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Resilient effort by St. Mary's not enough to beat Red Raiders
By Steven Dlugosz Times
 | | END OF THE ROAD...At left, St. Mary's senior catcher Brad Gibson, a Cheektowaga resident, and senior pitcher Gary Schmelzer walk off the field late in Saturday's 5-4 loss to St. Francis in the Monsignor Martin Association's "A" League Georgetown Cup semifinals at Sal Maglie Stadium in Niagara Falls. (Times photo) |
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If a team rallies once in a playoff baseball game, it sometimes comes out as a winner. If a squad manages to come back twice during that same game, it would appear destiny is on its side and victory is meant to be.
Unfortunately for the St. Mary's of Lancaster baseball team, a pair of late-inning rallies were unable to propel the Lancers past St. Francis in a hotly contested Monsignor Martin "A" League Georgetown Cup semifinal at Sal Maglie Stadium in Niagara Falls on a sweltering afternoon.
The No. 2 seed Lancers, who finished 14-9 overall, lost to the thirdseeded Red Raiders, 5- 4, in nine innings. St. Mary's rallied from deficits of 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning and 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth, a s Cheektowaga resident and senior catcher Brad Gibson was instrumental in the locals' comeback.
 | | IN THE WIND-UP...St. Mary's senior pitcher Gary Schmelzer hurls a pitch Saturday against St. Francis in the Monsignor Martin League semifinals while shortstop Matt Bittner looks on. Schmelzer completed the season with a 5-2 record and a 1.83 earned run average. (Times photo) |
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However, St. Francis scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth when Vinny Scarsella crossed home plate from third base on a passed ball. Scarsella had opened the inning on an infield hit and reached third on a subsequent stolen base and errant throw.
Trailing by a run heading into the bottom of the seventh, St. Mary's awoke from its slumber at the plate and started pounding the ball against St. Francis starting pitcher Bob Waters. After senior Frank Symmeth ripped a single and was thrown out
attempting to steal seco n d , sophomore Matt Bittner was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on former Cheektowaga Central infielder Josh Malkowski's hard single to right field. Junior Tim Pyszczynski followed with a runs coring single to center field to tie the game.
Gibson replaced St. Mary's starting pitcher Gary Schmelzer in the top of the eighth, but St. Francis took a 4-2 lead on a two-run double by Kevin Roth.
However, Gibson helped his team rally in the bottom half of the frame on an RBI triple, followed by a runscoring grounder by Malkowski on a ball that took a strange bounce and hopped past the Red Raiders' shortstop into center field.
Gibson plated St. Mary's first run in the bottom of the first on a deep double to center field, which scored junior Alec Roberts to tie the game at 1.
The game remained tied until the top of the sixth inning, when St. Francis broke through on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to give the Red Raiders a 2-1 advantage. The Lancers were hurt by a fielding error earlier in the inning, when the right fielder and shortstop collided on a short fly ball, which fell to the ground and put runners on first and third with no outs.
Schmelzer, a senior, completed his Lancers' career with a solid performance, allowing two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking three. Waters was equally effective, allowing seven hits and two runs in seven innings, striking out seven and walking two.
This was the second straight season in which St. Mary's lost a league semifinal game by one run. The Lancers have not won the Georgetown Cup since 1980.
"I thought when we came back twice, we had all the momentum," said Lancers head coach Mike Wagner, whose team lost in similarly disappointing fashion in the semis last year when a baserunner leaped over Gibson to score the game-winning run. "I really thought we were going to win...It's a tough way to go down two years in a row."
Gibson, who went 2-4 with two RBI, a double and a triple, said Saturday's loss was as difficult a defeat as he's encountered in his high school career.
"It definitely seemed as if we were meant to win the game," said Gibson, who will play college baseball next year at St. Bonaventure University, with a major in business and minor in communications. "We felt as though this was our year. It's tough. St. Francis should go a long way and they should have no problem winning next game (this Saturday's Georgetown Cup finals against Canisius)."
Saturday's contest featured many complaints from both coaches regarding calls from the umpires, including a heavily disputed grounder by St. Francis in the top of the seventh. A hard-hit ball approached the third base line but was not visibly seen from the St. Mary's dugout. The home plate umpire ruled that the ball was fair as the runner reached second base on an apparent double, but the umpire at first base overruled the call, stating the ball was foul. St. Francis fans and coaches jeered the decision, arguing vehemently.
Another call- which ruled a St. Francis runner safe at first base on a close play on a bunt attempt in the top of the eighth- drew the ire of St. Mary's coaches. Red Raiders fans in the bleachers taunted Wagner, who argued the call and stormed off the field.
Wagner said on Tuesday that the Monsignor Martin League will not have its playoff games at Sal Maglie Stadium next season, due to various Catholic League teams' complaints about Niagara County umpiring. Final St. Mary's stat leaders
(Pitching)
Gary Schmelzer- {5-2, 1.83 ERA}
Tim Pyszczynski- {4-2, 2.67}
(Hitting)
Alec Roberts- {.518, 29-56}
Brandon McMahon- {.452, 19-42}
Frank Symmeth- {.390, 16-41}
Brad Gibson- {.353, 18-51}
Tim Pyszczynski- {326, 15-46}
Josh Malkowski- {.348, 16-46}
Jesse Kelso- {.325, 13-40}
Matt Bittner- {.313, 15-51}
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