Striking up confidence

Whenever the Central baseball team hops a bus to a game, starting pitcher Dave Kisleiko makes sure the ride goes by in no time.

Acting as in-house comedian, the athlete does whatever he can to entertain his teammates.

"I keep everybody relaxed," said Kisleiko, of Ninth Street and Moyamensing Avenue. "We just talk and make everybody comfortable and make the game seem like it’s not important, even though it is."

All joking aside, the 17-year-old senior put serious work into improving his game to its current level.

After watching most innings from the bench last season, Kisleiko spent the off-season working out with former major-league catcher and Central grad John Marzano.

"I rode the bench last year, and I just got fed up knowing that I could be out there playing," the righthander said.

Central baseball coach Bob Barthelmeh said Kisleiko has shown dramatic improvement.

"He has more confidence in himself and I think that comes from being able to throw strikes," the coach said. "He has a better idea of how to throw strikes and how to stay ahead of hitters.

"He is a little better conditioned than last year and prepared himself better for the season."

Kisleiko credits Marzano for helping him establish an effective training regimen, which includes a mini Broad Street run three nights a week.

A SPOT IN Central’s starting rotation was a long-awaited reward for Kisleiko, who began playing organized baseball in the Delaware Valley Youth Athletic Association and South Philly Sabres. Fellow South Philly resident Andrew Reynolds, dubbed "Potter" because of his resemblance to Harry Potter, is the staff ace.

Kisleiko claimed "The Husky Hurler" as his nickname.

"It defines me well," said the player, who attended Key Elementary, Eighth and Wolf streets, and Thomas Middle School, Ninth and Johnston. "I am a husky guy, and I throw a pretty hard ball."

Judging by recent performances, Kisleiko might want to consider changing his nickname to "K-Man." He tallied six strikeouts in a May 2 win over Lincoln and nine strikeouts in the Lancers’ April 27 shutout against Olney.

With the regular season ending Wednesday, winning is more important than ever. Central and Washington entered the week tied for second in Division A with 10-3 records. The two teams will face each other Wednesday.

Central, known for its high academic standards, also has a winning athletic tradition. Earlier this year, the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams both won Public League championship titles and advanced to the PIAA state tournament. The Lancers and the rest of the Division A teams automatically qualify for the Public League playoffs, and Kisleiko considers Central a serious championship contender.

"I think we can definitely win it, there is no doubt in my mind," he said. "Frankford is the only hurdle we have to jump over."

Knocking off the defending back-to-back Public League champ won’t be easy. Frankford is 13-0, which includes last Wednesday’s 16-7 win over Central.

This year’s playoffs will be the end of competitive ball for Kisleiko, who will attend Drexel University, which discontinued its baseball program after the 2003 season. The athlete decided to put an engineering career ahead of baseball.

"I had to make a tough decision," he said. "I could go to Philadelphia University and hope to make the baseball team, but I decided to turn to Drexel and major in engineering."

But if Drexel were to bring back its baseball program, Kisleiko wouldn’t think twice about trying out for the team.

"I want to play baseball in college really bad."

Playoff Update

GAMP qualifies for states

The Girard Academic Music Program softball team is the first local squad this spring to earn a state playoff berth.

GAMP will play in the June 6 opening round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association AA tournament. The Pioneers won the PIAA District XII AA title by defeating Engineering & Science 16-1 Tuesday afternoon. The game was called after four innings due to the 15-run mercy rule.

Senior pitcher Angelica Malatino recorded her fourth no-hitter of the season and struck out seven over four innings, while junior third baseman Dana Anello had four hits. With the win, fourth-seeded GAMP advances to Monday’s quarterfinal round. The match-ups will be finalized at today’s coaches’ meeting, where the teams will be seeded for the playoffs.

First-year coach Jann Hoetzel is confident the Pioneers can make a serious run at the Public League crown.

"We’ve played all the top teams, and we were competitive with all of them," she said.

GAMP, who finished fourth in the Gold Division with a 7-3 record, defeated Swenson 16-1 in last Thursday’s preliminary-round playoff game.

In other postseason softball action, the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts lost 3-2 to Franklin Towne Charter in last Thursday’s opening round of the PIAA District XII AAA tournament. The 9-2 Pegasus also lost the regular-season meeting to Northeast’s FTC, but coach John Hecker said his team had more confidence going into last week’s game.

The game came down to pitching. FTC’s Christina Peoples won the battle by limiting the explosive CAPA offense to two runs on four hits while striking out nine. That was quite a feat, considering the Pegasus won all of its regular-season games via the 10-run mercy rule.

CAPA junior pitcher Kim Paynter kept the game close by allowing just three runs on five hits while striking out seven. The Pegasus took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, but failed to score again.

"I think the depth of our team is better, but their pitching is just dominating," Hecker said. "That’s everything in softball."