Matt Sharkey, left, is greeted by Team Goon teammates after his sixth-inning, three-run homer.
By Rich Bevensee
It makes perfect sense that Alex Valdes, Chase Fulford and a handful of other ballplayers in the Central Bucks community came up with the idea to assemble what is essentially an all-star team from their school district.
Central Bucks is the third largest school district in the state of Pennsylvania behind only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and it maintains three large regional high schools – Central Bucks South, East and West, three programs rich in baseball talent.
The assembled stars from these schools – they call themselves Team Goon – have joined the Diamond Nation High School Fall League, and they are clearly enjoying the experience, performing at a high level while playfully making fun of one another in a raucous dugout. Bucks County is apparently rich in chemistry, as well.
On Tuesday evening, amidst the ribbing and teasing, Matt Sharkey came up to the plate with his team trailing by a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two men on, the Central Bucks East standout launched a moon shot over the left field netting on Field 7 for a three-run home run, propelling Team Goon to a 4-2 victory over the Hillsborough Cardinal in Flemington.
“I’m definitely having fun with these guys,” Sharkey said. “It’s a great group. A lot of fun.”
The win was Team Goon’s second straight as it improved to 4-1. The gritty Cardinal saw its three-game win streak snapped and fell to 6-3.
From the outset, when Blake Bell led off the first inning by reaching on an error and soon scored on a Jack Thompson RBI single, the Team Goon dugout was screaming for each other and heckling one another at the same time.
“We just threw this team together because no one had a place to play this fall,” said Fulford, a Central Bucks East star and Binghamton commit. “This is what we look forward to all week. It makes our week. A lot of us are on the same travel team but we know each other from being from the same community, so we see each other around. We’re all good friends, known each other for a while.
“It’s so much fun. I’m so glad we did this.”
Michael Albanese drove in a run for the Hillsborough Cardinal in Fall League action on Tuesday.
The contest was an exceptionally-pitched thriller, with no team leading by more than a run until Sharkey’s blast.
In the top of the sixth, Hillsborough leadoff hitter Drew Kipila walked, stole second, and took third and home on wild pitches for a 2-1 Cardinal lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Mike Koldhoff walked and Mike Scafidi singled to set the stage for Sharkey.
On a belt-high, 1-0 pitch, Sharkey delivered Team Goon a monstrous three-run homer, his first in two years.
“I was definitely hunting fastballs,” Sharkey said. “I’m not a homer hitter, more of a gap power kind of guy. I’m a little surprised, but I’ve been working hard so it’s nice to see it pay off.”
Brett Barrett, a Central Bucks South star and Ursinus commit, got the win in relief thanks to Sharkey, after allowing the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth.
Barrett escaped a minor jam in the seventh after Mark Ward, who tripled and scored in the fifth to tie the game for Hillsborough, reached on an infield error. That brought Michael Albanese to the plate representing the tying run. Albanese hit a grounder to shortstop Fulford, who stepped on second and fired to first baseman Danny Niro for a game-ending double play.
Fulford was electric in his four innings on the bump. With a high-80s fastball complemented by a devastating curveball, Fulford struck out eight while allowing one run on two hits and one walk.
“I usually don’t practice pitching. I kind of do it for my arm strength,” said Fulford, who was recruited by Binghamton as a middle infielder. “But I’ve always had a good curveball. That’s what I lean on. I also threw a changeup and knuckleball, but the knuckleball’s just for fun.”
Team Goon rode its 1-0 lead into the top of the fifth inning, Fulford’s final inning of work. Fulford struck out seven of the 11 batters he faced before facing Ward for a second time with one out in the fifth. In fact, Ward struck out the first time he faced Fulford.
This time, however, Ward, a Hillsborough senior, caught up with a Fulford fastball well enough to drive it into right center for a stand-up triple. One batter later, Albanese sent a flare into right to score Ward with the tying run.
Koldhoff pitched a scoreless first inning for Team Goon and allowed one walk. Barrett pitched the final two innings and yielded one run on two walks and he struck out three.
For Hillsborough, righty Samuel Malone allowed an unearned run over the first three innings while striking out five and giving up two hits and no walks. Aidan Murphy pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts and just one walk. Seamus Maloney pitched one inning and allowed three runs on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts.