As part of this week’s look at the local high school baseball scene, ATVN baseball broadcaster Ben Childs went to one of the best games of the regular season to date, with Nazareth pulling off an extra-innings victory over Freedom.

He caught up with Nazareth Manager Brian Wolf, starting pitcher Landon Glovis (who threw six shutout innings and had a couple key hits) and winning pitcher (and the player with the game-winning walk-off hit) Bobby Gzrenda…

Astound TV Network Sports: Ben Childs’ Nazareth Baseball Interviews (4/25)

In other local baseball notes…

• Easton’s Zach Mattes kept the Liberty hitters off-balanced as the Red Rovers pulled off a huge victory over the Hurricanes on a day both teams honored the memory of late Liberty Assistant Coach and Marine Veteran Mark Benetsky.  Easton has not yet clinched a spot in either the league or district playoffs but is playing teams directly ahead of them in the standings coming up this week and still can get in.
• Whitehall’s Jack Lloyd also pitched a gem as the Zephyrs posted an impressive win over Parkland, greatly helping their chances of reaching the EPC playoffs (their victory over North Schuylkill the very next time wasn’t too shabby either!).  The defending District XI champs have already clinched a district playoff berth and are currently #1 in the 5A classification with a little more than a week left in the regular season.
• Despite the loss to Nazareth, Freedom continues to have an impressive season as they have clinched a district berth and remain in the “top 4” spots in the race for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.  Among the team’s highlights this spring include senior Chase Walker’s 100th strikeout and the hot hitting by sophomore Santiago Rodriquez, hitting over 400 with 10 extra base hits and 20 RBIs as of last weekend.
• Much like last spring, Salisbury is catching fire just as the playoffs approach.  They’ve scored several impressive wins recently and are not only now in the top four spots of the Colonial League playoff race, but enter this week just one game back of Allentown Central Catholic in the race for the Class 3A district playoff top seed (they too have already made the district postseason).

Check back to “The Shop” for more videos, interviews and local baseball notes throughout the spring baseball season.  Also, be sure to watch for ATVN’s baseball post-season coverage for both the league and district playoff games coming up on May 8th on the Astound TV Network and live-streaming for free on our YouTube channel!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

It’s spring sports playoff time already (for the sport of tennis, anyway) and this Thursday afternoon will be the District XI championships held at Lehigh University.

To get you ready for the area’s top matches, here’s a rundown of the preliminary rounds…

2024-25 District XI Boys Tennis- 3A Singles

2024-25 District XI Boys Tennis- 2A Singles

Also, despite less-than-ideal weather conditions, the Colonial League held their tennis playoffs…

2025 Colonial League Boys – # 1 Singles Final

2025 Colonial League Boys – # 2 Singles Final

2025 Colonial League Boys – # 3 Singles Final

2025 Colonial League Boys – #1 Doubles Final

2025 Colonial League Boys – #2 Doubles Final

Congratulations to Moravian Academy on their League and Tournament Championship achievements…

Check back to The SportsTalk shop for more on local tennis and high school sports accomplishments and news items.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

As part of our first look at the local high school baseball scene, we introduce new ATVN baseball broadcaster Ben Childs’ interviews with local baseball players and managers.

For his first interview of the spring Ben went to the Colonial League and caught up with Notre Dame-Green Pond Head Coach Mike Bedics and a few of his players after the Crusaders victory over its arch-rivals, the Wilson Warriors….

LV Baseball Notebook 25-1: Ben Childs w/Notre Dame-Green Pond

 In other local baseball notes…

• After a rocky 2024 season and despite a hard-luck loss in extra innings to Parkland on Monday night, Central Catholic is back with one of its best campaigns in recent years.  The Vikings entered this week in first place in the District XI 3A standings and have the depth to make a long playoff run
• In addition to the “usual” powerhouses (i.e., Liberty, Parkland and Nazareth), Freedom is off to a great start, winning 7 of its last 8 games and Northampton has pulled off several impressive wins so far this spring
• Despite a coaching change at Saucon Valley, the Panthers have been one of the top 4A schools in the region, directly behind Tamaqua, Lehighton and Northwestern in the standings and AHEAD of last year’s defending champions, Bethlehem Catholic

Tune in to next week’s ATVN SportsTalk show for more local baseball features.

Check back to “The Shop” for more videos, interviews and local baseball notes throughout the spring baseball season.  Also, be sure to watch for ATVN’s baseball post-season coverage for both the league and district playoff games!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Programming Note:

Coming up on this Thursday’s ATVN SportsTalk show, our guests will be new Allentown Central Catholic Head Football Coach Jake Reichard and members of his team.

The Vikings did not have a good 2024 season and had a number of internal issues within the program.  However, Coach Reichard’s return to his alma mater has already made a dramatic impact on the team.  He’ll talk about the quick turnaround in both attitude and the number of players within the program and several other reasons for excitement at Central on Thursday’s show.

You can watch SportsTalk at 7pm on ATVN, and also via live streaming on our YouTube channel: @AstoundTVNetwork 

Astound video customers can also catch the show at various other replay times for the next week. 

Be sure to tune in!

Now here at “The Shop,” we have our final look at the top boys and girls high school games, players and teams as seen on ATVN so far this past school year….

Astound TV Network Sports: Lacrosse – Northampton vs. Southern Lehigh (4/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Williams Valley vs. Pen Argyl (11/24)

Astound TV Network Sports: Northern Lehigh vs. Pen Argyl (11/24)

Astound TV Network Sports: Emmaus vs. Nazareth (11/24)

Astound TV Network Sports: Easton vs. Nazareth (10/24)

Copies of all our local high school sports full production broadcasts and community shows can be obtained by contacting the Astound TV Network studio.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

PROGRAMMING NOTE:

Coming up on this Thursday’s ATVN SportsTalk show, we will have Colonial League President and Northern Lehigh High School Athletics Director Bryan Geist on our program. 

He will not only be giving an update on many spring sports topics/news items – especially track and field, of which he is a district chairman of. He will also have news on a major change coming for high school football next year and also, another significant announcement affecting high school sports going forward.

You can watch the show Thurdsday live at 7pm on ATVN for free, and also live streaming on our YouTube channel: @AstoundTVNetwork 

Astound TV customers can also catch the show at various other replay times for the next week. 

Be sure to tune in!

Today here at “The Shop” we continue our look back at some of the best boys and girls high school games, players and teams from this past school year.

Among them include a thrilling come from behind victory by Northampton basketball, a sold-out stadium seeing Parkland recapture a District XI title, a solid performance in the state playoffs by Northwestern en route to a PIAA title, and more….

Astound TV Network Sports: Pocono Mountain East vs. Northampton (1/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: William Allen vs. Allentown Central Catholic (1/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Parkland vs.  Emmaus (11/24)

Astound TV Network Sports: Conwell-Egan vs. Northwestern Lehigh  (11/24)

Astound TV Network Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Southern Lehigh (11/24)

Copies of the above events plus all our local sports productions and community shows can be obtained by contacting the Astound TV Network studio.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Programming Note:
Coming up on this Thursday’s ATVN SportsTalk show, we will have members of the PIAA State Championship boys and girls soccer teams – both undefeated – from Northwestern High School.

The show starts at 7:00 p.m. on the Astound TV Network.

Don’t miss it!

Now, as promised, we continue our look back at back at the plays/players/teams of the past winter season, of basketball games and wrestling matches seen on ATVN.

Astound TV Network Sports:  Girls Wrestling – Freedom vs. Liberty (1/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: EPC Girls Wrestling Championship (1/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Boys Wrestling – Bethlehem Catholic vs. Notre Dame Green Pond  (1/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Boys Wrestling – Parkland vs. Emmaus (1/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Boys Wrestling – Bethlehem Catholic vs. Easton (1/25)

Copies of the above events plus all our local sports productions can be obtained by contacting the ATVN studio.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Before we unveil the Colonial League basketball All-Conference team members for 2025, here’s a look at more of the top recent sports highlights on ATVN…

Astound TV Network Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Nazareth (1/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Shamokin (3/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Notre Dame Green Pond vs. Wilson (2/25)

Copies of the above events plus all our local sports productions can be obtained by contacting the ATVN studio.

Now, here’s this winter’s Colonial League basketball “all-stars” as selected by the Colonial Coaches Association (ATVN does not select the players)…

Colonial League Boys Basketball Coaches All League Honors 

League MVP: Gavin Nelson (Northwestern) 

First Team
Gavin Nelson (Northwestern)
Jack Robertson (Saucon Valley)
Isaiah Miles (Notre Dame)
Frankie Pujols (Catasauqua)
Joe Roth (Lehighton)
Lafayette Acree (Wilson) 

Second Team
Exavior Prado (Bangor)
Cole Dietz (Lehighton)
Eli Zimmerman (Northwestern)
Shane Marth (Northwestern)
Carmine Diaz (Notre Dame)
Adam Clark (Saucon Valley) 

