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In the beginning …

Mid Penn Title Up For Grabs

Mechanicsburg: Coach Don Shirley, 13th year; lettermen lost, 12; lettermen returning, five; last year, 26-3 overall, Division I champions.

The Wildcats will be pressed to duplicate last season's record, having lost several key players, but Shirley said, "We could be as good as last year."

The reason for his optimism is Mechanicsburg has last season's suc­cessful J V team to bank on. Among the returning players, centerfielder Shawn Abner, a four-year starter who's already signed to play football and baseball at Georgia , leads the way.

"Unfortunately, he's a marked man," said Shirley, explaining that most teams will pitch around Abner. "But he can do so many things for you."

Abner will likely be flanked by senior Andy Sheely in left field and either juniors Jeff Teeter and Chuck White or senior John Enck in right.

The infield could get jumbled because some infielders double as pitchers. Al Humes (first base), Todd Middlekauff and Dave Strock (sec­ond) and possibly Dave Books (third) 'and Andy Pellowitz (shortstop) will see mound action.

Like Carlisle , Mechanicsburg needs to find a legitimate catcher. Dolson and Riegel shared that duty last season. This season the can­didates include junior Bart Miller and Rudy Yanuck and senior new­comer Joe Feichtel.

Mechanicsburg 13, Cedar Cliff 2

In Division I, Shawn Abner doubled, tripled and homered to fuel Mechanicsburg to a 13-2 win over Cedar Cliff.

Dave Strock and Todd Middlekauff teamed for a one-hit mound display.

Steve Brown tripled and Andy Sheely picked up two RBIs. Jeff Teeter and Andy Pellowitz also chipped for three hits apiece for the Wildcats who moved into a second-place tie with idle Carlisle at 7-4.

Mechanicsburg 9, Carlisle 5

Winning pitcher Alan Humes helped himself with a go-ahead two-run single in the fifth stan­za as Mechanicsburg rallied to a 9-5 decision over Carlisle . Tony Baldini's two-run double had highlighted a four-run first inning by the Wildcats.

Mechanicsburg pounded out eight hits against starter Dave Walker, but Carlisle was limited to only three hits by Humes, who pitched the first complete game of the year for Don Shirley’s Wildcats.

Todd Middlekauff had a double; Shawn Abner sliced two ground singles in his first two at bats, and Mundorff intentionally walked him the next two times.

Mechanicsburg 5, Harrisburg 2

Mechanicsburg pitcher Joe Mayberry shook off a couple unearned runs by Harrisburg in the first inning to lead the Wildcats to a 5-2 victory. Joe had seven strikeouts without a walk in the game.

Carlisle Tourney Leaves Three Coaches Smiling

Mechanicsburg coach Don Shirley left the Carlisle Invitational baseball tournament Saturday with the team trophy after his Wildcats clawed past Carlisle 12-9 in the championship game.

But he wasn't the only coach who was pleased with his team's play in the one-day affair. Carlisle Coach Harry Mundorff, whose Thundering Herd finished sec­ond and West Perry Coach Larry Frederick, whose Mustangs finished third also saw their teams make strides in the right direction.

"We made progress today. That’s what we knew we had to do,” said Mundorff.

"I was very happy with the way the boys played today," said Frederick . "It was good competition and they rose to the occasion. The defense was better. They caught the ball and made the plays all the time."

Only Lower Dauphin had nothing to cheer about when the dust on the baseball field settled. The Falcons came into the tournament unbeaten at 7-0 and ace lefthander Ken Kulina came to town with a 17-0 record in his high school career.

But both goose eggs were erased when Lower Dauphin met Carlisle . The Herd shattered both spotless slates with a nine-inning 4-2 victory in the 11 a.m. preliminary game.

West Perry, which lost to Mechanicsburg in a tight 4-3 preliminary game earlier, sent the Falcons packing in the consolation game with a 5-4 cliffhanger.

