Varsity
Baseball 1973
Sitting:
Greg Wagner, Steve Banks, Bob Stout; Kneeling: Eric Mast,
Jeff Beaston, Dave Vogelsong, Mike Wamsley, mgr., Ron Lowe;
Standing: Coach Shirley, Bob Sudak, Brad McClimans, Joe
Shamansky, John Rohrbaugh, Mike Conrad, Greg Fair, Harvey
Brewbaker, Mike Rutherford, Chris Puchalsky, Dennis Shambaugh,
Mike Warner, Ian Hamilton, Jeff Fair, Steve Eberly, Jeff Woodward,
Coach Mackert
In
the beginning
Spring
Sports Begin
The baseball team has been practicing out in our parking
lot just about every afternoon these days working to develop the
skills needed to produce a winning season.
Coach Shirley, in his second year as head coach, is very
optimistic this year. We
have a sound team with a number of starters returning, and plenty
of newcomers to fill the vacant positions.
We play all home games at Memorial Park, after school, and
our first home game is against C.V. Eagles on Tuesday, April 10th.
1973 Artisan
Wildcats
Win Opener
Ace Brad McClimans hurled seven and two-thirds innings of a
shutout ball yesterday to pace Mechanicsburg to a 6-2 win over
East Pennsboro
in their season opener.
Don Forbes, who absorbed the loss for
East Pennsboro
belted a triple in the bottom of the seventh and scored on the
only Wildcat error.
Sentinel
McClimans
Wins Against
East Pennsboro
; Edged Out of a Shutout
The Wildcat baseball team is off to a good start for the
season having won two games against East Pennsboro by a score of 6
to 2, and
Palmyra
by 7 to 1, and tied
Cumberland
Valley
at 1 to 1. This game
was called after nine innings due to darkness and will only be
continued at the end of the season if it will affect final league
standings.
Brad McClimans was the winning pitcher against
East Pennsboro
; he pitched very well, losing a shutout in the last inning with
two out. Extra base
hits were gained by Steve Eberly (triple) and Ron Lowe, Eric Mast,
and Steve Banks (all doubles).
Outstanding defensive players included Bob Sudak and Ron
Lowe.
Against
Palmyra
, Jeff Beaston was the winning pitcher (struck out six, walked
two, and allowed only five hits).
The leading hitters were Beaston (with a homerun over the
right field fence), Mast (with a triple) and McClimans (with a
double). McClimans had
three RBIs and Beaston, two. While
MHS stole five bases, Joe Shamansky from his catching position
prevented two attempted steals on the part of
Palmyra
.
In
the game against C.V., McClimans pitched nine innings with no
earned runs, the C.V. run came in the first inning when the
catcher overthrew second base as the first base runner attempted
to steal second and the man on third scored.
The MHS run was scored in the third inning when Steve
Eberly singled home McClimans from second; Brad had singled and
then stolen second. Leading
hitters for Mechanicsburg with two hits each were McClimans, Sudak,
and Eberly. The
Wildcats stole nine bases and left 12 men on base.
McClimans, who struck out seven and walked only one in nine
innings, allowed six hits. Key
defensive plays were executed by Jeff Fair and Bob Sudak who both
threw out C.V. runners from the outfield - Sudak's occurring in
the last inning.
Wildcats
Rack Up 4th Straight Win
The Mechanicsburg Wildcats notched their fourth consecutive
league win last night scoring a 5-2 league win over
Red
Land
.
Although the Wildcats were outhit 5-4, they put together
four runs in the fourth inning giving them a lead they never
relinquished.
Left fielder Bob Sudak claimed two of the Wildcat hits,
with Steve Eberly and Brad McClimans each chipping in one.
Jeff Beaston collected the win, while
Red
Land
's Eshelman was tagged with the loss.
The Wildcats, whose slate is marred only by a tie with
Cumberland
Valley
, share the top spot in the Capital Area race with that team.
Beaston's
Two-Hitter Lifts Wildcats To Win
The Mechanicsburg Wildcats squeezed six runs from
seven hits yesterday to successfully back up the two-hit pitching
of senior Jeff Beaston and dispatch
East Pennsboro
, 6-0.
