2025 Philadelphia Dirt Dawgs Defeat Defending Champion Northampton Angels to Win First Buxmont MSBL Championship
Buxmont MSBL, 28+ Division
Philadelphia Dirt Dawgs 8, Northampton Angels 1
Submitted by Dennis Higgins, manager
After winning five straight Liberty Bell Men’s Baseball League titles from 2018 to 2022, the Philadelphia Dirt Dawgs were eager for a new challenge in 2025 and decided to join four other teams from the LBMBL to merge into a larger and more competitive Buxmont MSBL. On the heels of a 14-4 regular season, good enough for second place in the standings, the Dawgs swept the first two rounds of the playoffs against the Skippack Wookies and the Philadelphia Padres.
They awaited the winner of a heavyweight matchup between the defending Buxmont MSBL Champion Northampton Angels and the defending LBMBL Champion Conshohocken Marlins. That series was one for the ages, with the Angels narrowly edging the Marlins in a winner-take-all game three under the lights.
This paved the way for two storied Philly-area franchises to square off in the finals. The Dawgs jumped on the Angels early, plating two in the first on the backs of consecutive hits by centerfielder Chip Chapman, third baseman Cody Clarke, and first baseman Dan Gavlick. Dawgs starter Ryan Levito took the ball first, as he did every Sunday, and kept the potent Angels offense at bay. Levito twirled five strong innings, yielding just one run, scattering three hits.
The Dawgs offense kept the pressure on, adding three in the third, two in the fifth, and one in the seventh. In the sixth, the Dawgs handed the ball to flame-throwing closer Kevin McGovern to finish the job. He recorded the final six outs, with 12-year Dawgs veteran outfielder Stanton Tentnowski securing that final fly-ball out to deliver the Championship trophy to the Dirt Dawgs.
With a final score of 8-1, the Dawgs took home their first Buxmont MSBL Championship. This marked Sunday-League Championship number six for Manager/Shortstop Dennis Higgins and the Philadelphia Dirt Dawgs, in their franchise’s 12th season together.
The Dawgs are eager to lace them up again in 2026 to defend the title and hope to see the league continue to grow with even more teams and the highest level of competition in the Philadelphia area!