Honorable Mention
Marquise Acree (Wilson), Joey Plessl (Southern Lehigh), Caleb Grim (Saucon Valley), Steven Lozada (Salisbury), Mason Soos (Pen Argyl), Logan Anthony (Palmerton), Lincoln Cook (Palisades), Blake Oglialoro (Palisades), Justin Manning (Notre Dame), Kellen Bauer (Northern Lehigh), Connor Simms (Northern Lehigh), Blake Roberts (Lehighton), Pierce Gothard (Jim Thorpe), Hamaad Jenkins (Catasauqua), Reece Lopez (Catasauqua), Hunter McShane (Bangor), Sam Joseph (Moravian Academy) 

Check back to The SportsTalk Shop for more local accomplishments and awards from this past winter season!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We’ve reached the end of the winter high school sports season for the 2024-25 season!

Now we take a look back at some of the best highlights featuring teams in our coverage area from the past season (Check back next week for “part two” of our list)…

Astound TV Network Sports: Parkland vs. Emmaus Girls (2/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Parkland vs. Imhotep  (3/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Allen vs. Parkland (2/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Freedom vs. Wilson (1/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Boys Wrestling; Freedom vs. Liberty (1/25)

Copies of the above events plus all our local sports productions can be obtained by contacting the ATVN studio.

As we transition from the winter to the spring sports seasons, tune into this Thursday’s ATVN SportsTalk show as our special guests will be the defending District XI 5A girls softball champions from Whitehall and the District XI 3A boys lacrosse champions from Easton – both with unique storylines to talk about.

Catch the show live at 7pm and email comments/questions to us at chris.michael@astound.com and we might read/respond to your emails live on the air!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

While the ATVN broadcast season is now over for this winter, it wasn’t without a ton of great moments by boys and girls teams in the PIAA state playoffs!

Among our highlights include:

• A magical run by the Catty basketball team, falling just short of advancing to the quarters with a last second shot attempt
• A buzzer beating basket made by Parkland sophomore Black Nassry in the second round
• A dominating performance by Archbishop Wood’s girls team at “The Geigle” in Reading (you won’t believe how many three pointers they made)
• A number of other great plays during this winter’s post-season
• Two impressive defensive-minded teams (sparking a TON of offense) from Scranton Prep and Hazelton
• A great comeback attempt from the Liberty Lady Canes falling just short

 Here’s a look at “part two” of the top plays and players from this month’s PIAA playoffs…

Astound TV Network Sports:  Bethlehem Catholic vs. Archbishop Wood  (3/25)

Astound TV Network Sports:  Parkland vs. Scranton  (3/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Lancaster Mennonite vs. Catasauqua (3/25)

Astound TV Network Sports:  Allentown Central Catholic vs. Scranton Preparatory (3/25)

Astound TV Network Sports:  Liberty vs. Hazelton (3/25)

Copies of the above events plus all our local sports productions can be obtained by contacting the ATVN studio.

Keep checking back to The SportsTalk Shop for more great plays and notes on this winter’s basketball post-season.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We had ANOTHER overtime (actually DOUBLE overtime) game on Tuesday night as Astound TV Network broadcast the Freedom vs. Nazareth matchup, which officially kicked off district playoff season (video highlights of that game is below).

Before we talk more about districts, here’s part two of our highlights from the EPC basketball playoffs, including the Emmaus girls and the Northampton boys teams (more on them below) winning their championship games and an overtime victory by Pocono Mountain West over Whitehall in the semifinals…

Astound TV Network Sports:  Emmaus vs. Bethlehem Catholic (2/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Pocono Mountain West vs. Northampton (2/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Pocono Mountain West vs. Whitehall (2/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Nazareth (2/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Nazareth vs. Freedom  (2/25)

A reminder that our special guests will be Northampton Head Coach Matt Scholl and members of the Konkrete Kids on this Thursday’s live ATVN SportsTalk show at 7pm to talk about their magical playoff run and the road ahead in the District XI playoffs.

The program featuring Northampton will air live on the Astound TV Network and will be live-streamed for free on our YouTube channel (type in “Astound TV Network” in the “search,” then click on our live links) or subscribe to get free alerts when we go “LIVE” with our local sports programming!

Coming up on Friday, we’ll have a quadruple header featuring District XI girls and boys basketball playoffs.

Join us on Saturday night as longtime ATVN wrestling announcer Scott Barr will make his final broadcast calling this year’s District XI Individual Wrestling finals at 10pm.  Scott has been with us for over 40-years and decided to step down following this broadcast, so please join us for a few “surprises” to honor Scott during this event.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.