The
1980 SeasoN
1980 Varsity Baseball
Front Row: Jon Karlovich, Ray Derk, Clark Adams, Steve Dietrich, Chris Costello, Joe Costello, Doug King, Bard Rupp. Second Row: Mark Meloy, Phil Guerriero, Lou Reday, Dennis Shanabrook, Scott Dearwester, Ben Abner, Bill Jones. Third row: Coach Shirley, Wayne Curtis, Tab Bush, Pat Heenan, Dean Rospendowski, Kevin Connor, Kirk Bowman, Bob Slagle, Terry Stewart, Coach Sauve.
The beginning ...
Everyone will be out to oust the champion. Mechanicsburg high’s baseball team claimed the Capital Area Conference title last year with a persistent, pesky team. Most of those players are gone, and Coach Don Shirley figures capturing a second straight CAC will be a tough chore. “It’s harder to win it the second time around,” said Shirley.
At the heart of the matter is the loss of 10 members of that 15-5 championship squad, including standout pitcher and hitter Bob McDonald. Filling the many gaps will be a fleet of relative newcomers. “We were hit hard by graduation. We lost a lot of talent,” Shirley said. “We’re young as far as varsity experience is concerned.
“The weather has been bad, and we certainly don’t have our lineup set yet. It’s wide open.” Only five lettermen return and only one even started every game. He is outfielder Ben Abner. Not completely stumped for experience, the Wildcats also bring back with a good deal of playing time third baseman Chris Costello, catcher Kirk Bowman, outfielder Phil Guerriero and short stop Dennis Shanabrook.
That leaves almost every position up for grabs. “Underclassmen are going to have to battle for positions,’ Shirley said. “We have a lot of equal talent, boys of equal ability striving for positions, nobody outstanding from the rest.” One of those equally talented players is Jon Karlovich, who will challenge Costello for third base. Sweating out shortstop are Shanabrook and Joe Costello. Bob Slagle will likely hold down first base when he isn’t pitching, and Wayne Curtis could take over when Slagle is on the mound.
The powerful Bowman, a senior, figures to have the catching slot wrapped up, but he is getting some stiff competition from challengers Bard Rupp and Tad Bush. Second-base duty will likely fall on the shoulders of Steve Deitrich or Clark Adams, said Shirley. Guerrerio and Abner have the inside track at the outfield positions, but juniors Ray Derk, Bill Jones and Doug King will also vie for duty.
On the mound, Slagle and Lou Reday have the most experience, according to Shirley. “We’re counting on them the most,” Shirley said. “They’ve been adequate, but it’s really early to tell.” The Wildcats won’t be a two-man mound crew, however. Others tuning up for mound appearances are sophomore Kevin Connors, junior Mark Meloy and senior Scott Dearwester, all right handers. Chris Costello, Karlovich and Doug King could provide some extra depth to the pitching staff in a pinch.
After the Wildcats’ shuffling lineup is finally sorted out, the team will concentrate on pursuing its defense of its CAC championship. Shirley isn’t yet sure how strong his team of hopefuls will be. It all depends. “(The 15-5 record) will be very difficult to improve on,” Shirley noted. “It depends on the rest of the league. I certainly like to think we could.”
No matter what, Mechanicsburg will have to rely on fast glovework to remain contenders. The hitting still lags a bit, according to Shirley. “I’d say one of our strong points is defense,” Shirley said. “We definitely have to improve on hitting, and we have to get our pitching set. Our attitude’s been good. We have to depend on seniors. They’ll have to provide leadership.” Abner, who hit over .300 last year, is expected to be the big gun at the plate.
It’s a rough way to open the year, but the Wildcats will host a strong South Central League team, Chambersburg, in a double-header Saturday at 2 p.m. Chambersburg was last year’s state AAA runner-up.
C. V. Slips
Past MASH 5 -- 4
The Eagles pulled it out with four runs in the fifth inning and a gutsy relief performance by senior Manny Shughart. With the score tied 1-1 going into the top of the fifth, Jim Kulick reached first on a fielder’s choice and stole second, just in time to race home on an overthrow for the go-ahead run. A wild pitch soon sent Jeff Lutz home, and Stover’s single and Scott Ulp’s double combined for the Eagles’ final runs of the inning and a 5-1 lead.
CV starter Alan Hardenstine (1-0) faced five batters and walked four. Those walks combined with a Ben Abner sacrifice fly allowed two runs. Shughart entered with bases still loaded. He walked one run in, but shut the Wildcats down the rest of the way to pick up the save.