The championship game between the Herd and the Wildcats was called after 5 innings due to darkness. Seven pitchers were used — four by the Herd and three by the Wildcats —in a game lengthened by numerous walks.

Mechanicsburg used two big in­nings to get past Carlisle for the second time in a less than a week. The Wildcats won a Mid-Penn Division I conference gameover the Herd last Wednesday.

Carlisle starter Jeff Rupp couldn't throw strikes and walked four of the first five batters and hit the other, Shawn Abner, with a pitch. In the meantime, the Wildcats turned three wild pitches into runs and Rupp surrendered the mound to Orlando Roebuck.

After a  sacrifice fly by Andy Pellowitz and a three-run homer from Tony Baldini, Mechanicsburg led 6-2.

Wildcat starter Todd Middlekauff also had control problems. After two errors and a walk, Middlekauff walked in the first run. The Herd used a passed ball and wild pitch for two more runs, and Middlekauff was relieved by John Enck.

Dave Walker lofted a sacrifice fly to tie the score and Enck got out of the inning with a strike-out.

The Herd went ahead 7-6 in the third when Steve Salomone's single scored Dwight Rowe. But, after Mechanicsburg's five-run fourth, in which Bob Terry relieved Roebuck, the Wildcats were in control.

"For a championship game it wasn't (too pretty)," said Shirley. "Our defense let us down again. That's been our problem all year. We did make some clutch plays and got some big hits. (Walks) have been a problem, too. John Enck came in and did a good job."

Enck finally got Carlisle out without scoring a run in the top of the fourth. That set the stage for a five-run outburst that decided the championship. Four of the runs were scored with two outs. Alan Humes singled to score Jeff Tester with the run that put Mechanicsburg ahead for good, 8-7.Then up came that man Pellowitz again. This time he got his triple to score Shawn Abner and Humes and it was 10-7; Baldini sin­gled to left to drive in the fifth run of the inning.

Enck, who had set Carlisle down in order in the fourth, ran into control problems in the fifth. He walked three batters, but finally got out without any damage when he got Morrison to pop to third. Carlisle had been pitching around Abner. He got two inten­tional walks in his first two trips to the plate. The third time around he lashed a double to deep center, stole third and scored when the throw got away.

When Enck walked the first two batters in the fifth, Shirley called on Mike Noll. After a rough start, Noll worked his way out of the inning. With darkness fast ap­proaching, officials decided to call it a day.

In a morning game against Carlisle , Kulina went four innings before giving up a hit. Kulina, who was relieved in the ninth, absorbed his first scholastic pitching defeat after his 6-0 start this season ran his career mark to 17-0.

Notes: Ray Kitner, a 1926 Carlisle graduate, threw out the first ball ¥f the tournament. He earned 11 letters at Carlisle while competing-in baseball, basketball, football and track and later played semi-pro baseball.

Mechanicsburg 6, Red Land 1

Mechanicsburg (6-2-1) downed Red Land on Thursday.  Alan Humes limited Red Land to four hits and went the distance. 

                Humes also knocked in two runs.  Shawn Abner had a double and a single for Mechanicsburg.

Mechanicsburg 7, Lower Dauphin 3

Mechanicsburg scored four runs in the opening inning to post a baseball win over visiting Lower Dauphin Saturday.

The Wildcats drilled four of their seven hits in the first inning. With two outs, Shawn Abner belted a home run. After Scott Middlekauff walked, Alan Humes and Andy Sheely smacked doubles.

Sheely's double knocked in two runs. Sheely came in on a single by Jeff Gregor.

Wildcat pitcher, Mike Noll fanned 10 Falcons in the seven-inning contest.

Steve Wild of the Falcons had the game's other home run.     WP-Noll. LP-Bob Henry

Mechanicsburg 9, Central Dauphin East 9

Mechanicsburg and CD East battled to a draw in baseball at CD East Tuesday.

