far, surpassing previous totals of 41 runs and 51 hits.

Using eight consecutive base hits - seven of which were singles - to open the game, Murphy's pushed across six runs in the bottom of the first inning. They went right back to work their next trip to the plate using seven hits and two walks to throw an eight spot on the scoreboard. Maloney hit a two-run homer to left-center and Tosti and Yeager each had run-scoring doubles in the frame.

The Not So Athletics scored two times in the top of the third to pull within four runs, 14-10, but Murphy's stomped out any thoughts of an upset with a nine-run third inning. Maloney led the inning off with a triple and scored on Graham's double. Graham scored on Trochak's single and Simpson, Yeager, Sean Walker, Marc Rossi and Matt Harker each had RBI singles in the inning.

Walker and Rossi each had RBI doubles during a six-run fourth that effectively put the game out of reach for good. Tosti put the 12-run rule into place with a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Harker went 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs, Tosti went 4-for-5 with three doubles, four RBIs and two runs, Trochak went 4-for-5 with four runs and an RBI and Simpson went 4-for-4 with four runs and three RBIs. Joe Faust Jr. went 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI, Yeager went 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs, T.J. Coles went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs and Walker went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.

As a team, Murphy's put together perhaps the most impressive base running performance in the team's eight-year history. In what amounted to at least a dozen instances, Murphy's took the extra base and sometimes a pair of extra bases as Rossi did in scoring on Tosti's sacrifice fly from second base.

Kevin Maloney had a big day, hitting for the cycle in Game
One, as Murphy's pounded the Not So Athletics twice by
the mercy rule behind a 56-hit, 49-run onslaught. 

Game Two followed the exact blueprint from the first game with Murphy's parlaying six hits and two walks into a seven-run top of the first inning. Tosti, Maloney and Graham ripped three straight doubles for the game's first two runs, Trochak had an RBI single and Coles capped the inning with a three-run blast to right-center field.

Harker led off the second with a double and scored on Tosti's triple. Tosti scored on Maloney's single and Graham followed with a single. Trochak knocked in Graham with a single to right field.

Tosti launched a two-run homer to deep right-center field in the fourth inning and Murphy's scored six times in the top of the fifth. Rossi had an RBI single, Harker had a sacrifice fly and Rossi scored on Tosti's double. Maloney plated Tosti with a triple and scored on Graham's double. Graham would score on Trochak's eighth hit of the day.

The 21-hit attack in Game Two featured seven doubles, a triple and a pair of homers. On the day, Murphy's went a combined 56-for-83 (.675) with 16 doubles, two triples, three homers and 49 runs scored.

Trochak yielded just four hits - only one of which went for extra bases - in picking up his 19th win of the season in Game Two.

GAME ONE

Not So Athletics (11-10)   262       800         X_18 27 0

Murphy’s (18-3)                689       601         X_30 35 0

2B— NSA: Ed 3, Mike, Shawn, Darren; M: Tosti 3, Harker, Maloney, Graham, Yeager, Walker, M. Rossi.  3B— NSA: Kenny; M: Maloney. HR— NSA: Joe; M: Maloney. RBI— M: Tosti 4, Faust Jr., Coles 4, Harker 3, Maloney 3, Simpson 3, Yeager 3, Graham 2, Walker 2, Trochak, M. Rossi.

WP— Trochak (18-3). LP— Zeis (11-10).

GAME TWO

Murphy’s (19-3)                740        26X         X_19 21 0

Not So Athletics (11-11)    001       23X         X_ 6   4  0

2B— M: Harker 2, Tosti 2, Graham 2, Maloney. 3B— M: Maloney, Tosti. HR— M: Tosti, Coles; NSA: Wally. RBI— M: Tosti 4, Trochak 4, Maloney 3, Coles 3, Graham 2, Harker, Yeager, Walker.

WP— Trochak (19-3). LP— Zeis (11-11).

MURPHY'S GETS TO 17-3, CLINCHES NO. 1 OVERALL SEED

While it wasn't quite the way the Murphy's softball team had envisioned it, the end result is all that matters at this point.

By virtue of a pair of forfeits by Santucci's last Sunday at Bensalem's Community Park in addition to a Harrington Pub's loss, Murphy's improved to 17-3 and secured the No. 1 overall seed in the 2012 Lower Bucks Softball League playoffs.

The Lower South Division champions will face the Not So Athletics Sunday at 9 a.m. at Bensalem's Community Park. The Not So Athletics gave Murphy's their first loss of the season following a 10-0 start, a 12-11 walk-off win at Poplar Park back on May 13th.

