Take Me Out To The Play Offs/Varsity Boys Baseball Sweep of Solomon Schechter Puts Panthers in IPPSAL Post Season

Coming off two tough losses to Waldorf, the Varsity Boys Baseball team was facing must wins in a two game home and home series with Solomon Schechter. Fortunately, the games would be broken up by four days, thus allowing the Panthers to start "Ace" pitcher Reid Erickson in both games. The first game was played at SSDS in Glen Cove. Erickson was the story in this game as he completely shut down the Lions' offense. Senior Dan Leavey ran his consecutive on base streak to 11 straight plate appearances and Mark Dourmashkin contributed both at the plate and in the field, as he has done all season. Now the pressure would mount though, as the teams squared off for one game that would determine which school qualified for the IPPSAL play offs. This time it was the Panthers attack that carried the day. Sophomore Mark Dourmashkin, Junior Mike McCloskey and Senior Kai Stoll each had two hits as Portledge scored early and often on their way to an eventual total of 8 runs. Once again Erickson was rock solid on the mound as he scattered 5 hits over the game and held SSDS to a total of 3 runs. There was a great crowd for the home game in this series, and making the play offs is a real accomplishment for the young program. Portledge will finish up the regular season with a two game home and home series v. Upper Room this week. Hopefully, familiarity will be an advantage for the Panthers, as Upper Room will most likely be their heavily favored opponents in the semi finals of the IPPSAL Tournament.

Like a Phoenix/Varsity Boys Tennis Wins Three in a Row to Revive Hopes of Another IPPSAL Championship

With great leadership from Seniors Paul Wirkowski, Corey Axelowitz and Mete Seker the Varsity Boys Tennis Team has turned their season around by winning three consecutive matches and five of their last six. Two victories over Kew Forest, and one each over Knox and LWA have put the Panthers swatters back in the picture for a sixth consecutive IPPSAL Championship. Huge regular season matches with Solomon Schechter and a double dip with LuHi remain before a possible date in the IPPSAL Championship match. Also impressive was a win against ACIS rival Berkeley Carroll. Come watch the Panthers this afternoon, when they face BC in a tough rematch of this ACIS rivalry. Let's go tennis.....Finnish Strong!!!!

Top of the Heap/Nine Consecutive Wins Propel Varsity Girls Lacrosse to First Place in the Laxpower Metropolitan Area Rankings

It's an exciting time in Varsity Girls Lacrosse at Portledge. Not only have the Lady Panthers won nine consecutive games, but they were recently elevated to the #1 position in the Laxpower.com metropolitan area rankings for independent schools. The team continues to be propelled by an unstoppable offense. This goal scoring machine is orchestrated by Junior Siena Falino from her attacking position, but it is driven by the fantastic midfield play of three dynamic sophomores and another Junior star. The middle of the field is controlled by the duo of Addie Reilly and Claudia Rogers, while the incredible speed of Chelsea Caracciolo and Alex Siwiec dominates the flank play. A host of talented underclassmen fill out the attacking positions and the defense is manned by a trio of Seniors in Liz Lanza, Ashley Gilchrist and Yola Yu. Impressive Freshman Hope Mulry is also making valuable contributions on the defensive end, as is Senior goalie Jess Sarrantonio. Sarrantonio's leadership of this talented group of players is undeniable, but also not solo. Seniors Lanza, Gilchrist, Yu and Miyuki Miyagi all provide a calming and focused influence on the team. Congratulations to all the players and coaches on the incredible accomplishment of rising to the top ranking in the area, and best of luck down the stretch and in the NYSAISAA Tournament.

It's Do or Die Time/Waldorf Sweep Puts Varsity Baseball Up Against the Wall

Last week's two game series with Waldorf was critical to the play off hopes of the Portledge Varsity Baseball team. With both games being played at Broxmeyer Field there was an air of confidence around the young Panthers. When the games were over, however, Portledge had been swept, and despite some really fine play, the team was now staring at what had become "must win" games v. Solomon Schechter.

How Did the Series With Waldorf Unfold?

The first game of this evenly played and hard fought series was a great contest that saw some good hitting, fielding and pitching from both sides. Watching from behind the left field fence, I saw Sophomore shortstop Mark Dourmashkin make a beautiful play in the hole and Freshman Chris McClosky make a great catch in center. Senior Reid Ericson was his usual steady self on the mound, striking out at least one Waldorf batter per inning. At the plate, Junior Adam Kravietz one hopped the fence with a rope to left center, and Dourmashkin had a key single to drive in a Portledge run late in the game. In the end though, you had to tip your cap to the Waldorf pitcher who held the Panther hitters in check during their last at bat to secure the 5-4 win.

