The 1990 SeasoN

1990 Varsity Baseball Team

Front Row:  Jon Shirk, Mike Sariano, Brian Smarilli, Tom DeRoos, Kevin McCollum, Tim Drazba.  Second row:  Todd Madden, Justin Bordlemay, Jon Beebe, Carmen Betoni, Rich Kline, Jeff Kearns.  Third row:  Coach Shirley, Steve Nace, Jamie Beck, Grant Stewart, Mark Payne, Jim Paulus, Jerry Lucas, Chris Kohler, mgr., Coach Sauve

The beginning …

Cats Swing Into Action

The baseball team looks good this year,

Just ask Don Shirley, it’s mighty clear.

The season’s opener is March 24

Against the Rollers, the Cats will score.

‘Holmes’ and ‘Spoonie,’ Draz and Kline,

We’ve got a championship down the line.

Beebe, Nace, Lucas, DeRoos--

This is a team that will not lose.

These Boys of Summer will knock some dingers

Rumor has it they’re big league swingers.

They’re masters of the baseball riff,

And at the plate they never whiff.

Their bats are up; their heads held high,

Running, pitching, shagging flies.

Paine, Kearsie, Grant and Shirk,

A perfect combo that will ‘Shirley’ work.

With Betoni, ‘Beets,’ Paulus and ‘Smack,’

The M-burg nine is on attack.

Mike Sariano and Jamie Beck,

Pursue the Mid -Penn title trek.

Before them lies a “Field of Dreams”

The fans can help support the team.

So grab a schedule and fill the stands.

You’ll yell, you’ll scream, you’ll clap your hands.

So take me out to the ball game.

Take me out with the crowd.

Let’s support the Wildcats

And they will make us proud.

 (by Mike McKenney)

Wildcats Fighting Against Clock

          Too many players and not enough time is the dilemma Mechanicsburg baseball Coach Don Shirley faced heading into this year’s season.  Sixty players turned out at the start of practice to compete for 20 varsity and 20 junior varsity jobs.  Since then, Shirley has been able to pare them down to the final 20 for his varsity squad, but he’s not completely sure who will play where.

But he knows he has to be ready to field a team in two days.  Weather permitting, the Wildcats, who finished the 1989 season with records of 10-9 overall and 9-7 in Mid-Penn Division 1, will open the season Saturday 1 p.m. by hosting Steel-High. Beyond that, there are many question marks.

“We need the rest of this week to decide on a lot of things,” says Shirley, who opens his 19th season as Wildcats’ head coach.  “We lost a good many seniors, and we’ve got a lot of younger players coming in.” The biggest question mark, as is the case for most teams this time of year, is pitching.

Shirley is hoping numbers will help him here. Half the players on the varsity roster can pitch. “We’re going to need all of them,” Shirley says. “Our staff is very uncertain.” Leading the pitching staff in experience are four senior right-handers: Rich Kline, James Beck, Jeff Kearns and Todd Madden. Junior John Shirk, another righty, has also worked for the varsity before. They’ll get help from newcomers Mark Payne, Steve Nace, Grant Stewart, Kevin McCollum and Mike Sariano. Madden and Nace, who also play outfield, are among six lettermen returning from last season.

The others are junior catcher Jerry Lucas, senior outfielder Tom DeRoos, senior third baseman Carmen Betoni and outfielder/infielder Tim Drazba.  They should all contribute this season, but Shirley isn’t sure how.  He’ll also give the younger players the opportunity to win playing time.  “It’s early yet, so I’m not ready to say exactly what my starting lineup will be,” he says.

This week’s cold and snowy weather hasn’t helped, forcing practice indoors and taking away valuable time from the hitters.

Wildcats Shut Out Carlisle

                Mechanicsburg did all the little things right, and the little things added up to a big victory.  Rich Kline struck out 11 in pitching a two hitter, and the Wildcats remained in control throughout their 6-0 victory over Carlisle at Memorial Park.  The Wildcats, 5-1 overall, inched closer to the top of Mid-Penn I with a 3-1 record.  Undefeated Cumberland Valley leads in the standings with Mechanicsburg and Cedar Cliff at 3-1.

                Nearly all 15 players who got into the game contributed for Mechanicsburg.  “That’s exactly the kind of team that we have,” said Wildcats’ Coach Don Shirley.  “We have a lot of players who are very close in ability.  We have 15 players who can come in and do the job for us when we need them.”

                Kline did much of the work against Carlisle.  The right-hander, who struck out eight last week in a victory against Cedar Cliff, allowed only singles by Jamey Shank in the second and Jason Franklin in the sixth.  He walked four and struggled at times with his control, but Kline managed to strike out every batter in Carlisle’s starting lineup at once.  “When he needed it he had it,” Shirley said.

                Kline got defensive help from shortstop Kevin McCollum, who turned a double play in the first, and catcher Jerry Lucas, who threw out two runners trying to steal.  Lucas also managed a pair of runs batted in with sacrifice flies in his first two at-bats.  Justin Bordlemay and Jeff Kearns, the first two hitters in the Wildcats’ lineup, created havoc on the bases.  The pair combined for two hits, three bases on balls, three stolen bases, and five of Mechanicsburg’s six runs scored.  “They were getting on base,” Shirley said, “and when they get on base, we feel that we can score.  Todd Madden also had an RBI single in the sixth.

                “They hit the ball very well,” said Carlisle Coach Harry Mundorff.  “They just beat us.  You can’t say they got the breaks.  They just played better ball.”

Mechanicsburg Shuts our Cedar Cliff

                Mechanicsburg shut out Cedar Cliff 5-0 Wednesday in baseball.  Kevin McCollum had two hits - one a double and two RBI. Rich Kline, Wildcat winning pitcher, struck out eight and on offense hit 3 for -3 with two RBI.  Mechanicsburg has a 10-2 overall record and is 7-2 in league play.

MASH 10, Red Land 0

Jon Shirk blanked the Patriots on just one hit as the Wildcats won an important Division I game on the road.  “Obviously it was a big win for us, said Don Shirley, Mechanicsburg coach.  “We struggled a little bit.  We were tied in the league after they beat C.V.”  Kevin McCollum was 2-for-2 with two RBI, Jeff Kearn doubled with two RBI, Jerry Lucas doubled with three RBI, and Steve Nace was also 2-for-2.  Mechanicsburg has a 12-2 overall record and is 9-2 in league play.

Jon Beebe’s Blast Lifts Wildcats

                Much like the clouds circling above Memorial Park baseball field, the Mechanicsburg Wildcats spent most of Tuesday afternoon threatening without producing any runs.  The rains never came, but the runs did.  Jon Beebe lashed a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift the Wildcats, who trailed virtually from the beginning of the game, to an important 4-3 Mid-Penn Division I victory over the Chambersburg Trojans.

                Mechanicsburg, 9-2 overall, inched ahead of Red Land into second place in the crowded Division I picture.  The Wildcats, Trojans, and Patriots all entered Tuesday with 5-2 conference marks, trailing undefeated Cumberland Valley. 

                Wildcats’ Coach Don Shirley said the comeback was a big win for his team.  “We knew that whoever loses today is in the back seat a little bit,” said Shirley.  “And that’s to Cumberland Valley’s credit.” 

                For awhile, it appeared Mechanicsburg would be the team to sink to fourth place in the division.  Chambersburg opened the top of the first by ripping pitcher Jon Shirk for three straight base hits.  Rich Conner and Aaron Martin started the inning with singles and Gary Carter followed with a triple that rolled to the left-field fence.  Almost before the game began, the Trojans led 2-0 with a runner on third and no outs.  That’s when Shirk shut them down.

