RCN’s coverage of the state baseball playoffs this past weekend officially concludes the scholastic sports season in the RCN viewing area in Pennsylvania and the Washington, DC regions.
First, a few “shout-outs” for outstanding achievements for the spring sports season.
In the DC area, Bishop O’Connell HS softball coach Tommy Orndorff coached his 700th win as his Lady Knights defeated PVI, 10-0, in six innings. The win came later in the season, making Coach Orndorff one of only a handful of coaches in the region—-in any sport—to win that many games. Orndorff has coached at the school for 30 years and has compiled a winning percentage just south of .900. In addition, he has led his squad to 19 Virginia Independent School State Tournament Championships and 21 Catholic League Tourney Titles. Orndorff was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame this past November.
Also, special congratulations are in order for the Gonzaga lacrosse team, who won its sixth consecutive title in a very competitive region for the sport. The Eagles is one of a few teams in our coverage area that has won repetitive lacrosse titles. This year, they overcame obstacles and faced a very tough schedule en route to its “six-peat” season here in the spring of 2015.
And although we mentioned this last year here at the “SportsTalk Shop,” congratulations once again for an ultra-impressive spring season overall for the Parkland sports teams. The Trojans were in EVERY District XI championship game, winning titles in baseball, girls lacrosse, tennis, softball and volleyball (also winning a PIAA title). They also recorded impressive track-and-field numbers in boys and girls conference and district meets.
The Trojans’ tremendous spring brings their overall sports record to an impressive .690-winning percentage, and ups their total to 233 conference championships, 140 district championships and 12 state titles. This doesn’t include all the individual honors racked up in sports like track, wrestling, tennis and golf.
Speaking of Parkland’s success, we will have a chance to honor its District XI 4A-winning football team at our next “RCN SportsTalk Gets Wild” show from Buffalo Wild Wings on Grape Street in Whitehall, on Thursday, June 25, from 7-8 pm. Head Coach Jim Morgans, his coaching staff and members of last year’s team will be in attendance as they talk about last year’s success, its controversial finish to last season, and look ahead as they try to defend their title once again against Easton, Whitehall and a number of other teams in the area that will all be improved from a year ago.
We’ll also be doing a fund-raising event that day at Buffalo Wild Wings, focusing on a great charity in the RCN viewing area. Keep checking back to the RCN website for details on this great opportunity to support a local organization and make sure you mark your calendar to come out and support the Trojans and local football in person. http://www.buffalowildwings.com/en/locations/Detail/0474
Before we close the door on this spring sports season, here’s a final sampling of some of the teams we featured over the last few weeks on our Thursday “RCN SportsTalk” program (you can view these features in its entirety and all of our spring sports packages by viewing our “SportsTalk” shows through RCN On-Demand).
If you happen to go through high school sports withdrawal over the next several weeks, remember that the fall season’s “double sessions” begin in less than two months. In fact, many schools have already started their “conditioning drills” for the autumn sports season, so it won’t be long until football, soccer and other popular sports will be in full swing once again!