Three JCBL teams vie for AAABA berth, Mainline Pharmacy seeks to defend title

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Mainline Pharmacy will begin the second leg in its attempt to complete a trifecta of title defenses Friday.Manager Chance Osborne’s team repeated as the Johnstown Collegiate Baseball League regular-season champion, edging runner-up Martella’s Pharmacy by one game in the 29-date regular season.

Mainline Pharmacy will begin defense of its JCBL playoff championship Friday against fourth-seeded The O at Forest Hills Junior-Senior High School (5:30 p.m.) Osborne’s squad already has earned a berth in the 81st All American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament that begins Aug.

3, but wants to nab the Johnstown-1 spot in defense of its national tournament crown.The best-of-5 semifinal series will continue Saturday and Sunday, with doubleheaders set at Sargent’s Stadium at the Point.“We look at Friday as a brand-new season,” Osborne said.

“Stats are out the window and we’re at a point where everything is team-oriented. We are not looking at it as if we secured a spot in the tournament. It really is a brand-new season – one game at a time.

“Six is the magic number.“That’s what we’re working to get.”The regular-season title guarantees Mainline Pharmacy a trip to the AAABA Tournament, but the playoff winner hosts the night games at Sargent’s Stadium at the Point throughout the tournament week.

The playoff runner-up takes the Johnstown-2 position and hosts the day games against upper-bracket competition.“What we like about this team, there are kids on this team that peaked at the beginning. Some guys cooled off,” said Osborne, who led Mainline Pharmacy to a 25-4 regular-season record, “but one thing it seems like they’re doing at the right time, even the younger players on the team are starting to peak.

There are a few guys that were with us last year and are good leaders.“This is a team that doesn’t need a pep talk. They are fully aware of what’s at stake.”

The O went 6-23 during the season, but veteran manager Ken Ashbrook saw progress late in the schedule.“We’