As well as the Rams played this year, Allan Koger believes there’s still another level to go.
The South Philadelphia High School baseball team enjoyed a remarkable season that included a dozen wins and an undefeated run that finally came to a halt in the quarterfinal round of the Public League tournament.
Koger, a junior from Horace Howard Furness High School, was the backbone of a regional team that included players from several schools in the South Philly area. They came together to produce one of the best baseball seasons in school history. It started with the first day of practice.
“Going to practice every day showed us a lot,” said Koger. “We would see what we were doing wrong and fix it. But we also showed a lot of love to each other. It was a good friendship and a bond.”
The Rams won the Public League’s National Division and were one of 21 qualifiers for the league championship tournament. Southern went on the road to defeat Olney, 5-3, in the play-in round on May 7 and defeated Carver High School of Engineering and Science, 5-2, on May 9 in the following round. The Rams’ run finally came to an end as they were defeated by perennial power Frankford, 16-1, in the quarterfinal.
“It gave us a lot of hope for the next year coming up,” Koger said. “It was a good season. We just came up a little short. But at the end of the day, I know next year we are going to be way better than we used to be. I just hope more kids come out to play.”
Koger was one of the Rams’ aces on the mound but was valuable just about anywhere in the field. He also led off a lineup that produced 113 runs in 12 games this season (Southern received one forfeit win) and he was a terror for the opposition on the base paths. Koger’s athleticism is on display year-round as he also plays football and wrestles. He also follows in his his brother Devon’s footsteps. Devon was a Neumann-Goretti graduate who went on to play at Rowan College of South Jersey’s Cumberland Campus.
“In the old days, he was tough,” Allan said of his older brother. “After my brother played, I wanted to do more. I wanted to show everyone how I can be just like him.”
Allan turned a lot of heads this season. He was a hard-throwing southpaw who could overpower or mix it up to keep opposing hitters off balance. At the plate, he batted over .400 and led the team in runs scored.
More importantly, he enjoyed showing up to play every day. A lot can be credited to his teammates for that.
“The bond that we had with each other was great,” Koger said. “Overall, we had a lot of fun. We got to get to know each other a lot more and it came together. It was a lot of fun, until the end.”
Koger plans to pursue baseball, but will continue playing football for Southern and he will wrestle at the Academy at Palumbo. Part of him, though, will just eagerly anticipate that first pop of the baseball glove next spring. He feels he has a lot to prove.
“We did a lot,” Koger said. “We showed a lot. Now we need to prove a lot next year.”
