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’ve been in most of these games during the season,” Ashbrook said. “One bad inning would take us out of it. If we can get through that inning and keep the runs at a minimum, I think we will be fine.”

Mainline Pharmacy went 7-0 against The O, posting a 53-10 scoring margin. The O played the regular-season champs tight in a 2-1 loss in Tuesday’s regular-season finale at the Point.

“We’ve been hitting as of late in the season,” Ashbrook said. “It seems as if one game our pitching will be good and the next game our hitting would be good. We couldn’t get it together at the same time.

“I think if we could do that in the playoffs, we could have a really good chance of knocking off Mainline.”

Martella’s Pharmacy finished 24-5 and lost a winner-take-all game against Mainline Pharmacy Monday night at the Point.

Second-seeded Martella’s Pharmacy will face third-seeded The Hill Group (13-16) at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Dee Dee Osborne Field at Roxbury Park.

Martella’s Pharmacy made its 16th consecutive AAABA Tournament appearance in 2025, playing as the Johnstown-2 representative.

Mainline Pharmacy defeated Martella’s Pharmacy in the first all-Johnstown AAABA Tournament championship game in 2025.

Mainline Pharmacy claimed AAABA Tournament titles in 2023 and 2025. Martella’s Pharmacy won Johnstown’s first AAABA Tournament crown in 2018.

“Our goal No. 1 is to be the top seed going into the playoffs, win the regular season,” Martella’s manager Kerry Pfeil said. “We failed at that. The beautiful thing about baseball is until your last game is your last game, your season’s not over.

“We’re definitely going to let this one sting,” he said after Monday’s setback.

“We’ll remember it down the line, but we’ll get after it when the playoffs start.”

Martella’s Pharmacy went 6-1 against The Hill Group during the regular season, with a 40-22 scoring advantage.

The Hill Group won the first meeting 7-1 and played a close 3-2 game in a loss to Martella’s Pharmacy Tuesday.

“We’ve got a bunch of competitors,” The Hill Group manager Rusty Thomas said.

“When you’re coaching or managing, that’s what you want. We’ve got guys that want the ball. We’ve got guys that want to bat.

“The competitive nature of this group of guys, they work hard until the last out. We just have a bunch of guys who want to show up and play.”

Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.