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Kinney outduels Palos for 3-2 win
#3 seed Fleetwings rally for two runs
in the 7th to advance to Semis.
SCHERERSVILLE --
Down to their final
three outs of the season, the Tri-City Fleetwings had to piece together a
seventh inning rally that would avoid a bitter end to an outstanding 2002
campaign. Standing in their way were the Banko Athletics, who were getting
brilliant pitching from Mike Palos, and who were looking forward for their
first-ever trip to the Tri-County semifinals.
Everyone
at the park knew the final game of the series would bring some sort of drama.
Deciding games almost always do. Who would be the victor? And, how would it
happen? When it got down to the final frame, there was a buzz running through
the large crowd in anticipation of what would happen.
Faced
with a 2-1 deficit entering the bottom of the seventh inning, the third-seeded
Fleetwings managed to piece together two hits, a hit-by-pitch, and an
intentional walk to load the bases with one out. That’s when third baseman Dan
Dillon hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Matt Marcks from third and
clinch Tri-City’s spot in the semifinals with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the
sixth-seeded A’s.
Both
teams received outstanding pitching as both Banko’s Palos and Tri-City’s Dennis
Kinney matched each other pitch for pitch from the second inning on. Palos
struck out four, walked only one and scattered ten hits, and, though Tri-City
had plenty of chances to score throughout, kept the Fleetwings off the board
after the first. Kinney also threw a complete game and was marvelous after
allowing four hits and two runs in the top of the first. The veteran struck out
seven, walked two and only gave up one hit after the first.
The A’s
continued the trend of hot hitting in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Bob
Breitfeller grounded out, but Jud Frank followed with a single. Rob Gontkosky and
Mark Davis each followed with a one-bagger of their own to load the bases.
Palos followed with a fielder’s choice ground ball that would score Frank as he
beat the return throw to first. Paul Woodling then topped a grounder toward the
no-man’s land area between third base and the mound and was safe at first. That
brought Gontkosky home, and the A’s had a quick 2-0 lead after one.
Tri-City
could not be buried early, and they struck back with a run of their own in the
bottom of the first. With one down, Marcks singled and stole second. After
advancing to third on a wild pitch, Marcks came home on a screaming single from
Ben Swatsky. Palos settled down into a nice groove after that, getting Dillon
to pop out to end the inning.
The
next five innings brought some of the best playoff pitching that fans will see
anywhere. Palos and Kinney worked out of minor jams and completely dismissed
the notion of this being a series with a lot of offense. Kinney only allowed a
single to Frank in the fifth, and he was erased when Swatsky caught a Gontkosky
liner and doubled him up at first with a laser throw. Palos allowed three hits
to the Fleetwings in the third, but worked out of trouble thanks to good
defense and a caught stealing. When Palos retired Tri-City in order in the
bottom of the sixth, it looked like the A’s just might pull this series out.
However,
what the A’s could not do in the top of the seventh was to add insurance runs.
In this close series, it has often been the extra runs the teams have scored in
the sixth and seventh innings that have put them over the top. Instead Kinney,
who clearly was getting stronger and pitching better as the game went along,
retired Banko in order.
It all
came down to the bottom of the seventh. Jeremy Arner ripped an 0-1 pitch to
right field for a leadoff single. Paul Santay followed with a perfect sacrifice
bunt advancing Arner to second. Marcks stepped up to the plate and quickly
knotted the score at 2-2 with an RBI single. Palos got to a 1-1 count on Justin
Godusky before a pitch got away from him and drilled Godusky, leaving runners
on first and second. A wild pitch followed on a 2-1 count to Swatsky to move
the runners to second and third with one out. With a base open, Palos
intentionally walked the league leader in home runs to load the bases and put
the pressure on Dillon, who was 0-for-3 on the day. Dillon fell behind in the
count 1-2 before hitting a fly ball to right field that was just deep enough to
ensure that Tri-City would play again another day.
For the
Fleetwings offensively, Swatsky led the way by going 3-for-3 with an RBI. Arner
continued his hot hitting with a strong 2-for-3 day, and Marcks was 2-for-4
while scoring two of the Fleetwings’ three runs. Frank was the only Banko
player with a multi-hit game.
The
series played out much different than most expected. A match-up of perhaps the
two most powerful lineups in the league left many wondering how many balls
would leave the park. Oddly enough there was only one home run in the series:
Dave Toth’s solo blast in Game Two. Instead, it was strong pitching on both
sides that kept this series close. Tri-City seemed to have the deeper and
stronger staff, but strong efforts from Palos and Scott Bolasky nearly pulled
the upset.
It was
a tough loss for a Banko Athletics team that played so well in this series.
Instead of sitting around and waiting for a three-run home run, the A’s
manufactured nearly every run they got with timely and situational hitting.
Several sacrifice bunts helped move runners into scoring position. The A’s
pitching and defense nearly pulled out this third game that they were forced to
play with key hitter/manager Jason Strunk out of the lineup. They proved that
they are one of the best teams in the league and a force to be reckoned with in
the future. This was truly an outstanding series.
Tri-City
was taken to the maximum by this A’s team and will be severely tested in the
semifinals, where they will meet the second-seeded Lehigh Township Brewers.
That series will begin on Thursday night at Bryfogle Park in Berlinsville.
“It
will be a lot different playing in a five-game series, rather than a three-game
series. In a three-game series if you have a game in which you don’t hit, you
take yourself out of it. So we are definitely looking forward to the
opportunity we have here in the semifinals,” said Tri-City manager Bob
Fatzinger.
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