South Whitehall gets 2-1 lead over Cetronia in Tri-Co series

Randy Baer comes on in relief in the seventh to end a four-run rally.


By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call

 

South Whitehall pitcher Randy Baer had been fighting an intestinal flu bug the last 10 days.

But the upset stomach he felt in the top of the seventh inning Wednesday night had much more to do with Cetronia's Mike Merkle than it did the flu bug.

Called upon to protect a two-run lead with two out, Baer gave up an RBI double to Merkle that just missed being a game-tying home run before he struck out George Horn to nail down an exciting 10-9 victory in Game 3 of the Tri-County League finals.

South Whitehall (26-16) now leads the best-of-5 series 2-1 and can clinch its first title since 1988 in the fourth game, set for 5:45 p.m. Friday. The fifth game, if needed, slated for 5 p.m. Saturday. All games are at the Cedarbrook Sports Complex near Dorney Park.

Baer would pitch if a fifth game is required and he should be used to the pressure after his two-batter ordeal Wednesday.

Baer and the rest of the Serpents were in relax mode after South Whitehall erupted for five runs in the bottom of the sixth to break a 5-5 tie.

Then in the top of the seventh, winning pitcher Ray Schwartz got two of the first three batters on flyouts to left. Baer and Lou Falco began tossing casually down the left-field just in case.

"I went out there just to get a feel for pitching again," Baer said. "I missed the first two games of the series because of this intestinal bug. I just wanted to get my head back into the game. My arm's fine, but my legs are week because I've been on a liquid diet."

All South Whitehall legs got a little wobbly as 25-18 Cetronia, the Tri-Co's "Comeback Kings" in 1998, mounted one more charge.

Andy Hammer singled and Pete Spisszak followed with a two-run double to make it 10-7. Jeremy Warmkessel (5-for-5) followed with an RBI single to cut the gap to two with Merkle, the league's MVP in 1997, representing the tying run as he stepped to the plate.

On the first pitch from Schwartz, Merkle hit a ball home-run distance down the left-field line. But it hooked about 20 feet foul. That's when player-manager Kevin Hutter decided he had seen enough.

"My stomach was in a knot when I saw Merkle come up as the possible tying run," Hutter said. "You know he always takes a healthy cut. He thought he had a homer on the ball that went foul because he went into his trot. After that, I decided to go with Randy."

Baer kept Merkle in the park -- barely. Merkle's long, high drive to left-center missed tying the game by about two feet. As it was, the RBI double scored Warmkessel to make it 10-9 with cleanup hitter Horn next.

Horn was still dangerous despite being the only player in Cetronia's 18-hit attack not to manage a hit. Baer came inside three straight to get ahead in the count 1-2 and then got Horn swinging on a high fastball that tailed away.

"All three were inside and that last pitch was up in my eyes," Horn said. "You see a fastball and you want to jump on it. I just missed it. What are you gonna do?"

Horn hadn't played in the series' first two games, but was pressed into action because second baseman Matt Moore had to work and outfielder Tom Williams began football drills at Lafayette.

"We just have to go with the nine best guys who are here," Horn said. "Some of the guys came through, some didn't."

Hutter, pressed into duty at shortstop because normal starter Eric Csencsits was working, said, "It's amazing how well we play when we have a patchwork lineup and have to shuffle people around."

South Whitehall, which led 2-0 but then fell behind 4-2 before rallying for three runs in the fifth in the back-and-forth struggle, got to Cetronia's normally dominant reliever, Warmkessel, in the seventh.

After a pickoff play at first erased a leadoff single, Warmkessel seemed to be cruising when he fanned Josh Oscavich for the inning's second out.

But the next six Serpents reached base. The big blows were RBI singles by Paul Woodling and Hutter and a two-run hit by Rob Gontkosky, who drove in four runs overall.

Now, Gontkosky, one of the Tri-Co's top hurlers, can drive the final stake into Cetronia hearts when he takes the mound Friday.

"It has been a fun, competitive series," Hutter said. "But we'd like to end it Friday."



keith.groller@mcall.com

From The Morning Call -- August 20, 1998

Copyright © 1998, The Morning Call