Somehow, it always seems to come back to Upper Darby and Wayne.
For the fifth time in the last six seasons, the Delco League’s top heavyweights will square off for the championship.
Game 1 of the best-of-five series is set for Monday at 5:45 p.m. at Cardinal O’Hara, with second-seeded Wayne trying to knock off top-seeded Upper Darby and end the Blue Sox’s run.
Upper Darby defeated Wayne to capture its second straight Delco League championship last summer. Now the Blue Sox are chasing history, looking to become the first franchise to win three consecutive league titles since Wayne accomplished the feat from 2007-09. UD is aiming to win its fourth championship since 2021.
Wayne, meanwhile, is looking to reclaim the crown after winning four championships in five seasons from 2019-23. Manager Brian Fili’s club team hasn’t won the title since 2023, defeating Upper Darby in Fife games.
Wayne earned its trip back to the finals Saturday by edging fourth-seeded Ridley, 4-3, in the deciding Game 5 of the semifinal series.
Tommy Bradley relieved starter Austin Havertine, who allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits over 4.1 innings. Ridley had pulled within a run in the fifth when Ryan Cassidy smacked a two-run single after a three-base error to begin the inning and a hit batter put another runner aboard.
Bradley kept Ridley from getting any closer.
The Black Sox made noise in the sixth, putting runners on second and third with one out. Bradley answered by striking out Sam Sturman and Jackson Burger to strand both runners.
Ridley had one last chance in the seventh. Cassidy opened the inning with a single and Jimmy Boyle followed with a walk, putting the tying and go-ahead runs aboard with nobody out.. Bradley got back-to-back groundouts before inducing a harmless pop up from pinch hitter CJ Costales to first baseman Steven Wells, ending the game and sending Wayne back to the championship series.
Ridley grabbed the early lead in the first inning when Lucien Burger doubled home Cassidy.
Wayne answered in the second on Blake Havertine’s RBI single, then scored three runs in the third. Bradley knocked in a run with a single before Havertine added a two-run hit to make it 4-1.
Upper Darby wrapped up its semifinal series last Thursday, eliminating sixth-seeded Aston Valley in four games.
The Blue Sox closed out the Knights with a 5-2 triumph behind Ben Mutz, who threw a complete game. It was the latest in an impressive run by Upper Darby’s starting rotation. Mutz joined Kevin McGovern, Quinten Perilli and Ben Thorpe in combining for a 2.60 ERA during the semifinals.
The Charlie Kress Trophy is once again going to either Wayne or Upper Darby. One of the two clubs has captured every Delco League championship since 2019. The last team outside those two to win it all was the old Narberth franchise (now the Drexel Hill team) back in 2018.