The Panthers scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to knot the score. Shawn Abner and Alan Humes led the Wildcats with three hits each. Abner hit a homer and two doubles; and knocked in three runs. Humes had a single, double and triple with two runs batted in. Meehanicsburg outhit the Panthers 12-8 but committed eight errors.

Mechanicsburg 7, 9, CD East 6, 10

Mechanicsburg (8-4 overall) scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge CD East Tuesday.

The Panthers entered the seventh with a 6-3 lead but Mechanicsburg bounced back on a two-run homer by Shawn Abner to narrow the score to 6-5. The winning runs came across the plate on a two-run single by Jeff Gregor.

Dave Strock picked up the win in relief.

In the replay of a suspended game that was stopped with the score nine-all, CD East emerged a 10-9 winner.     WP-Strock. LP-Cox

.

Mechanicsburg 5, Central Dauphin 3

Mechanicsburg (9-5 in Division I of the Mid-Penn Conference) defeated visit­ing Central Dauphin Tues­day.

Wildcat hurler Mike Noll used eight strikeouts to get himself out of repeated jams. Alan Humes' RBI triple keyed the Mechanicsburg's decisive three-run rally in the fourth stanza. The Rams slipped back into a second-place tie with Carlisle at 9-5 despite getting ll hits.

Todd Middlekauff had two hits for the Wildcats. Jeff Teeter and Chuck White also knocked in key runs.

Central Dauphin   0001110-3 11 4
Mechanicsburg            020300X-5 8 1

WP-Mike Noll. LP-Dave Bitting.

Mechanicsburg 6, Northern 5

Mechanicsburg came back from a 4-0 deficit to knot things up, but still had to score twice in the bot­tom of the eighth inning to trip Northern, 6-5. After Tony Baldini singled in the tying run, Northern gave Wildcat slugger Shawn Abner an intentional pass only to get burned when Todd Middlekauff worked a walk to force in the game-winning tally. Dale Reeder had three hits including a bases-empty shot in the second inning to lead Northern.

Mechanicsburg 6, Palmyra 4

Mechanicsburg (15 - 8 overall) scored twice in the eighth inning to defeat Palmyra on Monday. 

Todd Middlekauff opened the inning with a single and scored on Alan Humes' double. Humes later scored on an error and passed ball.

Joe Mayberry led the Wildcats with two hits.  WP-Middlekauff. LP-Chip Bliss.

Lower Dauphin Invitational Tourney

Lower Dauphin edged Chambersburg 3-2 to win the Lower Baseball Tournament Sat­urday.

In its opener, Lower Dauphin belted Cedar Crest 9-0.

Mechanicsburg came back after a 9-8 loss to Chambersburg and cap­tured third place with an 11-9 win over Cedar Crest.

Tony Baldini and Shawn Abner led the Wildcat offense with two hits each.

Alan Humes led the Wildcat batters in the Cedar Crest game with three hits. Abner, Andy Sheely and Joe Feichtel added two hits each.

Wildcats Turn Tables

Baseball can be a funny game. Just ask Cumberland Valley coach Jeff Potteiger, whose club held a one game lead over Mechanicsburg in Mid-Penn Conference play prior to their important matchup Saturday afternoon.

   CV, winners over the Wildcats earlier this season, discovered in the first inning the re-match would be a  far different story. Host Mechanicsburg sent 11 men to the plate, scored five runs and coasted to a 10-2 win.

The Wildcat win left both clubs tied for third place with 6-4 records,

trailing second place Carlisle by ,one-half game and first place Chambersburg by a full game.

"I'm at a loss for words," said Potteiger. "I don't know what hap­pened. We've lost three straight ballgames and we are a better club than that."

Troubles began  for  the Eagles when Wildcat leadoff batter Jeff Teeter walked and shortstop Tony Baldini tripled down the left-field line, easily scoring Teeter.

Following a walk to Shawn Abner, Todd Middlekauff knocked in the second run on an infield single. One out later, Andy Sheely belted a change-up to left and the Wildcats had a 3-0 first inning lead.

