| |
Lehigh Township completes sweep of Coplay
John Stezenko hits two homers in a 13-4 win in Game 2 of
3-game series.
By Steve Moore
Of The Morning Call
As Lehigh Township
player/manager Shawn Andrews rounded first base, nothing was going to stop him
from going to second — despite the fact that he was about to be thrown out by
nearly 20 feet.
''Don't laugh at your coach,'' Andrews told his team after
the game, drawing even more laughter from the dugout.
On this night, the Brewers were the only ones laughing.
No. 2 seed
Lehigh Township advanced to the second round of
the Tri-County League playoffs with a 13-4, six-inning laugher against
seventh-seeded Coplay Tuesday in Scherersville. Tuesday's win, combined with
Sunday's come-from-behind 7-6 win, completed a two-game sweep of the Reds and
sends the Brewers to a semifinal series beginning Thursday.
Should Limeport beat Tri-City tonight, then the Brewers
would host Cetronia. If Tri-City wins, the Fleetwings will travel to
Lehigh Township.
Unlike on Sunday, when the Brewers let Coplay jump to a 4-0
lead, Andrews' club jumped on the Reds early and often. After taking the lead in
the second inning on a three-run homer by John Stezenko, the Brewers sent 12 men
to the plate in the fourth, scoring nine more runs, including two on another
homer by Stezenko.
''It's big,'' said Andrews of the inning that changed this
one from close to comical. ''Because if you let them hang around, you get the
feelings we had the other night. You start pressing, you start wondering what's
going on, when's it going to happen? It was big for our confidence.''
The fourth-inning stand-up act reached its peak when
Stezenko stepped to the plate for the second time in the inning. Already with
seven runs across in the inning and his team down 11-2, Coplay player/manager
Steve Smull was counting on Joe Wasilewski, his third pitcher of the day and
second of the inning.
Stezenko, who said he usually doesn't swing at offspeed
pitches, had hit his first homer on a hanging curve from starter Gerard Price.
Even with that knowledge in hand, Wasilewski floated a changeup on the inside
part of the plate, which Stezenko crushed deep over the left-center field fence.
''I've been hitting all right lately, more for average than
for power,'' said Stezenko, who hit well over .350 during the regular season.
''I just stood taller in the box, since I've been getting jammed on inside
pitches, and just relaxed up there.''
Stezenko's five RBIs were not the only big numbers of the
night for the Brewers. Steven Unger contributed to the nine-run fourth with a
two-run double which Nick D'Amico followed with an RBI double of his own.
Then D'Amico, who had not pitched an inning all season, came
on in the bottom of the sixth to strike out two Coplay batters.
According to regular-season records,
Lehigh Township would hope
to see Cetronia on Thursday, as the Brewers are 2-1 on the season against the
Longhorns and 1-2 against Tri-City. Thursday's game begins at 5:45 p.m.
Lehigh Twp. 031 900 — 13 14 0
Coplay 002 011 — 4 8 1
LT: Christian Fretz, Brian Boylan (5), Nick D'Amico (6) and
Shawn Andrews; COP: Gerard Price, John Hartzell (3), Joe Wasilewski (4), Ryan
Boyle (5) and Caleb Calarco. HR: LT: Stezenko, 2, (2nd, 2 on), (4th 1 on); COP:
Brandon Youngkin, (5th, 0 on).
steve.moore@mcall.com
From The Morning Call --
August 4, 2004
Copyright
© 2004,
The Morning Call
|
|