Murphy's rebounded to pound out 18 hits - including five extra-base hits - in an 18-6 victory in Game Two of that day.

Matt Harker, Jim Trochak, Kevin Maloney, Colin Tosti, Josh Yeager and T.J. Coles all had multiple hits in Game Two. Harker, Trochak, Maloney, Andrew Graham and Sean Walker all had multiple hits in Game One.

2012 Murphy's Softball Team
Top left: Sean Walker, Matt Harker, Andrew Graham, Mike Simpson,
Jim Trochak, Marc Rossi, Ed Gurt, T.J. Coles, Dan Rosar and Josh Yeager.
Bottom left: Kevin Maloney, Colin Tosti, Joe Faust Jr., Evan Christie
and Joe Faust Sr.

Since that initial meeting with the Not So Athletics, Murphy's has won six of its last eight and is averaging 11.4 runs per game.

While the pair of 9-0 wins it received for the forfeits deflates that average a bit, Murphy's will almost certainly need to scorer higher than that average in order to reel off the six wins it will take to bring home the program's first title in its eight-yer history.

The playoffs are a "Best of Three" format. If Murphy's can get past the Not So Athletics this week, it'll take on the Schaffers/Pasquales winner Sunday, July 1st. The Lower Bucks Softball League championship is set to be played Sunday, July 8th.

That would give Murphy's a full four weeks to rest and prepare for the 2012 Trentonian Tournament, which is slated for Saturday and Sunday, August 4th-5th.

Lower Bucks Softball League Playoff Matchup's

North Division
No. 1 Harrington's Pub (15-5) vs. No. 4 Skybox (11-9), Poplar Park, 9 a.m.
No. 2 GTS (14-6) vs. No. 3 Paddywhack's (12-8), Charles Boehm, 9 a.m.

South Division 
No. 1 Murphy's (17-3) vs. No. 4 Not So Athletics (11-9), Bensalem Community Park, 9 a.m.
No. 2 Schaffers (12-8) vs. No. 3 Pasquales (12-8), Maple Point, 8 a.m.

Final 2012 Lower Bucks Softball League Lower South Standings

GOAL ONE ACCOMPLISHED: MURPHY'S SPLITS BUT CLINCHES LOWER SOUTH DIVISION TITLE

When the Murphy's softball team began preparation for this season back on mid-March, the team set their sights on four goals: to win the Lower South division, to secure the No. 1 overall seed in the Lower Bucks Softball League, to capture the program's first LBSL title and to make a legitimate run at a Trentonian title.

Goal No. 1 accomplished.

Jim Trochak fired his first-ever shutout and Andrew Graham, Mike Simpson and Sean Walker each supplied a pair of hits as Murphy's blanked Wolfpack, 8-0, in Game One at Edgewood Elementary.

Wolfpack did bounce back and and hand Murphy's a 20-8, five-inning defeat in Game Two - just the first time in nine weeks dating back to last season that Murphy's lost via the mercy rule - but the loss was inconsequential as far as it concerned Murphy's claiming its first division title in the program's eight-year history.

Trochak yielded just eight hits - only one of which went for extra-bases - and didn't walk a batter. He had three 1-2-3 innings and was backed by a pair of double-play balls.

He was backed by a five-run bottom of the third inning. Walker got it started with a single and scored on Evan Christie's sacrifice fly for the game's first run. Colin Tosti followed with a two-run homer and Trochak scored on the first of two triples from Graham.

Walker doubled to lead off the fifth and scored on Marc Rossi's triple. Ed Gurt plated Rossi with a sacrifice fly and Tosti plated Rossi with his sixth double of the season. Josh Yeager laced a one-out double in the sixth and scored on Joe Faust Jr.'s single.

Joe Faust Jr.'s jubilation could be felt team-wide as Murphy's
 dispatched Wolfpack, 8-0, in Game One to earn the program's
first-ever Lower South division title.

Murphy's fell behind, 16-1, in Game Two and just couldn't recover against a Wolfpack team that still had its playoff hopes on life support.

Simpson launched a two-run double and T.J. Coles followed with a two-run homer to highlight a seven-run fourth. Walker doubled and Marc Rossi had an RBI in the frame. Walker, who scored a pair of runs, came across the plate on Christie's single in the third.

Murphy's will look to continue its torrid run and clinch first place for the first time in program history Sunday when they take on Santucci's (2-16) at Bensalem Community Park's Lower Field.

