Olney Charter Wins First Philadelphia Public League Baseball Title In 47 Years; Hail To The Champions!
PHILADELPHIA, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Olney Charter High School capped a record-breaking season by capturing the City's Public League Baseball Championship with a 4-1 victory over Frankford H.S. at Richie Ashburn Field in South Philadelphia.
The win marked the first baseball title for the Olney Trojans since 1969, and it marks the resurgence of athletics and academics at OCHS, which has been operated since 2011 as a charter high school by Aspira, Inc. This year alone has seen multiple victories for Olney's athletic teams, including playoff appearances in baseball, softball, track and field and football.
But it is the OCHS baseball team that has been the highlight of the school year. Led by Coach Dan Karlyn and starring two seniors, ace pitcher Cesar Loya and slugging shortstop Giovanni Ortega, the OCHS team features an American Dream of students whose families have come to the United States from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.
"It's a talented group of kids, they love baseball, and they work hard," Coach Karlyn recently told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"This is really special," said Loya, who fired a two-hitter for the championship victory, in an interview with the Inquirer following the game. "It takes hard work and dedication. We practice every day and our coaches always push us to do better."
The next step for OCHS is participating in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) state playoffs, which began later this week. ICYMI: Here's a link to the local story about the title game:
SOURCE Aspira, Inc.
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