Wildcat Kirk Bowman ended the crucial sixth inning with a hard shot right to the shortstop. “All I can say about it is that we just played a lousy game, that’s all,” said Wildcat Coach Don Shirley. “We had to replace a lot of ball players, and we are not playing as well as we should yet. CV played pretty well. We just made mistakes at the wrong time and they made hits at the right time.”
Eagle Coach Bob Crobak said, “We felt confident until we started walking all their guys in the sixth inning. I’m glad we could see senior Manny Shughart come off the bench and take control of the ball game for us. Having him as a successful reliever for us is really going to be important to the team.”
The intention of Mechanicsburg and Carlisle High’s baseball coaches Saturday was to find out what kind of relief pitching was available for future contests. In a rain-soaked non-league tilt between the two teams, Carlisle coach Harry Mundorff sent four hurlers to the mound while Mechanicsburg mentor Don Shirley took a look at three pitchers.
Mundorff’s crew of starter Mike Buie, and relievers Shawn Bryant, Tom Wolf and Deemer Morrow proved more effective leading the way to 6-4 win over the Wildcats. Wolf was credited with the win, taking over late in the third inning with two outs and the bases loaded and his team losing 4-3. “I saw good things from all of them,” noted Mundorff. “Wolf did a fine job with the bases loaded and at other times with runners on. Buie looked more comfortable in his second inning and Bryant did well considering it’s his first year of pitching. Deemer did especially well in the last inning.”
Shirley lamented the number of bases on balls issued by his staff of starters Ron Ney, and relief men Danny Jones and Kevin Connors. “Too many walks,” he said. “But we’re still not playing good baseball all around. Defensively we’re not fielding the ball very well. I’m not taking anything away from Carlisle, they’re a good team. They hit the ball when they needed it.”
Neither Wolf nor Morrow yielded a hit to the Wildcats. Morrow struck out two, while Wolf and Buie each fanned one. Jones struck out three, but walked four to absorb the loss The Wildcats outhit the Herd 5-3 but errors and walks were the name of the game. Mechanicsburg committed seven errors to Carlisle’s one while the Wildcat pitchers issued 11 walks to the Herd’s seven.
The Herd jumped into the early lead when catcher Scott James belted a double, driving Brent Durham in for the score. Bill Christopher followed with a sacrifice grounder which enabled Marlin Herr to scoot home for the 2-0 first inning advantage. Mechanicsburg got its bats moving to creep ahead in their half of the first inning. Chris Costello cracked a line-drive single into centerfield and Ben Abner sent a ground shot toward third good for a base hit. Catcher Kirk Bowman smacked a one-run line drive into right center and Steve Dietrich’ grounder pushed the Wildcats ahead 3-2.
Carlisle tied the score in the third when James romped home on a Roy Walker sacrifice fly. Lou Reday got the Wildcats back on track in the fourth with a bad-hop single that sent Abner across the plate and Mechanicsburg to a 4-3 lead. The Herd took advantage of the fourth inning walks to snatch the lead back for good. Dave Sherman took the first base balls and Greg Clippinger was safe at first on an error after his bunt. Durham walked to load the bases before coach Shirley signaled for Jones to relieve Ney. Jones responded by fanning Herr, but the Herd scored on the bases-loaded walks to James and Walker.
Carlisle used Wildcat errors to pile up three insurance runs in the fifth. Greg Clippinger drove Alan Cline home with a mishandled bunt and later scored himself on a passed ball. Durham slid to paydirt on a bobbled Scott James grounder. “We did a good job responding on offense,” said Mundorff. “We hung in there and came back.” The win lifted the Herd’s record to 5-1 overall with a 4-1 South Central League tally. Mechanicsburg dropped to 0-7 overall and stands 0-4 in the Capital Area Conference.
(The Sentinel)
Finally.
After nine straight losses Mechanicsburg high’s baseball team broke the doldrums with a 5-0 shocker of highly touted Central Dauphin East Friday afternoon. “It’s like the world’s lifted off our shoulders today,” said Wildcat pilot Don Shirley. “We finally did some things right.” Including a three-hitter by sophomore Dan Jones in his first varsity start.
The Wildcats (1-9) put the game away with a three-run fifth inning. Ben Abner drove Dennis Shanabrook home with a double, Kirk Bowman followed with an RBI double and Steve Dietrich tripled Bowman home. “We’ve known all along we could play baseball,” said Shirley. “We just haven’t done it. Hopefully we’ll be on the upswing now.”