The Wildcats exploded for three runs in the first
inning, added one in the third and two in the sixth, while
shutting out the orange and black with flawless fielding and
expert pitching.
The six Wildcat runs were helped across by triples
from centerfielder Brad McClimans and first baseman Steve Eberly,
not to mention eight walks given up by
East Pennsboro
pitching.
Jeff Beaston, who allowed only two singles, took the
win for the Wildcats. He
sent eight down swinging and conceded only one walk.
Don Forbes, who started for
East Pennsboro
and went 4 1/3 innings, fanned two and gave up seven free bags.
His reliever Brubaker struck out three and walked only one.
The win boosted the Wildcat string to five victories
without a defeat, and only a tie to
Cumberland
Valley
earlier in the season.
The showdown which has been building up over the past
several weeks between the Wildcats and the Eagles will come to a
head Thursday when the Wildcats travel to
Cumberland
Valley
for the game that may ultimately decide the league championship.
Mechanicsburg
Edges CV Eagles; McClimans Hurls 1-0 Shutout
After a delay by rain last week, the Capital Area
diamond showdown between Mechanicsburg and
Cumberland
Valley
finally happened yesterday, and a showdown it was.
The Mechanicsburg Wildcats eked out a 1-0 victory
over the Eagles to maintain their undefeated habits, and push
their win string to 6-0.
But not before Cumberland Valley posed their greatest
threat of the game in the bottom of the seventh, when Mark Mengle,
who reached first on a fielder's choice, stole second and dashed
on to third on a bad throw with only one out.
Wildcat ace Brad McClimans, who went the route for
Mechanicsburg, yielding only two singles, struck out the next
batter, Ray Picking.
With two outs and Mengle still dangling on third,
coach Tom Billman sent a pinch hitter, Joe Lesh, to the plate to
swing for first baseman Rex Stone.
After a few tension-building foul balls, Lesh bounced
a slow one to short. The
play was close, but the game was over.
The game's sole run came in the top of the fifth.
Eagle starter, Charlie Snyder, who had been having control
problems throughout the game, walked the lead off man, Eric Mast.
Sniffing trouble, Billman was quick to jerk Snyder
and put stalwart Cass Dlugolecki on the mound, but to no avail.
The diminutive speedster, Eric Mast, stole second and
advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Brad McClimans.
Dlugolecki then threw a curve to Jeff Beaston that
hooked into the dirt, escaped catcher Jay Picking, and went behind
the screen allowing Mast to score.
The Eagle pitching team of Snyder and Dlugolecki
contained the Wildcats to only one hit, but gave up no less than
nine free bases.
Twice, in the second and fourth innings the Wildcats
left the bags full without scoring a run.
In both innings first baseman Steve Eberly got to
first on errors, and advanced to third when Snyder gave free
passes to the same two men, Jeff Fair and Ron Lowe.
Also in both cases, Mike Rutherford came to the plate
and popped to the outfield stranding Eberly, Fair, and Lowe.
McClimans, who took the win, fanning five and walking
two, spiced his attack with an abundance of curves, fastballs, and
change ups.
The senior right-hander seemed to gain confidence and
throw harder as the game progressed.
He retired the Eagles in order in the fifth and sixth and
pitched to only four batters in the seventh.
Snyder, who absorbed the loss, fanned two and walked
five. His reliever Dlugolecki struck out two and gave away four
free passes.
The Eagles, meanwhile, will also be on the road today
facing
Red
Land
who they nipped 2-1 in their first encounter this season.
By
Jeff Wiles
Sentinel Sports Editor
More
Wildcat Victories
The winning pitcher against Susquehanna was Brad
McClimans who struck out seven, walked one, and gave up seven
hits. His record is
now 2 to 0 and he has not given up an earned run in 32 innings.
This was quite a game since Susquehanna was previously
undefeated for this season. They
scored their run in the first inning on a successful double steal.
MHS scored one run in the first when Mast walked,
McClimans was hit by a pitch, Eberly reached first on an error,
and then Shamansky got on because of an error by the third
baseman, forcing in Mast. Their
second run came in the bottom of the 7th when Steve Eberly hit a
towering single to score Mast, who, together with McClimans and
Beaston, had gotten on base through walks.