                “They were ready to blow us out, but we hung in there and after the first inning, we got back on track,” said Coach Shirley.  Shirk got Kevin Warren on a short fly to right, then caught Carter off third base on a ball back to the mound.  He struck out DH Darren Bumbaugh to get out of the inning with no further damage.  Then the right-hander went on to throw a gem.  Shirk pitched seven innings, allowing eight hits and one more run. 

But for a time, Chambersburg’s Casey Brookens, with the help of a sterling defense, was even better.  The Wildcats’ first threat ended when Warren threw out Jerry Lucas at the plate as Lucas tried to score from second on a single by Dan Fulton in the second inning.  Mechanicsburg got on the board with an unearned run in the third.  Todd Madden led off with a double and came home on a throwing error one out later. 

                Chambersburg got the run back right away as Brad Hykes singled home Bumbaugh in the top of the fourth, making the score 3-1.  The Wildcats added a run in the fifth, but they could have done more damage.  Brookens worked his way out of a bases-loaded situation with one out, allowing only a fielder’s choice grounder by Rich Kline to score a run.

                It was not until the sixth that Mechanicsburg finally broke through.  Jim Paulus, who went 2-for-3, stroked a leadoff single to right, and  Steve Nace followed with an infield single.  The runners advanced to second and third on a bad throw to first base set the table for Beebe to get his big hit.  “He’s been hitting into some bad luck lately, but he got a big hit today,” Shirley said.

                Shirk retired the side in order in the top of the seventh, recording two of his five strikeouts.  “This is a team that’s still trying to find itself.  This game should help them believe in themselves after losing so many close games,” Shirley said.

Mechanicsburg 7, Central Dauphin 1

                Jeff Kearns held Central Dauphin to four hits, and Tom DeRoos collected two hits and three RBI to lead the Wildcats to victory.  Kearns struck out six and did not allow an earned run.  Mechanicsburg scored twice in both the second and third innings, then blew the game open with three runs in the fourth.

                The Wildcats improved their records to 15-4 overall and 12-3 in the Mid-Penn.  Dan Fulton contributed three of Mechanicsburg’s 12 hits, while DeRoos and Rich Kline added two each.  Jerry Lucas had a triple and two RBI, and Kevin McCollum supplied a two run single in the fourth.

C.V Claims Baseball Title Once and For All

                Once the Cumberland Valley Eagles too hold of the Mid-Penn Division I baseball championship, they wouldn’t let go.  The Eagles who held first pace all season despite repeated challenges from Red Land and Mechanicsburg, grabbed a 5-0 lead early, then withstood Mechanicsburg’s late rally for a 5-4 victory over the Wildcats Saturday in the regular season finale at Memorial park.

                C.V. finally put an end to the three-way struggle at the top of the Division I standings.  C.V. finished the season 14-2 in the league and 18-2 overall.  Mechanicsburg could have created a three-way tie for the division title with a win.  The Wildcats, 15-5 overall, finished 12-4 in the Mid-Penn, two games behind C.V. and one behind Red Land.  “We came into this game not wanting a piece of the pie,” said Eagle coach Jack Eydenberg.  “We did not want to share this title.”

                The Eagles struck early, pounding Mechanicsburg starter Rich Kline for three hits and four runs in the top of the second inning.  Jason Humphrey started the inning by walking and stealing second.  He moved to third on an infield base hit by Jeff Sauve.  Chris Notarfrancesco gave C.V. the lead with a fielder’s choice grounder to score Humphrey.  Erik Sauve singled and John Hippensteel walked to load the bases for Mike Eydenberg, who ripped a three-run double to the fence in right-center field to put the Eagles in front 4-0.

                It would be the Eagles’ last hit of the game, but they added an important run in the next inning.  At first, Tom Bushman’s RBI grounder to score Chris Rembisz looked like just another run.  Cumberland Valley seemed closer to knocking out Mechanicsburg by the ten-run rule than Mechanicsburg looked to making a comeback.  But the Wildcats were not done yet.  “We’ve played hard and we’ve worked hard all season long,” said Mechanicsburg’s Don Shirley.  Even today, we were down 5-0, but we didn’t quit.”

