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#2
Lehigh Twp. vs. #7 Cetronia
First-round Preview: Brewers looking to avoid
"déjà vu all over again" with Longhorns.
Could it be déjà vu all over again?
In 1998, the seventh-seeded Longhorns got hot in the playoffs. Their
first victim that postseason was the second-seeded Lehigh Township
Brewers, taking them out in two straight, winning 12-9 and 4-3. Cetronia then
went on to play #1 seeded Gabelsville (sounding familiar?) and beat them in
five games, with the road team winning every game. So the Longhorns were 4-0 on
the road at that point in the playoffs, which may have been their downfall for
the Finals, where they got to play EVERY game at home against South Whitehall.
The Serpents took them out in four games in the “Cedar Brook Series” to win the
Championship.
Let’s
flash ahead to 2002. Here we are with the same seeds as 1998 for the Owls,
Brewers and Longhorns. And if Cetronia wins, they will play Gabelsville in the
semifinals. Spooky. Especially if you are a Brewer or an Owl. Only one of the
Longhorns’ five .400 hitters from the ’98 season remains (Jeremy Warmkessel),
but this is a more balanced Cetronia team. While the ’98 squad could put a
12-spot on the board before a pitcher knew what hit him, this 2002 team has
some good depth on the mound. Brad Sechler (5-2, 3.72), Mike Coll (3-3, 3.11),
Dave Arndt (4-1, 4.20) and Steve Graff (4-2, 3.37) are having solid seasons. And
while the 2002 Cetronia squad does not have the instant offense or
long-ball threats of their ’98 counterparts, they do play small-ball well and
are getting good seasons from All-Star Chris Peters (.432), Luke Bricker (.347)
and Mark Jarrell (.417 -- who is back from the DL). Coll (.357) is having a
good season with the stick, too, while Jim Healey (.371), John DiBonaventura
(.297), Brian Polaha (.324) and Warmkessel (.320) are also threats.
Lehigh
Township has also totally revamped their team since the 1998 season. Some
veteran faces remain, but the Brewers will be looking to Eric Schmitt (.477, 9
HRs, second in the league in hitting), Jeremy Bartha (.378, 7 HRs),
Steve Unger (.483, 5 HRs), Brandon Leslie (.356), Omar Torres (.342, 5 HRs),
Bill Fatzinger (.344), Steve Smull (.345) and Bryn Lindenmuth (.341) to anchor
this potent offense. Leslie (only 1-0, 3.37, but he is the staff ace), Geoff
Kelowitz (4-1, 2.25), Jeff Erschen (2-3, 0.94), Josh Friebolin (5-1, 2.82),
Mike Petrucci (5-0, 3.18) and Jedi Gonzalez (1-1, 3.15) will look to keep
opponent’s run totals at a minimum. Justin Hilgert (2-1, 4.85) and Pedro
Alvarado (3-2, 4.92) remain questionable for the playoffs, so Nick Bowen (1-0,
15 Ks in 6 1/3 IP) may be closing out games.
The
Brewers swept the regular season series, winning at home 9-4 and 14-4, and
edging the Longhorns 8-6 at Cetronia. But then again, the Brewers swept the
Longhorns during the 1998 regular season, too. So throw all regular season
numbers out the window, this will be a competitive series that may come down to
the wire. Plus, All-Star shortstop Bartha still has 25 stitches in his leg and
his status for this series is questionable for the Brewers. His bat is
irreplaceable. Don’t be surprised if this series is decided in Game 3.
Prediction:
Lehigh Township has never gotten out of the first round as a favorite, so look
for that trend to continue. We’ll go with the upset here, taking Cetronia in 3
hard-fought games.
Steve's
choice: Cetronia in 3
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