Coplay belts Angels for Tri-County crown

By John Jay Fox
Of The Morning Call


Lou Falco was looking for the "big win" to build momentum. Coplay was faltering, even on the brink of clinching the Tri-County League regular season title and needed to straighten out its play before the start of the playoffs. Randy Baer went the distance and allowed just four runs, and the winning hurler was backed by a 16-hit attack that scored six runs in the first inning yesterday as the Serpents bettered the Allentown Angels 11-4 to garner the Tri-Co crown.

"This game was real important. It was the clincher and the guys really wanted to play well today," the Coplay skipper said. "We have been playing very sloppily lately so we wanted to get on top early, to grab the momentum, and we hoped to play a strong game from start to finish in the field as well as at bat.

"We jumped out 6-0 right away . . . that was the key. We had been talking about doing that all week. Jumping out quickly and getting the pieces to fall in place for us.

"We just hope to play good ball the rest of the way . . . the way we played today. I think that we play well together as a team, which makes my job easier, but we have to go out every day and play well if we are going to win the playoffs," Falco said.

Baer, who shook off a seventh-inning scare after being hit in the chest with a line drive back through the box, agreed with his manager.

"Today's game was a combination of good defense and great offense," Baer said. "This was the big lift that we had been hoping for . . . to carry us into the playoffs. I thought that as the game progressed I got stronger . . . that was important for me.

"The heat didn't bother me, didn't drain me, because in the later innings I was doing more things with my pitches. Early in the game, I was getting behind hitters. They are a good hitting team; they can really hit the ball, so you have to avoid making any mistakes against them.

"Toward the end of the game, I was keeping the ball down, and the curve ball had been working well all game. I was getting the important hitters out . . . the leadoff hitters, the power hitters. And, I was getting the kind of support behind me that the pitching staff has gotten most of the season," Baer said.

The winning hurler was granted a six-run cushion in the first inning as Chuck Mondschein and Jeff Erie both singled to left and Scott Morgan walked to load the bases as losing hurler Ray Ganser was unable to get his curve ball over for strikes.

One out later and with the bullpen working for Allentown, Mark Csencsits and Bill Pugh each drew free passes as Coplay went up 2-0. A third walk upped the margin to 3-0 and Russ Reinhard doubled to left for two runs. A Randy Remaly base hit set the numbers at 6-0.

Allentown halved the lead in the third as Joe Aleszczyk opened with a single and Dave Chapman followed with a double. Herb Hemerly then crushed a 360-foot home run to left-center.

Coplay added single runs in the third and fifth and escaped any further Angels' damage with fine defensive plays.

"We made mistakes and they didn't make mistakes . . . hands down Coplay deserved the win," explained Ganser. "We looked like a spring training team out there and I couldn't get the ball over the plate.

"The first inning set the tone when they scored the six runs. The things that we did wrong in the first continued throughout the game. When we did bunch a few hits, he (Baer) pitched his way out of trouble. And, there were the two pickoff plays at second that helped take us out of potential innings in the third and sixth. We just have to regroup," Ganser said.

Coplay will open the playoffs against Upper Perkiomen at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday at Balliet Stadium. Allentown will host Gilbertsville, also on Wednesday.



  

From The Morning Call -- July 31, 1988

Copyright © 1988, The Morning Call