Second teamers' come up big for BML

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call


The Blue Mountain League All-Stars didn't save their best for last in their annual tussle with the Tri-County League All-Stars, but it sure seemed that way.

The BML "second-teamers" exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie and wound up waltzing to an 11-3 win over the Tri-Co last night in the annual mid-season showcase for the Lehigh Valley's two amateur baseball leagues at Limeport Stadium.

The BML's Andy Donatelli, the only player to play all nine innings for either side, slugged a two-run double to break the deadlock and open the floodgates for the BML which had been limited to just one run through the first four innings.

"The guys were joking around in the dugout," said Donatelli, the player-manager for the defending BML champion Bicentennial Stars. "The guys who were in there over the first couple of innings were kidding around, telling the second group that they were getting all the easier pitching. But hey, you've got to give credit to the Tri- County pitchers early in the game.

"They threw some very good pitching at us early. We just threw some very good hitting back at them later on."

Down 3-1, the BML tied it with two runs in the bottom of the fifth as Bethleon's Jeff Bosak tripled in a run and scored on an RBI- double by Catasauqua's John Csencsits.

Tri-Co and East Texas hurler Josh Gunkle seemed to have restored order in the sixth. He retired the first two BML hitters in the inning and seemed on his way to the dugout with a scoreless frame when Rob Foulke grounded to short for what looked like the third out of the inning.

But Gilbertsville's Greg Gilbert made an error on the play, setting the stage for the huge BML uprising.

The next eight hitters reached base with Donatelli's two-run double putting the BML ahead for keeps at 5-3. Martins Creek's Chris Rios picked up a bases-loaded walk before the Creek's Dave Toth and Hellertown's Ted Long smacked two-run singles to cap the BML explosion.

"A bad play in the field, some questionable ball-strike calls at the plate, and our pitcher got rattled," said Gilbertsville's Mike "Doc" Moyer, who served as one of the Tri-Co coaches. "The next thing you know they scored seven runs and a good 3-3 game gets out of hand. It was a shame.

"It's still fun hanging out for a night with the guys you go against all summer. Everybody enjoys being here. It was a good time. It could have been even better except for the one bad inning."

The BML, winning the mid-season spectacle for the second straight year, tacked on a run in the seventh when another error set the stage for an RBI-single by Rios.

Meanwhile, six BML hurlers tossed six scoreless innings after the Tri-Co had scored single tallies in each of the first three frames to take the 3-1 lead. Matt Fry, Joe Corvaia and winning pitcher Jud Frank shut down the Tri-Co over the middle innings. Jeff Erschen, Ted Damiter and Chad Arnold then closed the door over the final three.

Frank, the Moravian College grad who pitches for Bicentennial, was credited with the win since he was the pitcher of record when the BML offense detonated.

"When you can keep an all-star team down to three runs, you're doing a heck of a job on the mound," Donatelli said. "You send a new guy out there every inning and it's tough for a pitcher to get into an rhythm. It's so easy for guys to get out of whack and struggle a little bit. But our guys didn't."

The Tri-Co was limited to just two hits over the final six innings. The ending was bizarre, but fitting for the Tri-Co as a flyball was dropped in right by the BML, but two Tri-Co runners got caught in rundowns and were tagged out for a game-ending double play.

"This a fun night, but you still want to do well for your league, team and yourself," Donatelli said. "The guys come here and play with a lot of pride. There's two extremely competitive leagues here and I think everybody wants to come and showcase their talents."

Donatelli paced the BML's 13-hit attack with three hits. The only other stars with more than one hit in the game were Catasauqua's Jeff Merlet and Bicentennial's Jeff Kilpatrick, who had two hits each.

"Since I play in both leagues, I don't get into the rivalry as much as some of the other guys," said Martins Creek's Matt Smull, who managed the BML. "I kind of felt bad things turned so bad for the Tri- County League. I know those guys. The BML guys weren't too happy when they lost this game two years ago. They want to win this game. They should be happy how things turned out."



keith.groller@mcall.com

From The Morning Call -- July 23, 1994

Copyright © 1994, The Morning Call