Chuck Way’s run-scoring single with two out in the seventh shattered a brilliant pitching duel between winner Bob McDonald and Craig Stambaugh and lifted Mechanicsburg to a 1-0 win in the CAC-West. It was the second straight loss for defending district 3 tittles Red Land and Stambaugh’s first loop loss ever.

(All articles in this section are from The Patriot News)

An eight run uprising in the third inning plus a 3 run homer by Louie Reday in the sixth sparked Mechanicsburg to a 15-3 triumph over Cumberland Valley in scholastic baseball action Saturday.

The win moved the Wildcats into a tie with Hershey for first place in the Capital Area Conference Western Division with 7-2 records. They’ll clash again Thursday at Mechanicsburg.

The Eagles were in front, 3-0, when Mechanicsburg exploded in the third with three doubles and a pair of triples highlighting the comeback. Bob McDonald led the 13-hit assault with a 3-4 day scoring twice and driving in a pair of runs. Todd Flagg picked up the win with five innings of five hit ball. He fanned three and walked two.

The Mechanicsburg High baseball team is edging close to division championship. The Wildcats defeated the Lower Dauphin Falcons 8-3 Tuesday to raise their record to 8-2 in the Capital area Conference Western Division, still tied with Hershey for first place. The ‘Cats are 10-2 overall.

They gained their victory behind the six-hit pitching and three-RBI hitting of Dave Robinski. Robinski struck out four and walked two in raising his record to 2-0. He drove in Mechanicsburg’s first run in the third inning and doubled in two more in a three run fifth that brought the Wildcats back from a 2-1 deficit.

Just as everyone braced for a pitchers’ duel down to the wire, Mechanicsburg High blew it open. The Wildcat baseball team dusted Hershey 9-6 Thursday to break open a tight race between the two teams for the Capital Area Conference Western Division title.

The win clinched at least a division tie for the Wildcats (10-2), who opened a 1 1/2-game lead over their division rival (8-3). Mechanicsburg has just one league game remaining with Red Land (7-5), while Hershey still has two contests left.

For five innings, Wildcat pitcher Bob McDonald matched Hershey’s Wayne Gordon pitch for pitch. Going into the sixth Mechanicsburg led 3-2 on Geoff Minter’s go-ahead RBI single in the fourth inning.

Then the Mechanicsburg barrage came. Phil Guerriero picked one of the season’s critical moments to hit his first homer of the year, a three-run blast over the right-field fence.

"It was right down the middle of the plate," said the thin left fielder for the fatal fastball. "I like to go to that side of the field and I just kind of went with it."

The Wildcats weren’t finished with the tiring Gordon. Chuck Way followed with another homer, a solo shot over the right field fence. That chased Gordon from the mound and when the six-run inning finally ended, Mechanicsburg sat atop a seemingly safe 9-2 lead.

Hershey made a belated run in the seventh. McDonald who had pitched out of one jam or another all afternoon finally found one he couldn’t escape.

McDonald, whose only weakness all afternoon had been control problems, walked the bases loaded, then Trojan Mike Ercole sent a towering triple to deep center field for three runs. "I got tired in the end. I think the worst of it, it was the humidity," said McDonald of the 90-degree heat.

Reliever Brad Massam cooled the Trojans off. A ground-out sent Ercole home but Massam got Carl Eyer to ground out to the end the game.

Of course, Wildcat Coach Don Shirley was happy. "Oh my, yes. The kids wanted very badly to beat them because they beat us the first time over there."

Red Land, last year’s champ, is the last hurdle in Mechanicsburg’s quest for a league playoff berth. "I can’t say enough good things about them, especially down at their field," Shirley said. "They have good pitching and timely hitting. They’re hitting better than they were at the beginning of the season."

McDonald’s fastball danced around the corners all afternoon. He logged 11 strikeouts, but sometimes the plate danced around his fastball. Walks got him into jams in the second, third, sixth and seventh innings. Except for the seventh, McDonald came up with the timely pitch to end the threat each inning.

"That’s the way it’s been all year. I’ve been having to break out of jams all year," said McDonald. "I’ve had a lotta luck. It seems I’ll get lucky and throw the ball by a couple of batters, and the defense backs me up real good."

Mechanicsburg, the new CAC-West champion, celebrated its title in style Tuesday. Coach Don Shirley’s Wildcats, without benefit of an earned run, flipped defending District 3 king Red Land, 4-3, to close its regular league season with an 11-2 record and a two-game cushion over runner-up Hershey in the division.

Mechanicsburg has earned a berth in the league’s best-of -three championship series Tuesday. Mechanicsburg took advantage of four Red Land errors to trip the Patriots behind mound ace Bob McDonald. A bases-loaded error and Phil Guerriero’s sacrifice fly in the fifth scored the deciding runs for the Wildcats.

