Tri-County League adds high-tech to tried-true philosophy

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call

 

The Tri-County League has hopped on the information super highway and has created a Web site   www.tricountyleague.com that has everything a Tri-Co baseball fan would want, including directions to each field.

But while the league has stepped into the new millennium with scores, schedules and standings at the click of a mouse, the amateur baseball league still features its share of old-time philosophies most notably, the one that goes good pitching and defense wins titles.

That's the formula the Gilbertsville/Gabelsville franchise has used to win nine Tri-Co titles since 1984, including last year. It's their fundamentally sound way of playing the game, not to mention some heavy hitters, that have made the Owls the team to beat year after year. It's the Boyertown-area club that again will have 12 other teams in hot pursuit over the summer.

The 58th Tri-Co season began Saturday with a few changes.

Gone are the Allentown Senators, Silver Creek Orioles and Sports Page Red Sox. Meanwhile, the Lower Nazareth Cardinals make their debut, bringing the team total to 13.

Also cast aside was the confusing divisional alignment that was always hard to decipher and ultimately meaningless.

The league has put all 13 teams in one pot and will take the top seven into its postseason tournament. The No. 1 finisher will receive a first-round bye while six others play best-of-3 series to reach the semis.

Each team will play 30 games, and the league will wind up July 23. The playoffs are slated to start July 29 and finish, at the latest, on Aug. 17 to allow younger players to get back to college and older ones to get in a late-summer family vacation.

Four teams Stahley's, Jordan Creek, South Whitehall and Northern Yankees will use the Scherersville complex for its games, while Cetronia uses Lehigh County's Cedar Creek Field. Limeport remains the only team to have lights.

Will the Bulls be burning bright in mid-August? Will someone in the Allentown area be trekking through the countryside on Route 100 when the summer winds down?

With considerable help from new league publicity director Marty Rowan, here's a team-by-team look:

CETRONIA

Manager: George Horn.

Last year: 22-15, defeated Jordan Creek in first round of playoffs, but lost to Gabelsville in semis.

Key Returnees: Hassan DeJesus (.345), Jon DiBonaventura (.378), Mike Merkel (.356), Andy Hammer (.361), Chris Gordon (.430), Jeremy Warmkessel (.400) and Tim Moyer (.333).

Outlook: The ever-explosive Longhorns score a lot of runs, but give up their share, too. If Horn can find some arms, his team should be back in the playoffs.

Projected finish: sixth.

GABELSVILLE

Manager: Mike `Doc" Moyer

Last year: 33-5 overall, swept Cetronia and Limeport in playoffs.

Key Returnees: Jeff Evans (.325), Greg Gilbert (.371), Shawn Betz (.447), A.J. Bohn (.373) and Bob Graber (.407), and pitchers Justin Konnick (6-1), Steve Carroll (5-2), Shawn Betz (5-0), Lew Chillot (4- 1) and Graber (2-0).

Outlook: Jared Nace, a UNC-Greensboro product, and Kevin Swavely, from the University of Pittsburgh, are newcomers added to a potent mix of power, pitching and poise. Moyer's guys know how to play the game and seem to finish with the best regular season mark every year. Then it's just a matter of getting breaks in the postseason, but the Owls never need much help.

Projected finish: first.

ICC PIRATES

Manager: Mike Brosious

Last year: 28-9, defeated Stahley's, but swept by Limeport in semifinals.

Key Returnees: Nick Remaley (.410), Brent Fehnel (.374), Cory Schneck (.386, 36 RBIs), Dan Lopez (.356) and Josh Mohlman (.385).

Outlook: A terrific regular season turned into a disappointment last year. Brosious, an active manager in recruiting young, talented players, has picked up Matt Funk (Emmaus, Bloomsburg) Brian Martin (Emmaus, Bloomsburg) Tony D'Amico (Allentown College) and Brian Gillow (Allentown College) to go with the veteran corps that can do everything but beat Limeport in the playoffs. Strong offense with a deep pitching staff led by Eric Baran should help the Pirates make a run at the crown. Maybe this is the year this talented team finishes what it starts.

Projected finish: third.

JORDAN CREEK

Manager: Dave Snyder.

Last year: 19-15, lost to Cetronia in first round of the playoffs.

Key Returnees: Frank Johnson (.466, 8 HR, 13 2B, 36 RBIs); Juan Lopez (.386); Shawn Cadden (.364, 26 RBIs), and pitchers Cadden (2.96 ERA) and Greg Frein (4-2, 4.17 ERA).

Outlook: The Creekers completed their best season in the franchise's 20-year history in 1999 by winning the North Division. The entire team returns and with a little more depth on the pitching staff. The Creekers have shot at returning to the postseason party.

Projected finish: eighth.

LEHIGH TOWNSHIP

Manager: Shawn Andrews.

Last year: 19-15.

Key Returnees: Todd Greb (.283), Matt Smull (.430) and Steve Smull (.333), and pitchers Josh Friebolin (3.79 ERA, league-high 77-2/3 innings), Sean McNamara (3.65 ERA) and Mike Petrucci (1.21 ERA).

Outlook: A playoff team in 1998, the Brewers just missed the postseason last year but should be strongly bolstered by newcomers Ryan Amey, Jeremy Bartha, Nick Bowen, Dylan Dando, Eric Faisetty, Mark Nicholas and Jeff Wagner from the former Bethlehem Township team of the Blue Mountain League, which folded just before the season began. Dave Stalsitz comes over from the defunct Sports Page team. The mix of new additions and key veterans back should get Lehigh Township back into the playoffs.

