Quakertown wins on controversial ending

By Bob Kourtakis
Of The Morning Call


Though most fans like to think differently, it's not very often that umpires decide a ball game. But it may have happened at Quakertown Memorial Park last night.

Home plate ump Steve Michaels suddenly called play because of darkness at about 7:45 after 5 1/2 innings with Quakertown leading visiting Coplay 8-7, thereby giving Quakertown a 2-0 sweep in the best-of-three Tri-County semifinal and knocking North Division Champion Coplay out of the playoffs.

The surprising call came on the heels of a three-run sixth inning for Coplay that pulled the game within one run. After Scott Morgan struck out to end the inning in a dreary and overcast, yet seemingly playable, conditions, Michaels threw his arms in the air and signaled the game was over. A disbelieving and furious Coplay bench erupted in a vulgar tirade directed at Michaels.

"That's a hell of a way to end the season, huh?," Coplay manager Jack Evans said after collecting his emotions. "I walked out to talk to my pitcher, and (Michaels) just said that's it. There's no way it should have been called. It is dumb - you have lights. But league rules say if a game starts without lights, you can't turn them on.

"It's unfortunate when you get to this level. Maybe we can change the by-laws next year. But give Quakertown credit."

Quakertown now moves on into the Tri-County finals to face the winner of the Upper Perkiomen/North Parkland series, which is tied 1-1. Manager Chip Friday was happy with the sweep, but was sympathetic for Coplay's argument.

"I thought it could go another (inning)," Friday said. "I've played in worse, that's for sure. Those two guys don't mess around. When they decide it's done - it's done. I wouldn't want to be on the other side. I wouldn't be that happy."

The finals will begin Sunday at Upper Perk if the Chiefs win tonight. However, if North Parkland pulls the upset, Quakertown gets the home field advantage. But right now, Friday is looking at a best- of-three showdown with South Division Champion and bitter rival Upper Perk, who has convincingly won the last two meetings.

"It's going to be a noisy series," Friday said. "We're going to have a lot of people, and so will they. We're playing better now than when we played against them earlier. The pitching is better, the hitting is better.

"We have to get out the fear of losing when we play Upper Perk."

Meanwhile Coplay, who won the North Division with a 22-5 mark, but was swept by Upper Perk in the Seasonal Championship Series and now Quakertown, ends a terrific season on a disappointing note.

"We got stuck with the virus this week," Evans said. "We had nine guys out with the flu. It's very disappointing. But we had a good season. It doesn't take anything off the season. Some of the guys had very good years." Coplay jumped out with a run inthe first off of starter and winner Bob Drumbore, who went the distance for Quakertown even though he gave up seven runs and 10 hits.

Quakertown came back with four in the first and chased southpaw Chris Tognoli, who left with the score 2-1 and two men on. Mark Butcher greeted Jim Emerick with a two-run single and it was 4-1 after one.

Coplay powered itself back into the game with a two-run homer by Scott Morgan in the third and a solo shot by Jeff Erie in the fourth. Suddenly, it was 4-4.

Emerick was effective until the fourth, when with two outs Quakertown erupted for three runs with two out. The big blow was Scott Davis' two-run homer to right that made it 7-4.

"We wanted to pitch around Davis," Evans said. "It was a low, outside pitch and he just golfed it out."

Quakertown added a run in the fifth and led 8-4, but Coplay came back with a little two-out magic of its own in the sixth. John Marushok drew a bases- loaded walk and Lou Falco delivered a clutch base hit through the left side that brought the lead to 8-7. With the tying run on second, Drumbore bore down and struck out Morgan to end the inning, and surprisingly, the game.

"The first base ump kept telling me we would play this one all the way through," Falco said. "It turned out we didn't."



  

From The Morning Call -- August 7, 1987

Copyright © 1987, The Morning Call