In this game, Eberly had two hits, and Bob Sudak had a
triple, which cleared the fence in right field but hit a tree and
bounced back onto the field.
Against
Red
Land
, the winning pitcher was Jeff Beaston, who gave up five hits,
struck out five, and walked one.
The Wildcats got four runs in the second inning when Greg
Wagner reached first on an error, followed by Beaston and Lowe on
late throws on fielder's choices, scoring Wagner.
Sudak then hit a single to score both Beaston and Lowe; he
then proceeded to move to second on an out, steal third, and score
on a wild pitch. Sudak
also scored the final run after he walked, stole second, and
scored on a single by McClimans.
Sudak had two hits while Eberly and McClimans each had one.
Wildcats
Nip Indians 2-1
The Wildcat nine nipped the Susquehanna Indians 2-1 on the
winners' home field last night.
Steve Eberly, who was 2 for 3 on the night, drove in the
winning run with a single in the seventh.
Brad McClimans picked up the victory for the Cats,
scattering seven hits. Joe
Shamansky was his receiver. Ron
Crum was tabbed with the loss, yielding only four hits.
Both teams tallied in the first and then went scoreless
until the bottom of the seventh, Eberly driving in Mast for the
winning run.
The only other outstanding play of the game was a triple by
Mechanicsburg's Bob Sudak in the fourth.
Mechanicsburg
Defeats
Palmyra
At
Palmyra
, Greg Fair was the winning pitcher with Denny Shambaugh relieving
in the seventh inning. By
the fourth inning, MHS was leading 8 to 0.
Fair pitched six full innings, struck out seven, walked
three, and gave up eight hits.
Then with the score 8 to 5 in the seventh and one out,
Shambaugh came in and got the save as the catcher, Joe Shamansky,
threw out a runner who was attempting to steal third, and the next
batter ground out to Ron Lowe (third to first).
The Wildcats have counted most on their superb
defense, and peerless pitching staff to pull them through many of
the season's close games. With
a team batting average of only .211 and just two home runs, we
have had to rely on more than just hitting this year.
Since the C.A.C. Baseball League is divided into an Eastern
and Western division, the winners of each must play each other for
the championship. In
this year's case, we were scheduled to play the winner of the
Eastern Division, Lower Dauphin H.S., who finished with a 9-1
record. Mechanicsburg
won the 8-inning thriller by a 2-1 score.
The starting lineup for Mechanicsburg's championship team
is as follows: Starting Pitchers-Brad McClimans and Jeff Beaston,
Relief Pitchers- Denny Shambaugh and Greg Fair, 1st Baseman-Steve
Eberly, 2nd Base-Eric Mast or Steve Banks, 3rd Base-Ron Lowe,
shortstop-Mike Rutherford, Left Field-Bob Sudak, Right Field-Jeff
Fair or Ian Hamilton, Center Field-Jeff Beaston or Brad McClimans,
and Catching-Joe Shamansky or Dave Vogelsong.
5/27/73 Torch
Cats
Win Capital Crown
It's
a happy day in Mechanicsburg.
The Wildcat diamond squad brought the Capital Area baseball
crown back to the
West
Shore
, defeating the slightly favored Lower Dauphin Falcons, 2-1, in
eight innings yesterday.
The game was everything a championship game should be a
stiff pitchers duel between Wildcat ace Brad McClimans and Lower
Dauphin's hard throwing Jim Kulina for five and a third innings,
capped by two more innings of tension packed fielding and case
running, in which the score seesawed twice.
After blowing a scoring chance in the fourth when Falcon
Bob Schaver moved clear to third on a single muffed by center
fielder Jeff Beaston, the Falcons finally drew first blood in the
bottom of the sixth.
Pitcher Jim Kulina lined a single to center and turned it
into a two-bagger when Jeff Beaston again forgot his fundamentals,
letting the grounder slide between his legs.
With one out Falcon leftfielder Jeff Paine moved Kulina to
third on an infield sacrifice.
Then with two outs, shortstop Bob Schaver banged his second
single of the day, a big hopper over the first baseman's extended
arm, to score Kulina.
