Finney and Co. Shut Out King; Advance to Sweet Sixteen, Face Central on Mon, 5/23

Posted by Douglas Herman on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 6:56 pm

For the past seven seasons the Rockets have been fighting to reach the level where real Baseball takes place every day. After finally earning a win in their 9th attempt (2010), the program has never looked back. Having only lost four regular season games in the past four seasons, SLA's overall record has surged to 66-19, and a 25-game regular season winning streak has secured consecutive undefeated seasons and back-to-back DivisionTitles.

The climb out of the cellars of D and C has been hard fought, and so their seat at the A-Table next season is well-deserved. SLA's magical run to the 2015 Final Four has been backed up by another outstanding season, and a chip has resided squarely on their collective shoulder after politics got in the way of their push to become the first unranked team to ever win a City Title. Earning a Bye and hosting a 2nd Round Playoff game was a perfect way to start another run. But the entire house of royal blue dreams built off blood, sweat and tears nearly came crashing down upon them.

In standard fashion The Rockets got off to a quick start against their rival King, a team SLA had bested 12-2 early in the season. Sophomore Tony Brown had a patient at-bat, and worked for a pitch he could smack into left field for a lead off single. He quickly stole 2nd and easily scored a heartbeat later after Leon Finney ripped a Triple into the Left Center gap. Finney scored three pitches later on a passed ball as King's starter Johnson tried to stay away from hard-hitting senior Kevin Courtney.

Both sides expected the lead to grow exponentially each inning as it did back in March, but there it stood for the next five innings- Rockets 2, King 0. Serious chances to change that evaporated each inning as both sides bent, but neither broke.

( FULL ARTICLE HERE )

While King discussed what could have been and reluctantly celebrated the end of a solid season, the Rockets reflected on how they had the skills, passion and collective mind to never step this close to the edge again.

For the 2nd consecutive season SLA advances to the Sweet Sixteen and faces 4th-seeded, perennial contender Central High. If their 2015 run is any indicator, the Rockets are right where they want to be.

2016 PIAA Public League Sweet Sixteen
B1 SLA Rockets vs A4 Central Lancers
Monday, 5/23 Central High School
15th & Somerville- 1st pitch, 315pm

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