                Certainly Kline didn’t.  He limited C.V. to four hits, all in the first two innings, and retired 10 Eagles in a row at one point.  “I think you have to give him credit,” said Eydenberg.  “We had him on the ropes early, but he really dug in there tough for them.”

                Jeff Sauve matched Kline pitch for pitch, however.  The Cumberland Valley right-hander, who won for the seventh time in eight decisions this year, struck out six and held Mechanicsburg scoreless on three hits through the first four innings.  The Wildcats finally got to him in the fifth.  Dan Fulton and Todd Madden got back-to-back singles, and Kevin McCollum reached on an error to load the bases.  Jeff Kearns knocked in the first run with a ground ball to second, and Kline followed with a double to center to draw the Wildcats to within two with runners on second and third with just one out.  Sauve got out of the mess without suffering any more damage inducing pop flies from two straight batters. 

                Sauve was one out away from the win before he found more trouble.  Kline walked and Jerry Lucas singled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.  Justin Bordlemay scored Mechanicsburg’s fourth run when C.V. catcher Mike Eydenberg picked pinchrunner Carmen Betoni off first.  Betoni forced a rundown, allowing Bordlemay to score from second, and nearly made it to second safely.  But Notarfrancesco applied a diving tag and the Eagles began their celebration.

                I feel very good about the upcoming District III playoffs,” Shirley said.  We’ve had a good season, and we deserve to be there.  We’re looking forward to it.”

Wildcats Win District 3 Opener

          Mechanicsburg defeated Garden Spot 7-3 in the opening round of the District 3 baseball tournament Monday afternoon.  Mechanicsburg rallied for six runs in the sixth inning.  Garden Spot committed four of its five  errors in the sixth to aid the Wildcats’ uprising.

                Todd Madden came up with the big hit for the Wildcats with a bases loaded triple. Mechanicsburg was losing 3-2 when Madden’s hit knocked in two runs to put them ahead.  Rich Kline had two hits and two RBI for Mechanicsburg. Jim Paulus had a home run and Dan Fulton had two hits and one RBI.

                The Wildcats will next play Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Reading against the winner of the Hempfield-Boyertown game.

Wildcats Defeat Boyertown

In district baseball action Mechanicsburg defeated Boyertown 13-12 to advance to the district semifinal.  In a wild game,  Jim Paulus singled home pinch runner Dale Flor in the bottom of the seventh inning with a score tied 12-12 to win the game.  Paulus hit 3-for-5 (all singles) with 3 RBI. Rich Kline hit 2-for-4 including a double and a home run. He brought in three runs.  John Shirk, who started, was replaced and then reentered as a pitcher in the seventh,  picked up the win for the Wildcats, who will play again Tuesday night.

                Survival was the buzzword when Mechanicsburg (15-4) took control with seven third inning runs for a 7-3 lead, only to see Boyertown charge back with six runs in the fifth, the Bears breaking an 8-8 tie with a two-run home run by Dave Pence.  The Wildcats, aided by three consecutive errors to open the bottom of the fifth, went back ahead on Rich Kline’s towering three-run home run to left. 

                Boyertown pulled within 12-11 in the sixth as Sean Irey (3 for 4, three RBIs) drove in a run with a grounder.  Boyertown tied it in the seventh when Jeff Minotto drilled a double in the gap in left, stole third, and scored on Pence’s grounder to the right side.

                Sophomore right-hander Jed Johnson relieved Irey to start the seventh, and allowed a lead-off single to Kevin McCollum.  Pinch runner Dale Flor was moved to second with a bunt but couldn’t advance when Rich Kline  (2 for 3, three RBIs) flied to right.  Cleanup hitter Jerry Lucas was walked intentionally.  Jim Paulus ended the drama with a single past the first baseman.

