BML stars blow away Tri-Co stars 16-4

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call


On another muggy night when any breeze was to be appreciated, the only wind at Limeport Stadium came from the numerous Blue Mountain League baserunners whisking around the bases.

The BML blitz wasn't enough to cool off the 350 or so sweating fans in the stands, but it was enough to blow away the Tri-County League 16-4 in the 5th annual All-Star Classic, pitting the best players from the area's two amateur baseball leagues against each other.

The BML, long known as a haven for hitters, smacked Tri-Co pitching for 19 hits and seemed determined to prove a point to its rival league which had seemed to gain equal ground on the older, more renowned BML in recent years.

The Tri-Co won last year's All-Star Game and its Gilbertsville Rangers beat Banko's last August in a controversy marred Lehigh Valley Championship Series. The LVCS has since been discontinued because of disputes between the two area circuits.

Time to prove a point?

"I think the people on our team this year just played up to their capabilities and showed what kind of hitting we have in our league," said Hellertown player-manager Bob Zerfass, who showed he still hasn't lost his stroke at the age of 50 with two singles.

"We're known as a hitting league. We haven't hit well in this game the last few years. But tonight, you saw a typical Blue Mountain League offense."

Zerfass, who helped run the BML squad along with Bicentennial's Andy Donatelli, admitted the Tri-Co's win last year was at least somewhat of a motivating factor.

"No doubt about it, we didn't like losing last year," Zerfass said. "The guys in our league have a lot of pride. But while we wanted to win, we still wanted to get everybody in the game who showed up. We had talented guys sitting on the bench for over three hours in this heat and we wanted to get them in the game. That's why we made as many pitching changes as we did even after we got the big lead."

The Tri-Co, anxious to show that its win last year was no fluke, got a spectacular defensive play by Milford third baseman Andy Pengelly in the top of the first. Then the Tri-Co jumped on top 3-1 in the bottom of the inning when South Whitehall's Chad Erie singled in a run and Stahley's Tim Schwindenhammer singled in a pair.

But the BML began to take command with three runs in the third when Donatelli and Bethleon's Jeff Bosak singled in runs and Banko's Mike Mihalik delivered a sacrifice fly.

Donatelli, whose Stars own the best record in the BML at 20-4, helped to make sure he was on the winning side again as he swatted a long two-run home run to left to cap a four-run fourth that made it 8- 3.

"I look at this as a fun game to play in; there's no pressure," Donatelli said. "It's an easy game to get excited about. It's pretty unpredictable. Some years, the pitchers dominate and some years the hitting does.

"I knew we had a chance to score a lot of runs with our lineup. We had people hitting in the No. 8 or No. 9 spot tonight who would be cleanup hitters on most clubs."

"Heck, our No. 9 hitter, Joe Ragozino, is hitting .417 in the regular season," added Zerfass.

Banko's Andy Pitsilos, who was one of many offensive catalysts with two hits and three runs scored in half a game, singled in two runs in the fifth and a dropped fly ball in right allowed three more BML runners to score as the lead ballooned to 13-3.

Gilbertsville's Bob Drumbore finally set down the BML in order in the sixth, but the BML resumed the rout in the seventh when Banko's Fred Tomasko punched an RBI single to make it 14-3.

The Tri-Co tried to fight back in the bottom of the seventh when Silver Creek's Dan Roth doubled off the wall in right. But a runner was thrown out at the plate on the play and the Tri-Co left the bases loaded when Banko's Todd Kohler came on in relief and fanned Silver Creek's Ross Griffith.

"We gave up a lot of unearned runs and left a lot of people on base," said Dave Snyder of the Havilland Grille, who ran the Tri-Co squad last night. "We came out pumped up, got a great defensive play from Pengelly and then scored three runs in the first inning. But after we made some mistakes in the field, it seemed like we got very deflated."



keith.groller@mcall.com

From The Morning Call -- July 10, 1993

Copyright © 1993, The Morning Call