(The Sentinel)
The Mechanicsburg High baseball team showed offense despite losing a 5-4 verdict to host Palmyra Thursday. Bob Slagle pitched a fine three-hitter for the Wildcats and was backed by an eleven hit attack, but three errors in the second inning allowed all five Palmyra runs to cross the plate.
Slagle, Steve Dietrich and Ben Abner had two hits each in the losing cause. “It was too bad Bob had to lose. We couldn’t get that key hit,” said Wildcat Coach Don Shirley. “We’re not giving up. We’re going to keep trying.”
(The Sentinel)
Wildcats Break
Into CAC Win Column
Yesterday, Mechanicsburg High’s baseball team broke into the Capital Area Conference win column. The Wildcats’ 3-2 victory Thursday afternoon over Milton Hershey at Memorial Park gave Mechanicsburg its first league win of the season after five losses. The team has posted another win in a non-league contest against Central Dauphin East.
Mechanicsburg has faced a tough first half of the season, compiling an overall 2-10 record, and 1-5 in the CAC. The Wildcats will now face most of the same CAC teams again in the second half of play. Can Mechanicsburg go into its division play and change the outcome against those five teams?
“I still feel we can win them,” said Don Shirley, Mechanicsburg coach. “We have been playing better. I feel we should have won the last three games because we played better baseball.” The season has been very dismal up to now, and Shirley isn’t sure why. “I really don’t know,” said Shirley.
How does a club face each game knowing that so many past games have ended in a disappointing loss? When triumph dose not come in the first nine games of the season how do you face the 10th game? Can a team have the morale to go on when things get this bad? “No problem!” said Shirley. “Obviously the team pulls together and comes to the diamond thinking today’s game is a new one without looking backward,” he said.
What problems face the coach and players when wins don’t come their way? “Pitching has not been consistent as far as throwing strikes,” said Shirley. “Our hitting also has not been timely.”
What can a team do about such problems as pitching and getting hitting together? “We put our players under pressure in a practice situation,” said Shirley. “I hope to improve upon the things that give us problems.”
Mechanicsburg has faced it all. The losses that went on and on. The problems, knowing them, and practicing to change them. And finally the Wildcats put that first big Western Division win on the board. But the question remains, can the Wildcats improve their second-half record?” Whether or not they do, they believe they have come a long way. Can you really measure a team by wins and losses? Can’t you be good even if you’re not a winner, they wonder?
In its win over the Spartans, Mechanicsburg put a new combination together and dispensed with some old problems. “Today we’re hitting the ball pretty good,” said Shirley, “And our pitcher is throwing strikes.” Dan Jones, who has both Wildcat wins this year, did his job on the mound. And Mechanicsburg’s hitters opened a first-inning lead when Phil Guerriero walked and stole second. Designated hitter Kirk Bowman came up with a single that brought Guerriero home.
(The Patriot News)
Wildcats Just
Miss Upsetting Red Land
Mechanicsburg’s baseball team (2-15) battled Capital Area Conference Champion Red Land 13 innings before dropping a 2-1 decision Wednesday. Patriot ace Paul Slifko went all the way, allowing two hits and fanning 21. The Wildcats used a mound crew of Kevin Connors, Ben Abner and Dan Jones who fanned 12 batsmen. Connors pitched five scoreless innings, Abner went two innings, giving up one run, while Jones gave up one run in six innings on the mound. Slifko was 3 for 5 at the plate and scored the winning run for the Patriots.
“We played the best team in the league to a standstill and I’m proud of them’” said Wildcat Coach Don Shirley. “We are a much better team than our record indicates.”
1980 Varsity
Baseball Scores
|
|
MASH |
Opponent |
|
East Penn |
7, 0 |
11, 1 |
|
C.V. |
4, 2 |
5, 3 |
|
Chambersburg |
0, 3 |
7, 6 |
|
Middletown |
1 |
11 |
|
Lower Dauphin |
1, 2 |
6, 13 |
|
Carlisle |
4 |
8 |
|
Red Land |
0, 1 |
12, 2 |
|
Palmyra |
4 |
5 |
|
C.D. East |
5 |
0 |
|
Susquehanna |
4 |
6 |
|
Milton Hershey |
3 |
2 |
|
Hershey |
0 |
7 |
|
Season record: 2 -- 15 |
Leading Hitters: Ben Abner - .354; Kirk Bowman - .326; Steve Dietrich - .302
RBI’s: Dietrich - 11
Hits: Abner - 17; Bowman - 15; Dietrich - 13
Runs: Abner - 10
Pitching wins: Dan Jones - 2