Mechanicsburg had officially clinched the title late Monday night when Middletown flogged Hershey, 7-1 in a night game on the road. "It’s a big sigh of relief," said a delighted Shirley of Mechanicsburg’s title, "The kids have played well under pressure all year. We’re looking forward to the championship series now. No, I don’t have a preference, It’ll be a tough series no matter who gets in over there."

Experience feasted on youth Tuesday in the opening game of the Capital Area Conference best-of- three championship baseball series. Stabilized by southpaw Bob McDonald’s sharp two hitter, opportunistic CAC-West champion Mechanicsburg nickel-and-dime its way to a 4-0 triumph over CAC-East king Middletown and its tough-luck ace, Jack Barrett

Now 14-4 overall, Mechanicsburg can clinch the CAC crown and a berth in the District 3 playoffs Thursday at 4 p.m. when the series continues on the West Shore.

Mechanicsburg, a senior-laden team that forces mistakes then thrives on them, took command of the short CAC series without benefit of an earned run. Don Shirley’s Wildcats, as they’ve done all season, squeezed all four runs directly from Middletown errors.

Meanwhile, McDonald mowed down Casper Voithofer’s Blue Raiders on 103 pitches, fanning seven and issuing six walks. Only Joe Hile, Middletown’s .405 hitter, got in McDonald’s hair with a single and double. Barrett recorded 11 strikeouts and walked three but was betrayed by loose fielding.

"We played good defense to get here," explained a disappointed Barrett. "Then today we don’t. But it’s the way things go when you get behind."

Mechanicsburg loaded the bases with none out in the first when Mickey Riegel and Geoff Minter opened with singles and McDonald reached on an error. Barrett then retired Dave Robinski on a short fly to center and fanned Ben Abner before walking Chuck Way to force in the game’s first run.

The Wildcats hiked the margin to 2-0 in the second when Dave Holtzman reached on an error, stole second and raced home on Minter’s lined single to left field. Insurance tallies came in the fourth and seventh when Middletown catcher Jeff Smith threw wildly to third base after chasing down a passed ball and a wild pitch respectively.

"As an experienced team they forced us to make some tough plays off a lot of different coverages in the first two innings," said Voithofer. "Then we gave them two runs on those throws to third base. They made the tough plays today and we didn’t."

McDonald, now 5-1 with a 2.05 ERA, is awful tough to play catch up against for any club. Middletown’s lone threat came in the fourth when it loaded the bases with two out but McDonald got Gary Heretsky on a come-backer to the mound to choke the rally..

"That’s the best control and the sharpest curve I’ve had all season," said McDonald, who broke off 26 curves among his 103 serves. "And I didn’t have to make many pitches. Our defense helped a lot, too. I don’t think we made an error."

Mechanicsburg managed six hits, three by Riegel, and played flawlessly in the field. McDonald helped his own cause when he twice walked Barrett and picked him off first base.

"We faced good pitching today," said Shirley "Barrett didn’t get much above the waist all day."

Mechanicsburg- "That’s what a championship game should be."

Coach Don Shirley uttered those words after his Mechanicsburg Wildcats had rallied to beat Middletown High 3-2 for the Capital Area Conference baseball championship Tuesday.

If comebacks, clutch hits and gutsy pitching form a true championship game, then Shirley was on the money this time. Middletown kicked Wildcat starter Bob McDonald around in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead, but McDonald settled down with a deadly curve ball and shut out Middletown the rest of the way. The Wildcats, meanwhile, nosed into a tie on RBI hits by Geoff Minter and McDonald to send the game into extra innings,

In the ninth frame, Mickey Riegel ended it with a long double to right center to score Ben Abner from second base. With the win, the Wildcats swept the best -of- three series between the CAC’s divisional winners. They now advance to the District 3 AAA tournament against Chambersburg High at 8 p.m. Friday. The game will be held at Henninger Field in Chambersburg.

"Man, I can’t describe it," said McDonald after his 14-strikeout performance. "It’s like-it’s great. It’s the first time we’ve won it since ‘73." Shirley wasn’t much better with words "I’m drained now. It took a lot out of me, and I think it did take a lot out of the kids too," he said.

Reigel’s hit took it out of the Blue Raiders. In the ninth, McDonald had whiffed the side to send Mechanicsburg to bat. Abner opened the bottom of the frame with a line drive single to left off Middletown starter Jack Barrett. Mark Hertzler then sacrificed Abner to second, and Riegel followed with his game-winner. Blue Raider center fielder Chuck Smith’s throw never had a chance. "That’s the best pitch he threw me the whole time," said Riegel of Barrett’s fatal fastball. "He’d been pitching me low the whole time, but the count was 2-0 and he had to bring in a good one this time. He couldn’t afford to pitch around."

Not like McDonald could. After that dreadful first inning McDonald allowed just three singles the rest of the way. He got stronger as the game wore on, going to his dipping curve again and again. Blue Raider batters never solved his breaking stuff and he retired 12 of the last 13 batters.