Friday afternoon saw the second game be played as close as the first with the matter not being decided until extra innings had been contested. Senior Dan Leavey had a great day at the dish as he reached base all five times up with three hits and two walks. I know the coaches have been waiting for Dan to show this type play and leadership. Let's hope the third baseman's fine play continues throughout the rest of the season. Mark Dourmashkin once again had a key late game hit as his triple drove in several runs to tie the game. Junior Adam Kravietz, Sophomore Ben Shapiro and Freshman Chris McClosky all pitched fairly well, and certainly gave the Panthers a chance to win this critical game. The Waldorf attack proved to be too much though, as the team from Garden City closed out the sweep with a 12-8 extra inning victory.

These results leave Portledge needing to sweep the season's second to last series v. Solomon Schechter to keep themselves alive in the race for the IPPSAL play offs. The Panthers will also need some help from OSNA, against SSDS, during the final week, but only if they are able to secure two wins first. With the series broken up by a weekend, the Panthers could conceivably start their ace, Reid Ericson, in both games. GOOD LUCK GUYS ....Let's make this thing exciting!

Tough Conditions/Varsity Golf Team Wins Only 1 of 5 Matches During a Big Week of Play @ Great Courses

What a week for the Portledge Varsity Golfers. On three consecutive days from April 22nd to April 24th they were able to play at The Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Westchester, The Greenwich Country Club in Connecticut, and at Tam O'Shanter on Long Island. This is a dream week for a metropolitan area golfer, and the Portledge players really enjoyed the experience.

First up was a tri match with Poly Prep and Hackley at Sleepy Hollow in Tarrytown , NY. The legendary Charles Blair MacDonald design provided an unbelievable challenge to the young Portledge team. With Senior captain Ray Weinmann home with the flu, Sophomore John Litke made his debut in the #1 spot. Litke played a fine round carding a score of 40, which could have been lower if not for a few missed short puts. There are no gimmes in High School competition. The star of the day was Freshman Stephen DiBartolomeo. Playing in the #2 spot, Stevie D was able to defeat both his competitors to earn the only Portledge wins of the day.

The next day the Panther swingers traveled to Connecticut to play Brunswick at the fabled Greenwich Country Club. On a windy day that made scoring extremely difficult, no player on either team broke 40. DiBartolomeo was the low Portledge golfer posting a score of 44 and securing a halved match with his Bruin opponent.

This incredible week came to a close with another tri match. This time the Panthers took on LuHi and Staten Island Academy at the great ol' lady of Brookville, Tam O'Shanter. Portledge registered a 4 to 2 victory over SIA, but were once again defeated by LuHi by a match score of 1 to 5. Weinmann and Litke posted team lows of 42, and Elizabeth Girgenti, playing in her first Varsity match, became the first Portledge girl to ever post a victory in head to head play, when she won her match in the #6 position. Way to go Lizzie!!!

With a current record of 3 wins and 5 losses the Panthers will travel out to The Woodmere Club on the South Shore for a big match with LWA this afternoon. What a beautiful day to play.....I wish I was teeing it up. GOOD LUCK AND HIT EM STRAIGHT!

The End of an Unusual Drought/ Varsity Boys Tennis Defeats Kew Forest to Stop Four Match Losing Streak

The Varsity Boys Tennis team is used to winning championships , not having losing streaks, but this is a bit of a rebuilding year so the difficulties of the last ten days were not altogether unexpected. Having dropped four in a row, two to IPPSAL teams (LWA and SSDS) and two to ACIS teams (Friends Seminary and Staten Island Academy) the Panthers really needed a win over Kew to keep, at least, their IPPSAL hopes alive. With Senior Paul Wirkowski and 8th grader Clark Ruiz, who has been the team's most consistent player, leading the way, the Panthers responded with this critical victory. Hopefully we'll see a strong "rally" from the guys as the season enters it's second half. Go Portledge Tennis !!!!!!!

A Big Win That Also Hurts/Varsity Boys Lacrosse Defeats Hackley But Leading Scorer Is Lost For Season

The play of the Portledge Varsity Boys Lacrosse team during the first half of their 12-10 victory over Hackley was some of the finest lacrosse ever played by a Portledge team. The offense had an incredible flow, as goals seemed to come from everywhere, and the Panthers built a 9-2 lead. Just before the half, however, some real bad luck hit the Portledge squad when Junior attackman, and leading scorer, Tim Morrison, was lost for the rest of the season with a broken collerbone. It's tough on the team, but it's for Tim that I really feel bad. He was having an All American type season with over 40 goals scored in the first 8 games, and the leadership he was providing was something really special to the school. All we can say is.... that's the game Tim, and I know that the team will do everything they can to keep things going in your absence. So feel better and come back soon!!! The Panthers will face Glen Cove on Friday @ 4:30 in the semi finals of the Portledge Tournament. The other semi will pit Rye Country Day v. LuHi and will also be played at 4:30 on Friday. Saturday will see a 12:00 consolation game, and a 2:00pm final.