The team currently known as Mercer Bowl began as St. Bartholomew's, one of the charter members of the Shenango
Valley Church League in the early 60's. Under the guidance of manager Patsy Combine, St. Bart's emerged as a dominant
team from its onset, winning five league championships during the decade.
Throughout the 70's and 80's, the team remained a dynasty with eight titles under managers Frank
Mistretta, Chunk Baker, and Jim Wilds. St. Bart's were champions seven out of eight seasons from 1975 through 1982, led by
pitchers Austin Murray and John Goga (each with 30+ seasons), and offensive star Les Ream.
Joe Lenzi took over the team during the mid-90's as the league was renamed the Shenango Valley Modified Softball
League, changing to an open format. In 1998, Joel Giroski became manager, aquiring Notre Dame veteran pitcher Lynn Saternow, and
the team was renamed Sharon Eye Clinic. They claimed their 14th championship in 1999 in dramatic fashion over defending
champs Coast to Coast, and picked up another pitcher, Jim Kopan following the season.
Todd Donatelli took over the team in 2001 and won the league as well as the ASA Class A state championship
under the sponsorship of DSM. The team name changed to Pioneer Home Equity in 2002, but the winning ways continued,
as Pioneer continued to win four straight league championships through 2004 (18th overall) with strong pitching and defense,
and offensive leaders such as Mike Cidila, John Cascio, and Mike Dye. They performed well annually in the ASA Major/Open State
tourneys. Hickory Grill/Italian Home (now Our Gang's) interrupted Pioneer's title runs in 2005 and 2006.
Pitcher Saternow retired after playing nearly four decades.
Tornado Alley/Mercer Bowl became the new sponsor in 2006, Pitcher Jim Kopan's first season as manager. Veteran pitcher
and power hitter Bryan Bailey was picked up from Grove City. That team became the first ever to record a perfect
regular season at 17-0, including a string of 32 straight home victories over 4 regular seasons, but proceeded to lose the
championship series 3 games to 1.
After a two year drought, Mercer Bowl regained their title in 2007 by defeating top seed Gallo's (Our Gang's). Trailing
two games to one and down to their final out in game four, Mercer Bowl overcame a 5-1 deficit in the 7th to win 6-5, then proceeded
to win a hard fought battle in game five. Again, strong defense and pitching, plus power from veteran Chad
McCombs and newcomer Devin Corini provided the winning formula.
In 2008, the team claimed their sixth championship of the decade, and 20th all time. In probably
the most exciting series in league history, the Bowlers defeated Our Gang's three games to one, with all three victories
come-from-behind in their last at bat. The final game was won in extra innings after allowing five runs in the
top of the eighth, then scoring six in the bottom of the inning. The team overcame key injuries with clutch hitting
and a never-say-die attitude to win several key battles throughout the season and playoffs.
After a slow start at 7-4 in 2009, Mercer Bowl got on a roll at the right time, winning 11 in a row through game 2 of
the finals by an average margin of over 11 runs per game to qualify for their 11th straight league finals. McCombs'
blistering .634 led the offense while Dave Bodien and Craig Songer had breakout seasons. On the mound, Bailey was
6-0, while Kopan's reconstructed shoulder supplied 11 wins, including a playoff no-hitter. Meeting Our Gang's for
the fifth straight year in the finals, the pitching and defense gave up just 3 runs in each of the three victories, while
the offense tallied 11, 16, and 10 to claim the three-peat, and 8th championship since 1999.