Projected finish: fourth.

LIMEPORT

Manager: Scott Heppenheimer

Last year: 26-15, defeated Tri-City and ICC in the playoffs.

Key Returnees: Glenn Kushma (.464), Glenn Bubser (.457), Kevin Kershner (.381) and Pete Remaley (.327), and pitchers Pat Toner (8- 2, 3.81 ERA) and Chad Arnold (3.40 ERA).

Outlook: After making the Tri-Co finals four times in five years, the Bulls have undergone a total overhaul starting at the top where Billy Fatzinger has retired. That means a Fatzinger isn't in charge at Limeport for the first time in several decades. The newcomers include Joe Ricapito (Upper Perk), Jeff Erie (South Whitehall), Randy Baer (South Whitehall), Steve Unger (ICC) and Joe Pochron. It'll be interesting to see how the chemistry works, but there's enough talent here for Limeport to stay among the league's elite.

Projected finish: fifth.

LOWER NAZARETH

Manager: Mike Cunningham.

Assistant Coaches: Scott Wagner, Duayne Itterly, Skip Napolitano, Ray Orwig.

Outlook: Little is known about the league's rookie franchise. The Cardinals are expected to be a very young team made up of mostly college-age players. Could take their lumps this year as most first- year teams do with an eye on the future.

Projected finish: 13th.

MILFORD

Manager: Don Rosenberger.

Last year: 7-25.

Key Returnees: Steve Smugeresky (.359), Andy Rineheimer (.340), Ron Hack (.280) and Jose Colon (.303), and pitchers Kevin Raudenbush and Pat Csencsitz.

Outlook: Rosenberger is the wizard of OZ (Old Zionsville) and just keeps coming back year after year without much success because he loves the game. He has the revolving door spinning again with newcomers Jerame Curry, Nick Harding, Ryan Muller and Jeoffrey Faden trying to build on the Pioneers' three-win improvement from '98.

Projected finish: 12th.

NORTHERN YANKEES

Manager: Lee Higgins

Player/Coach: Jason Strunk

Last year: 12-20

Key returnees: Strunk, pitcher Jason Young.

Outlook: The Yankees slipped somewhat last year. Lee Higgins is back to help out last year's skipper, Jason Strunk. Many players return from a year ago, and the Yanks picked up four pitchers to help out ace Young. Newcomers Derek George and Ken Hock could help. It's hard to see this team make a jump from 12 wins to the playoffs, but if youthful arms mature in a hurry anything is possible.

Projected finish: 10th.

SOUTH WHITEHALL

Manager: Bruce Sokol (first year).

Last year: 18-15

Key Returnees: Chuck Mondschein (.395), Joe Sedler (.313), Pat Sedler (.362), Eric Csencsits and Johnny Hymans, and pitchers Joel Carl, Sokol, Todd Schmalzle and Kurt Trumbaur.

Outlook: The Serpents went from league champs and a 27-16 mark in '98 to an average team that just missed the playoffs last year. The team has merged with the former Allentown Senators and has an entirely different look. Familiar faces like Rob Gontkosky and Jud Frank have left for the BML. Lou Falco retired. Manager Kevin Hutter has left, too. The newcomers include William Flores, Gene Dieter, Steve Ateek, Tom Bedics and Matt Kuronya. Kind of hard to figure how the changes will affect the tea, which has traditionally been in the league's upper echelon.

Projected finish: ninth.

STAHLEY'S

Manager: Jack Undercuffler (first year)

Last year: 19-16, lost to ICC in first round of the playoffs.

Key Returnees: Jeff Snyder (.303), Brian Polaha (.445), Dave Arndt (.404, 3.58 ERA) and Todd Litts (.500, 8 HR).

Outlook: Once a stable, steady franchise, the Mariners have undergone many changes in recent seasons. Pat Higgins, Justin Hilgert and Sean Carey join the mix this year. Undercuffler is the third manager in as many seasons. Yet despite constant changes, one thing doesn't Stahley's wins enough to reach the postseason.

Projected finish: seventh.

TRI-CITY

Manager: Bob Fatzinger.

Last year: Record: 24-11, lost in first round of playoffs to Limeport.

Key Returnees: Brendan Witkowski (.368), Justin Godusky (.484), Scott Garger (.347), Matt Marcks (.345), Jeremy Arner (.308) and Dave Toth (.368), and pitchers Dennis Kinney (9-2, 2.12 ERA, league-best in wins and ERA and second in strikeouts with 59) and Matt Hlay (1.83 ERA).

Outlook: As if the Fleetwings weren't strong enough last year, Fatzinger strengthened the team's depth by adding Josh Gunkle, Doug Meinor, Bruce Alpaugh, Paul Santay, Ryan Driscoll and Ben Swatsky. A promising first season for the franchise ended quickly in disappointment in the playoffs. But this team seems to have all the ingredients, including experience in the coaching staff with Mike Witkowski, Ray Ganser and Tom George, to challenge Gabelsville for league honors.

Projected finish: second.

UPPER PERK

Manager: Steve Rush

Last year: 12-19

Key Returnees: Tom Hawkins (.367), Jeff Moyer (.350) and Todd Schulberger (.438), and pitchers Matt Rush and Ben Mills (3.86 ERA).

Outlook: The Chiefs are a young team looking to build on the two- win improvement it made last year. It's a long climb back, however, to the team's glory days when it won four titles from 1979-87.

Projected finish: 11th.



keith.groller@mcall.com

From The Morning Call -- May 14, 2000

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