Potteiger lifted starting pitcher Dave Shoun, but Mechanicsburg scored two more times on a throwing error and a run-scoring single by John Spahr. CV could muster little offense against Wildcat pitcher Joe Mayberry, who used good control and a variety of pitches in limiting them to just four hits.

Eagle second baseman Scott Johnson spoiled Mayberry's bid for a no-hitter in the fifth inning when he tripled home Scott McNaney, who reached on a walk to open the inning.

"Defense was a key for us today," said Mechanicsburg coach Don Shirley. "Mayberry has pitched well for us all year, but errors have helped cost us three one-run losses this season."

Shirley also cited the play of Middlekauff, who went three-for-three and scored two runs. Mechanicsburg added two more runs on four hits in the second inning on run-scoring singles by Middlekauff and Sheely. They added an eighth run and scored two more runs in the sixth when Andy Pellowitz singled to left with the bases loaded.

Damon Phelan made a pitching debut for the Eagles, giving up five hits and three runs in five innings of relief work.

Cumberland Valley       0000100-2    4  1

Mechanicsburg             520102x-10 12 1

WP-Mayberry, LP-Shoun HR-none

Wildcats Advance In Tourney

Persistence and patience paid off for Mechanicsburg and Mike Noll Tuesday night.

Noll raised his record to 4-0" this season with a five-hitter as the Wildcats High defeated Warwick of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, 7-5, at Reading in the first round of the District 3-AAA baseball playoffs.

After squandering five runs in the first four innings, Noll held Warwick in check the rest of the way as the Wildcats came back from a 5-2 deficit.

"He got some key strikeouts and was around the plate all night," Mechanicsburg coach Don Shirley said. "For a 10th grader, I thought he showed a lot of poise.''

Mechanicsburg (16-8 overall) rallied with RBI singles in the fourth from Chuck White and Jeff Teeter and with Joe Mayberry's one-run double in the fifth.

The Wildcats went ahead 6-5 in the sixth when Jeff Teeter delivered a triple, scoring White, who had singled and was bunted to second by Andy Pellowitz. Tony Baldini then ripped a sacri­fice fly to score Teeter and make it 7-5.

In going the distance, Noll struck out six and walked three as the Wildcats, at one time in danger of missing the playoffs, rallied for yet another win.

"We've been able to come back for a win all year," Shirley said.

Warwick had taken a 5-2 lead when Warren Gerber unloaded a two-run double after Darrin Donmoyer had doubled and Joel Kreider reached base on an error.

Gerber tried to stretch his double into a triple, which induced Mechan­icsburg left fielder Andy Sheely to throw the ball away at third, and Gerber scored.

Gerber came on in relief in the fourth and suffered the loss.

Teeter led Mechanicsburg with two hits in four at-bats and two RBIs. Mayberry and White were 2-for-2 with one RBI; Pellowitz was l-for-2 with two RBIs.

The Wildcats are scheduled to play Wilson at 8 p.m. Friday at George Field in Reading .

Wildcats Get Shot at District III Title

The better baseball teams take what their opponents give them and use it. And, brother, was Penn Manor ever in a giving mood last light. Mechanicsburg took full advantage of a whopping 11 errors by the Comets en route to two nine-run innings, a 20-8 District 3-AAA sem­ifinal victory at Ephrata's War Me­morial Field, and a berth in tonight's district title game.

Mechanicsburg, now 18-8, will tackle Mid-Penn Conference Divi­sion I foe Chambersburg (20-5) to­night in Newport . Chambersburg has won three previous meetings this season. Wildcat coach Don Shirley will start senior Alan Humes on the mound, while Trojan boss Bob Thomas was undecided on his starter.

Last night in Ephrata, Penn Manor (17-5) booted the ball four times in a nine-run third by Mechanicsburg, then committed five more miscues in the seventh, the Wildcats' other big frame.