"It took like three or four innings to get the ball down. In the first inning the ball was breaking flat, but when I get tired I have a better curve; it tends to drop down a little more. I don’t know why."

One thing the Wildcats did know: They barely escaped being blown away in the crazy first inning. Something was fishy when the Raiders belted three straight hits but couldn’t score. They loaded the bases with none out.

"They were hitting good pitches; the ball seemed to have eyes on it," said McDonald

The fun really began when Chuck Smith next stepped to bat. He hit a shot to left field, scoring two runs. The throw to the plate was late but catcher Craig Warner alertly threw out Joe Hile trying for third. Third baseman Minter then whipped the ball to second to catch Smith and complete the bizarre double play. Instead of leading 2-0 with two men on and none out, Middletown faced empty bases with two outs.

McDonald regained his composure, retired the side, and was never threatened again. Mechanicsburg recouped one run in the bottom of the inning when Minter tried to punch a modest hit-and-run single and ended up with a long double to right, scoring Riegel. McDonald delivered the tying run with a grounder up the middle to score Mark Hertzler in the fifth inning.

"It was only dramatic for Mechanicsburg. For us it was sad," said Middletown Coach Casper Voithofer. "They got the right hits at the right time."

All night they hung on the edge of a precipice. Mechanicsburg High was like a man losing his balance on a narrow ledge, in its District 3 AAA baseball showdown with Chambersburg Friday night.

Teetering inning after inning at Henninger Field, Mechanicsburg finally lost balance and fell to the Trojans 5-3 in the ninth inning of this tense, teeth-grinding drama.

"We didn’t give up. We gave ‘em a run for the money," said first baseman-pitcher Bob McDonald. "They’re a good ball team. It’s tough because we got a lot of seniors on the team and it was their last game. It’s tough to lose like that, but that’s the way things go."

The game ended as it had been played, with a breakthrough at the last possible moment, this time in the top of the ninth. Only this time Chambersburg pulled it out. All night the Trojans seemed poised to break open the game. Like a dark rain cloud itching to burst, Chambersburg had put runners in scoring position in nearly every inning, and had loaded the bases three times. each time, starter Dave Robinski, and later McDonald and Todd Flagg, had escaped.

Wildcat reliever Brad Massam, the fourth in a shuttle relay of reliever had worked out of a hole in the eighth. In the ninth, with a score tied at 3, he forced the first two Trojans to ground out. The thin right-hander then loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter.

Another jam, the umpteenth of the night. The odds finally caught up, as Trojan first baseman Rob Martin shot a single to right field, scoring two runs for the final margin of victory.

Even then the game wasn’t over. After Trojan reliever Randy Martin retired the first two Wildcats, Bob McDonald and Dave Robinski singled. Exit Martin. enter reliever Mike Oxford. Oxford. walked Craig Warner to load the bases. Designated hitter Chris Costello worked into a 1-2 count and then struck out swinging at a curve to end the contest.

"The kids played an outstanding ball game, there’s no question about it," said a drained Mechanicsburg Coach Don Shirley after the nearly four-hour contest. "Everybody played well. I feel bad for two guys, Chris and Brad. They played their hearts out; they did the best they can. There’s nothing more I can ask from them at all."

Mechanicsburg scratched out two runs in the second inning without a hit. Trojan star Rudy Serafini opened on the mound but left his control in the dugout. After an error put Craig Warner on first, Serafini walked three straight batters to send Warner across for a 1-0 lead. Martin came on and walked Mickey Riegel for a 2-0 lead.

Chambersburg retaliated in the third against Wildcat starter Dave Robinski on an RBI double by Darren Peiffer, and tied it in the fourth on a passed ball. the Trojans managed another run on a bases loaded walk by Flagg in the fifth.

Mechanicsburg evened it at 3-all in the bottom of the fifth when Costello sent a ground single up the middle to score Flagg from second. It was only the second Wildcat hit of the night.

"It was just a matter of them getting their hits," McDonald said. "We didn’t hit the ball that well. Your can’t scratch forever for runs.

The season is over for Mechanicsburg, which won the Capital Area

Conference. Shirley left one message: "I had about five people come up to me after the game and say it was the best high school game they’d ever seen."

Frustrating beginning: In the first nine games, eight were postponed due to rain, 8 inches of snow (!), and the TMI problem, and one was a tie!

The average first round bonus in the ‘98 draft was more than $1.5 million.

A baseball usually lasts five pitches in the major leagues.

The average cost of outfittng a youth baseball player is $213.

On the average a major league player will use six to eight caps during a season.

A major league team uses 1,800 bats and a dozen quarts of pine tar.

MASH graduate Mike Pestke pitched a no-hitter this spring for Millersville against Bloomsburg!

 

As Mel Allen used to say, "How about that?"