Taking the Rams by the horns
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WASHINGTON – Though he is a media and English teacher at Carmichaels Area High School, Carmichaels head baseball coach Dave Bates has put together a fairly simple, and highly effective mathematical equation for success on the baseball diamond. Take a dominating lefty with the last name Lapkowicz, add a disciplined and well trained offense that can bunt with the best of them and multiply that by countless hours of practice on the fundamentals of the game. In 2003 and 2005, that equation resulted in shutout wins in the WPIAL Class A championship games (10-0 over Bishop Canevin in 2003 and 2-0 over Chartiers-Houston in 2005).
That same formula was on full display this past Wednesday evening at Consol Energy Park in Washington and it proved true yet again as the Mikes raised the WPIAL Class A baseball trophy for the third time in six years with a 4-3 win over the Rochester Rams. The win came in front of hundreds of Carmichaels fans that were joined by supporters from the four other Greene County school districts.
“The team that made the fewest mistakes and could capitalize on them was going to win this game,” Bates said. “We expected this kind of a game.”
Going into Wednesday’s contest, the game was being touted as a showdown between two of the best lefties in Class A. On one side was the Mikes’ junior ace Joby Lapkowicz. On the other was Rochester’s imposing 6-6 fire baller, J.C. Figueiredo, also a junior.
Both hurlers lived up to the expectations early. In the top of the first, Lapkowicz masterfully retired the first three batters he faced with two strikeouts sandwiched around a routine groundout to junior shortstop Chuck Gasti.
Things didn’t start as smoothly for Figueiredo.
The Mikes got an early lead off the fiery starter and it started with a single by Gasti. In typical Carmichaels fashion, center fielder Cody Andrews bunted Gasti over to second and Lapkowicz reached base on an error by shortstop Chad Pennington. Gasti may have played a part in the error as he delayed his break to third and appeared to screen the ground ball to Pennington as long as he could.
After the Rams (18-4) recorded the second out of the frame, Pennington committed his second error of the inning, which allowed Gasti to score the first run of the game.
Rochester got their first two base runners of the game in the top of the second on a walk and an error, but couldn’t take advantage. The Mikes (20-1) drew two walks in their half of the second and put two runners in scoring position, but a strikeout by Figueiredo kept the score 1-0.
Both teams went down quietly in the third and Rochester’s offense finally woke up in the top of the fourth.
After Lapkowicz struck out second baseman Derek Gallagher and got Figueiredo to ground out to start the frame, he plunked left fielder Vinny Beatty. Catcher Jim Battaglia followed with his team’s first hit, an RBI double into center field that plated Beatty and tied the game 1-1.
Rochester grabbed their one and only lead of the game in the next at-bat when third baseman Zach Mathews singled into right field to bring Battaglia around and put the Rams up 2-1.
After failing to respond in the bottom of the fourth, Lapkowicz struck out two more hitters and recovered after giving up a single to put another zero up on the board.
In the bottom of the fifth, Carmichaels knew they had the top of the order coming up and had a chance to regain control. They didn’t disappoint.
After Gasti drew his second straight walk to lead off the frame, Andrews dropped his second sacrifice bunt of the evening and Lapkowicz drilled a scorching triple into the left field gap to tie the game back up at 2-2. Carmichaels was far from done.
Again, the Mikes went to their bread and butter as third baseman Marcus Robinson put down a picture-perfect bunt and beat it out for a run-scoring single that plated Lapkowicz and edged his team back into the lead, 3-2.
After a Virgili single, senior first baseman Zach Durbin came to the plate with runners on first and second. Durbin put down a bunt that made it out to second baseman Derek Gallagher. The play went awry for the Rams as a bad throw not only allowed Robinson to score, but also put Durbin on at first.
“Any time you can pick up a little additional momentum, that’s great,” Bates said of the big inning. “When you’re playing down a run with your backs against a wall, those hits make all the difference in your style of play.”
With the Mikes up 4-2, Rochester head coach Brian Verrico took Figueiredo off the mound and moved him to first, ending the big lefty’s day. With three errors on the board, compared to just four hits given up, Verrico was obviously upset with how the day’s events transpired.
“It just makes me sick. I feel terrible for these kids,” Verrico said. “They worked so hard, but they didn’t play their game today.”
The Mikes’ Bill Musgrove reached base on the fourth Ram error, but Mathews, who took over the mound duties, got the third out to end the threat.
After a scoreless sixth, the Mikes seemed poised to claim the third title in six years. However, Rochester gave one last-gasp effort to pull out a win.
With one out on the board, Aaron Petrun singled for the Rams. Lapkowicz bounced back by striking out designated hitter Cameron Palakovich, leaving Rochester one last out to play with.
Pennington kept the game going with a single and Lapkowicz followed by hitting Gallagher to load the bases and bring Figueiredo to the plate. It looked as though the game was over after Lapkowicz struck Figueiredo out, but the ball squirted through the legs of catcher Nathan Keller, allowing Petrun to score and cut the lead to 4-3.
“He was trying to make me feel a little older,” Bates said jokingly of Keller, a first-year starter as a junior. “I think that’s what he was trying to do.”
Lapkowicz showed true grit as the ace of the staff reared back and, with a 1-2 count, struck Beatty out swinging on a high fastball, sealing the win.
With a gold medal now around his neck, Lapkowicz was able to talk about the biggest win of his high school career through a toothy grin.
“My breaking ball was working a little bit better today. I was throwing that in a little bit more,” Lapkowicz said. “Usually, I don’t throw it that much, but they were sitting on my fastball and I had to mix it up.”
The winning pitcher struck out 12 Rams and walked just one while giving up two earned runs during his complete game effort. Figueiredo, on the other hand, took the loss after working 4.1 innings in which he gave up four hits, four walks and four runs, two of which were earned. He struck out six Mikes.
Though his stat line shows just a one-for-two night with a single, Gasti was the catalyst for the Mikes’ offense as he reached base three times in four at-bats and scored a game-high two runs.
“I really just wanted to cut loose, but I had to stay disciplined,” Gasti said. “I knew that J.C. sometimes has some trouble finding the strike zone and I made him pitch to me.”
Gasti was also excited to show his medal to his sister, legendary Carmichaels softball hurler Nikki Gasti, who won WPIAL and PIAA gold in 1991.
After winning his third WPIAL crown, Bates was able to put his program’s success in to a perspective that went well beyond the diamond.
“Not to sound corny, but we’re really not trying to create winners in baseball,” Bates said. “Look up in the stands and look at all the ball players that are here from the last five years. They’re pharmacists, doctors, lawyers, teachers. Those are the kind of kids we’re graduating and they’re going to top notch schools.”
After the win, Bates thanked all the support his team received in preparation of their big win, including Joe Throckmorton, who owns the Giant Eagle in Rices Landing and provided a free tailgate party for the Mikes faithful that made the trip up I-79 to witness the victory.
With another WPIAL trophy heading to Carmichaels Area High School, the Mikes have to put the excitement of victory behind them as they prepare for the PIAA playoffs, which will begin on Monday at Burkett Sports Complex in Robinson Township. The Mikes’ opponent was not known when this story went to print.
Now Carmichaels will see if Bates’ formula victory can take his team to an even bigger prize.