In what was apparently his last chance, Jeff Beaston came
to the plate overanxiously and went down swinging for the first
out in the top of the seventh.
To make the already gray day gloomier, catcher Shamansky
popped up in the infield for out number two.
Then it happened.
Just when Kulina was winding up and bearing down for all he
was worth, Mike Rutherford slapped a single to right that dropped
in front of charging Falcon Ron Shaffer.
Concentrating on the next batter, Jeff Fair, the Falcons
allowed
Rutherford
to steal second right on cue for Fair's single up the middle to
score him.
Brad McClimans, who seemed to strengthen as the game
progressed, retired the Falcons in order in the bottom of the
seventh.
After Eric Mast bounced to third for the first out in the
top of the first extra inning, the Wildcats bunched three singles
back to back to tally the winning run.
Left fielder Sudak lined one to left center, was pushed to
second on an infield hit by McClimans, and scored on Eberly's
solid shot between second and short.
McClimans, working more and more curves into his routine,
again retired the Falcons in order to end the game.
Kulina, who gave up seven hits, five in the last two
innings, fanned a total of twelve Wildcats batters.
His teammates were so sure of his speed that on all right
handed batters, without an exception, the outfielders shifted far
towards right field. The
leftfielder played somewhere between center and left center at all
times.
McClimans, on the other hand, yielded most of his six hits
in the early going. He
eventually sent four down swinging, while giving not one free pass
to the Falcons.
Falcon's Steve Orsini, the man the scouts showed up to see,
got two of those hits, singles, but was otherwise stifled by Brad
McClimans strong showing. His
first hit was a Texas Leaguer over second base and the second was
a shot down the third base line that took such a strange hop even
Brooks Robinson would have scowled.
The Wildcats only have a makeup game remaining this
afternoon with
Red
Land
, which will close their highly successful season. (MASH defeated
Red Land 1 0 behind Denny Shambaughs fifteen strikeouts.)
Their only loss was to Susquehanna.
'Cats
Win C.A.C.
The 1973 edition of the
Mechanicsburg
High School
baseball team has turned in a 10-1 record, and the C.A.C. Baseball
Championship, as its contribution to the spring sports scene this
year.
It was the first time since the glory days of Coach Ezra
Sassaman's championship teams that we have won a championship.
Under the guidance of sophomore head coach Don Shirley, and
assistant coach Jack Mackert, we have defeated all of our
opponents except for
Susquehanna
Twp.
High School
, who beat us by a score of 4-2.
1973 Artisan
1973
Varsity Scores
|
MASH
|
Game
|
Opponent
|
Record
|
|
6
|
East
Pennsboro
|
2
|
1
0
|
|
5
|
C.V.
|
4
|
2
0
|
|
7
|
Palmyra
|
1
|
3
0
|
|
2
|
Susquehanna
|
1
|
4
0
|
|
5
|
Red
Land
|
2
|
5
0
|
|
6
|
East
Pennsboro
|
0
|
6
0
|
|
1
|
C.V.
|
0
|
7
0
|
|
8
|
Palmyra
|
5
|
8
0
|
|
2
|
Susquehanna
|
4
|
8
1
|
|
2
|
Lower
Dauphin *
|
1
|
10
1
|
|
1
|
Red
Land
|
0
|
11
- 1
|
* = East West Championship game
Team
Batting Average - .267
Leading
Hitters: Steve Eberly
- .333; Brad McClimans - .314; Bob Sudak - .310
RBIs:
Eberly 9; McClimans - 7
Triples:
Eberly - 2
Doubles:
Eric Mast 2
Home
runs: Jeff Beaston and
Eberly - 1
Stolen
bases: Mast - 7
Walks:
Mast 9
Hits
: Eberly 12;
McClimans - 11
Pitching:
Wins:
McClimans 4 0; Beaston 3 - 1
Innings
pitched McClimans 42.66; Beaston 22.33
Strikeouts
McClimans and Denny Shambaugh - 29
ERA
- McClimans - .84; Shambaugh - .46; Beaston 1.82
Juniors Bob Stout, Mike Warner, Dave Vogelsong, and
Brad McClimans hurls his famous Screw Ball.
Ron Lowe display the 1973 championship trophy.
|