GAME ONE

Wolf Pack (7-10)               000         000         0_ 0  8  0

Murphy’s (15-2)                005         021         X_8 14 0

2B— W: Jim, Josh; M: Simpson 2, Yeager, Walker. 3B— M: Graham 2, M. Rossi, Gurt. HR— M: Tosti. RBI— M: Gurt 2, Tosti, Graham, Faust Jr., M. Rossi, Christie.

WP— Trochak (15-2). LP— Chris (7-10).

GAME TWO

Murphy’s (15-3)                001         70X         X_  8 12  0

Wolf Pack (8-10)               736         04X         X_20 27  0

2B— M: Tosti, Graham, Simpson, Walker; W: Steve, Jimbo. 3B— W: Josh, Dom. HR— M: Coles. RBI— M: Simpson 2, Coles 2, Rosar 2, Christie, M. Rossi.

WP— Chris (8-10). LP— Trochak (15-3).

MURPHY'S POUNDS SKY BOX BEHIND ANOTHER OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT, IMPROVES TO 14-2

That's the well-oiled machine that we all know and love.

After consecutive weeks in which the Murphy's softball team managed only a pair of splits, the Boys in Black reverted to their juggernaut form in roasting Sky Box in a pair of lopsided victories at Truman High.

Murphy's racked up 21 hits in a 15-4 victory in Game One and kept it rolling by pounding out 23 hits en route to a 21-1 thrashing in Game Two.

In the form Murphy's had shown repeatedly through the early portion of the season, they can put the big inning together like perhaps no other team in the league. Game One included an 11-run third inning and Game Two featured a seven-run second inning and a 10-run fifth inning.

It was the 16th time this season Murphy's had pushed across six-or-more runs in an inning.

It proved to be the sign of things to come when Jimmy "Jimmy Jax" Trochak struck out Sky Box's first batter of the day. He would allow just six hits - four doubles and two singles - in Game One and was backed by more than enough offense than he would need.

The offense featured 21 hits and eight extra-base hits, with Dave "Boston Strangler" Rossi ripping a tape-measure two-run homer to highlight the day. Colin "Quintonious" Tosti paced the offense by going 3-for-3 with a triple and four RBIs out of the leadoff hole. Tosti is hitting a scorching .700 (28-for-40) with a team-high 27 RBIs on the season.

Mark "Joey's Dad" Rossi made his triumphant return to the lineup by going 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Sean Walker was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, two runs and a double and Josh Yeager "Bomb" went 3-for-3 with a double. Matt "Hollywood" Harker and T.J. "Morpheous" Coles each went 2-for-3 with a double and combined for five RBIs.

Yeager led off the 11-run third and scored on Coles's RBI double. Dave Rossi put his emphatic imprint on the inning by launching a two-run shot onto the island deep over the home run territory in left field. Murphy's would string the ensuing nine runs together with doubles from Marc Rossi, Andrew Graham and Harker and a three-run triple from Tosti.

Sean Walker went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, five runs, a double and reached
base in all five trips to the plate to spark a 44-hit day as Murphy's pounded
Sky Box by a combined tally of 36-5 to improve to 14-2 on the season. 

Murphy's carried that momentum into Game Two, breaking out for a seven-run second inning. Mike Simpson bombed a two-run triple to get the inning started, Shawn Walker added a two-run single and Kevin Maloney plated Walker with a single to cap the inning.

Walker went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, five runs, a double and reached base in all five plate appearances on the day.

Even after jumping out to an 11-1 lead thru four innings, the Murphy's offense would not be satisfied. The good guys sent 15 batters to the plate in the top of the fifth and scored 10 runs behind 11 hits. Joe Faust Jr. and Yeager ignited the inning with RBI singles. Joe "Ichiro" Faust bounced a two-run double, Maloney followed with a two-run double and Graham scored Maloney with a double. Harker closed out the frame with a two-run shot, his fifth of the season.

Trochak was a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs in Game Two and was 6-for-7 on the day. Yeager went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored and Maloney went 2-for-2 with five RBIs and a double.

Simpson went 2-for-2 with three RBIs, three runs and a triple, Dave Rossi went 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI and Harker was 2-for-2 with 1-for-2 with three runs, two RBIs and a homer. Evan Christie also added two hits, including a double.

Murphy's (14-2) will look to retain the No. 1 record in the LBSL this Sunday when it takes on Wolfpack (7-9) at Edgewood Elementary at 9 a.m.