“It’s the most amazing and exciting game I’ve ever been involved with,” said coach Don Shirley.

Wildcats Lose In No-hitter

Ephrata - Jeremy Brubaker pitched with a stress fracture in his back, but he threw a healthy fastball.

The Manheim Township right-hander fired a no-hitter to lead the Blue Streaks to a 5-1 victory over Mechanicsburg, knocking the Wildcats out of the District 3-AAA baseball playoffs Wednesday night at War Memorial Field.  The Blue Streaks advanced to the district final Friday night against Red Land, which beat Cumberland Valley 7-4.  The Wildcats’ season ended with a record of 17-6.

“We just kind of ran out of steam,” said Mechanicsburg Coach Don Shirley, whose team had gone farther than expected in the tournament.  “That’s the best pitched game we saw all year.  We played to our potential (in the District tournament),” Shirley added.  “I wasn’t sure how we’d be mentally coming into it. We had a bad last week of the season. We lost three games. But we were ready last week. We had a good tournament.”

“He was outstanding,” said Manheim Coach Dave Haughney.  “That’s the best fastball he’s had all year.”

Brubaker, who struck out eight, gave up an unearned run in the top of the first inning.  He was not challenged again until the seventh.  In that inning, Jerry Lucas led off with a slow roller back to the mound that Brubaker dropped, picked up and threw late to first base.  Originally, the play was scored a base hit, but the decision was reversed after the game to preserve the no-hitter.  The scoring decision certainly did not figure in the outcome.  Brubaker struck out two of the next three batters to end the game.

Mechanicsburg took the lead in the first thanks to the speed of Kevin McCollum and a couple of defensive mistakes by Manheim.  McCollum drew a walk to lead off the game. He stole second with the help of a dropped throw and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jeff Kearns.  McCollum scored when Lucas reached on an error.  The Streaks got that run back in the bottom of the second.  Rod Mummaw drilled a triple into the right-center field gap to score Shaun Burke with the tying run.  Mummaw remained at third as Mechanicsburg starter Jon Shirk got the final two outs to keep the Wildcats in the game.

But it wouldn’t last, Manheim scored four runs, all after two outs, the following inning. Matt Rieker started the uprising with a base hit to right. He scored when John Benchich’s deep line drive bounced out of the glove of left fielder Tom DeRoos.  Burke doubled, Greg Logan tripled and Mummaw singled to drive in three more runs before Shirk struck out Figart.

“We had just the one bad inning, but you really can’t win in the district when you don’t hit the ball,” Shirley said. “And the credit for that belongs to their pitcher.  He threw two excellent pitches.  He had a good curve and a good fastball.”  In fact, Brubaker’s fastball got better as the game got older.  He struck out the side in the third inning, and all of his strikeouts came after the second.  “His forte is getting stronger as the game goes along,” Haughney said. “I thought that was evident tonight.”

The closest the Wildcats came to a basehit was a hard ground ball by Jim Paulus in the fourth. Second baseman Pat McCarthy made a diving stop on the ball and threw to first for the final out of the inning.  Despite his seventh-inning error, Brubaker helped himself with two fine plays on bunts and by covering the base on a pair of ground balls to first.

(All articles are from the Sentinel and the Patriot News)

1990 Varsity Baseball Scores

Leading Hitters:  Dan Fulton - .513; Todd Madden - .411; Jeff Kearns - .397; Rich Kline - .379

RBIs:  Kline - 20; Madden - 17; Jerry Lucas - 16

Hits:  Kline - 25; Kearns - 23; Madden - 23; Jim Paulus - 22; Lucas - 21; Fulton - 20 

Runs: Kearns – 20; Lucas - 15

Wins:  Kline – 6;  Shirk – 5 Team Batting Average:  .327              Team ERA: 2.82