After a two-run single by Humes and Andy Pellowitz' bases-loaded triple helped the Wildcats open up a 9-2 lead in the top of the third, Penn Manor bounced back to knock out Mechanicsburg starter Mike Noll with five runs in the bot­tom of the inning.

Junior relief specialist Dave Strock took over, and proceeded to stop the Comets for the final 4 frames. He gave up just one run and three hits in earning his first win of the playoffs.

Shawn Abner, the blue-chip outfielder who was under the scru­tiny of 10 pro scouts and two tele­vision crews with baseball's ama­teur draft coming up Monday, led the Wildcat hitters with three hits and three stolen bases.

Wildcats Drop District 3 Final

NEWPORT - Take away the first inning and you've got a 1-0 ballgame-in Mechanicsburg High's favor.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the record of the first inning has to stay.

And, instead of a one-run Mech­anicsburg win, you've got an 8-2 Chambersburg victory that landed the Trojans the District 3-AAA championship at Newport High School on Friday night.

Chambersburg sent 13 batters to the plate in the top of the first and came out with an 8-0 lead. The Trojans never scored again the rest of the game, but it didn't matter, because Mechanicsburg never closed the margin.

"I thought we could come back," said Wildcat coach Don Shirley. "I thought we'd score more runs than we did. We've been able to score more runs than that."

Mechanicsburg starter Alan Humes was in immediate trouble in the first after giving up singles to Tony Hartman and Keith Swartz. Then he hurt himself with an error on Bobby Curfman's fielder's choice, which loaded the bases.

Andy Shreiner singled in the first run, and it looked like Humes might get out of the jam. Instead, he walked a run home, gave up an RBI single to Pat Kane, then walked in two more runs.

That signaled sophomore Frank Kessler in from the bullpen. Kessler was victimized at first by three more runs — one by a walk and two by a line single by Curfman. Kessler went the rest of the way without allowing another run.

"He did a great job," said Shirley. "He threw exceptionally well."

Mechanicsburg's offense just couldn't come alive at the right times to offset the problems of the first inning. The Wildcats managed just one run in the bottom of the first when Shawn Abner's line single drove Jeff Teeter home.

No one scored again until the bottom of the seventh when Chuck White walked, advanced on Teeter's single and an outfield error and scored on Dave Books' sacrifice fly.

From the second through the sixth innings, the game belonged to the pitchers — Kessler and Chambersburg 's Brian Corwell, who went the distance for the win.

Each allowed runners on base in most of the innings, but repeatedly worked themselves out of trouble with strikeouts. Corwell scattered eight hits and two walks while fanning five and Kessler gave up just three hits and four walks and struck out eight. Chambersburg tapped Humes for four hits and three walks.

Standout Shawn Abner and Jeff Teeter each went three for four to leadt he attack.

The loss doesn't end Mechanicsburg's season, however. The Wild­cats (18 - 9) will begin state playoff action Tuesday in the Wilkes-Barre area. Chambersburg (21-5) will open Tuesday in this area.

Chambersburg   8000000-8 7 4

Mechanicsburg  1000001-2 8 1

W—Corwell. L-Humes.

State Playoffs Preview:

Wildcats To Rely On Underclassmen Hurlers

Mechanicsburg coach Don Shirley, shrugging off a disappointing District 3-AAA finale, will be put­ting two sophomore pitchers out as advance scouts for his heavy-hit­ting offensive unit in the PIAA Baseball tournament.

"We'll go with Mike Noll in the first game," said Shirley, whose Wildcats carry an 18-9 record into their state opener against District 2 champion Wilkes-Barre Coughlin at Wilkes College tomorrow after­noon. "If we get past Tuesday, we'll probably come back with (Frank) Kessler for the second round.

"Mike has won some big games for us in the regular season, and he has gained confidence. The kids play well behind him because he always has the ball around the plate.

"Mike also has managed to get a number of key strikeouts. Our de­fense has been under pressure all year, and it has broken down on occasion. It helps to get some strikeouts to help ease that pres­sure."

