Franklin Towne Charter's Hart posts a no-hitter

SO MUCH for the notion that today's pitchers have no stamina.

Working on 2 days' rest, Tim Hart, a senior righthander, on Monday twirled a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts as Franklin Towne Charter bested Girard Academic Music Program, 4-2, in a Public League semifinal at Richie Ashburn Field, in South Philly's FDR Park.

Thursday's final, featuring FTC vs. Frankford, will be played at the same site (3:15 start).

Friday, Hart fanned 10 and allowed one hit in four innings as the Coyotes posted a quarterfinal win over Ben Franklin, 10-3.

Monday, coach Kyle Riley said, the no-no almost was a surprise.

"Things were so tense," he noted, "we didn't realize what Tim had going until the game was almost over.

"He was having some control problems, so we were having constant discussions about whether to go to Callahan or Padilla. We decided to stick with him."

Hart walked four and plunked one. GAMP scored two unearned runs in the first thanks in part to a walk, hit batter and two miscues.

Hart, the cleanup hitter, posted one RBI on a sacrifice fly and two more on a double. Brian Bradley added a run-scoring single.