GAME ONE

Sky Box (10-5)                  012         100         0_  4  6  0

Murphy’s (13-2)                00(11)     112         X_15 21 0

2B— SB: Gary, J.R.; M: M. Rossi 2, Andrew, Harker, Yeager, Coles, Walker. 3B— M: Tosti. HR— M: D. Rossi. RBI— M: Tosti 4, Coles 3, Simpson 2, D. Rossi 2, Walker 2, Harker, Trochak.

WP— Trochak (13-2). LP— Tom (10-5).

GAME TWO

Murphy’s (14-2)                  072         2(10)X     X_21 23 0

Sky Box (10-6)                    001         00X         X_1   6   0

2B— M: Faust Sr., Maloney, Christie. 3B— M: Simpson. HR— M: Harker. RBI— M: Maloney 5, Simpson 3, Yeager 3, Walker 2, Faust Sr. 2, Harker 2, Graham, Faust Jr., D. Rossi.

WP— Trochak (14-2). LP— Tom (10-6).

MURPHY'S SPLITS AGAIN, MOVES TO 12-2

If the Murphy's softball team is going to accomplish the two biggest goals - winning a Lower Bucks Softball League title and making a legitimate run towards a 2012 Trentonian title - it set forth coming into this season there's going to be the proverbial bumps in the road.

And for the second time in as many weeks, the Boys in Black proved there as adept at dealing with adversity as any other team in the program's seven-year history.

After getting dealt a 14-8 setback in Game One to The Sillies, Murphy's rebounded with an energized, all-around effort in avenging that loss with a 13-6 victory at Edgewood Elementary.

Murphy's did rack up 15 hits in the first game but only managed to push eight runs across the plate. Matt "Hollywood" Harker led the way by going 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and a run.

Kevin "Mon Dog" Maloney, Colin "Quintonious" Tosti, Joe "Ichiro" Faust Sr., Josh Yeager "Bomb" and T.J. "Morpheous" Coles each added two hits. Coles ripped a three-run homer in the sixth inning and was an absolute terror for the opposition on the base paths all day.

T.J. Coles went 5-for-5 with six RBIs, a HR, three doubles and three runs
scored but Murphy's split for the second straight week to move to 12-2

Just like they had done the previous week after getting dealt their initial setback of the season at the hands of The Not So Athletics, Murphy's rebounded in a convincing way in Game Two.

Jimmy "Jimmy Jax" Trochak limited The Sillies to just six runs and one extra-base hit in improving to 12-2 on the season. The right-hander was backed by solid defense, including a tremendous defensive play from Coles at short to end the first inning.

Posey lined a shot back up the box that took a crazy hop back up to the right before it got to Coles. But the standout shortstop somehow snared the wicked hop up over his right ear and fired to first in time for the out. Maloney made a nice running grab to rob Wayne of an extra-base hit in the fifth inning.

Coles' three doubles highlighted a 23-hit, eight extra-base hit onslaught in game two. Coles was 3-for-2 with three RBIs and two runs in Game Two and was 5-for-5 with six RBIs, a homer, three doubles and three runs scored on the day.

Trochak backed his own cause at the plate by going 3-for-4 with two runs, an RBI and a triple. Tosti went 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI and reached base in all four plate appearances. Harker, Maloney, Andrew Graham, Yeager and Joe Faust Jr. each had two hits in the convincing victory.

Murphy's, which maintained sole possession of first place in the Lower South standings, will square-off with a Sky Box (10-4) team that's been hot as of late at 9 a.m. at Truman High.

GAME ONE

Murphy’s (11-2)                100         213         1_  8  15 0

Sillies (8-5)                        640         121         X_14 23 0

2B— M: Faust Jr.; S: Mamenski 3, Posey 2, Derrick. HR— M: Harker, Tosti, Coles; S: Buddy. RBI— M: Coles 3, Harker 2, Maloney, Tosti, Yeager.

WP— John (N/A). LP— Trochak (11-2).

GAME TWO

Sillies (8-6)                        030         001         2_  6  13 0

Murphy’s (12-2)                600         601         X_13 23 0

2B— M: Coles 3, Harker, Maloney, Faust Jr. 3B— M: Trochak. HR— S: Derrick. RBI— M: Coles 3, Harker 2, Maloney 2, Yeager 2, Trochak, Graham, Tosti, Faust Jr.

WP— Trochak (12-2). LP— Greg (N/A).