Shirley noted Kessler's fine per­formance in relief in the district championship game may earn the southpaw a chance at a starting role. Mechanicsburg lost that title game to Chambersburg, 8-2, but the lefty blanked the Trojans on three hits over the last 6 2/3 innings.

"Frank had been high with his pitches earlier in the season, but he got his feet wet in games against Chambersburg in the Lower Dau­phin tournament and Carlisle. He was hesitant, but he did well."

Although observing his Wild­cats seemed sluggish against Chambersburg, the veteran Mechanicsburg boss hopes the new life of the state tournament will give his crew a lift.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to them, but anything is possible with a new start," he said. "I like the fact that we don't know any­thing about the other teams in states, and they don't know anything about us."

If the Crusaders were to hear anything about Mechanicsburg, it probably would be that the Mid-Penn Conference Division I entry can hit the ball hard and often.

"I'm sure everyone is hitting over .300 for the playoffs," said Shirley. "Everyone talked about Shawn Abner's slow start in the playoffs, but he is our MVP. He was well over .600 for the regular sea­son, and after three hits against Chambersburg, he's back up close to .500 for the playoffs.

"A big key has been Joe Mayberry. He has played well at third base, and he is hitting 7-of-15 since he became a starter. He was pitch­ing early in the year, but he was having some arm problems.

"Jeff Teeter has been hitting the ball well, and Chuck White has been doing well when we put him in as the DH.

"Todd Middlekauff and Andy Sheely has been getting some big hits, and Al Humes has been a good hitter for us even though he has had trouble with a hyper-extended left elbow. Andy Pellowitz has had a couple two-hit games for us, and we seem to be settling down since Joe Feichtel has been catching reg­ularly."

Mechanicsburg Falls In States

At Wilkes-Barre, Coughlin outhit the Wildcats by only a 14-13 margin, but the Crusaders got three-run homers by Paul Pharra in the sixth inning and Larry Smith in the seventh stanza to defuse a spir­ited Mechanicsburg comeback.

Jeff Phillips and George Cole, who both finished the hitters' struggle with three-for-four ef­forts, put Coughlin ahead with RBI Safeties in the first inning. But, Al Humes countered with a two-run single in the bottom of the first frame.

Coughlin again struck twice in both the second (an RBI single by Phillips and a bases-loaded walk) and the third (an error and a wild pitch) innings to move out to a 6-2 lead.

Shawn Abner and Todd Middlekauff crushed back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the third frame, and a three-run double by Middlekauff after Abner had been intentionally walked in the fourth stanza tied things at 7-alI.

Cole's run-scoring base hit put Coughlin back on top, but a two-run double by Jeff Teeter moved the Wildcats into the lead and Chuck White followed with an RBI base hit to make it 10-8, Mechan­icsburg, after five. Teeter finish with a perfect five-of-five after­noon.

Countering quickly, the Crusaders got an 11-10 edge on Pharra's three-run homer in the sixth inning. After a stunning catch by Coughlin's Smith took a sure two-run double away from Mechanicsburg's Andy Pellowitz in the bottom of the sixth, the center-fielder nailed his three-run homer in the seventh. An additional RBI hit by Phillips completed the dam­age.

                Jeff Teeter was five for five.

"Both teams hit well, but the walks are what hurt us," said Mechanicsburg coach Don Shirley, whose troops bow out a 18-10 after a second-place finish in the District 3 race.

W-B Coughlin        222 113 4 - 15 14 0
Mechanicsburg 202 330 0 - 10 13  3
Joe Marykwas and Joe Olsakowski; Mike Noll, Dave Strock
(2), Dave Books (5), Al Humes (6), Frank Kessler (7) and Joe
Feichtel. L—Books . HR—Shawn Abner, M , 3rd, none on; Todd
Middlekauff, M, 3rd, none on; Paul Pharra, C, 6th, two on; Lorry
Smith, C, 7th, two on.