Jun 4, 2002 By Dave Stofcheck 4 min read

ERIE – Fate pending, Jared Lapkowicz will one day tell his son about a certain Monday afternoon in June. Neighbor and teammate Colby Giles can only laugh and wonder how prominent he’ll figure in the tale.

Lapkowicz penned a masterpiece Monday, tossing a no-hitter as Carmichaels eked out a 1-0 victory over Cambridge Springs in PIAA Class A first-round action at Jerry Uht Park.

It was the freshman left-hander’s third no-hitter this season, and it puts the Mikes in the quarterfinals, where they will meet Greensburg Central Catholic Thursday at a site and time to be determined. The Centurions beat Mt. Union, 8-6, also on Monday.

“I just wanted to win the game,” Lapkowicz said. “I knew it would be a low-scoring game, but I didn’t think this would happen. Our defense played really well behind me.”

Indeed. Lapkowicz’s gem would have lost some of its luster had it not been for Giles’ sparkling defensive play in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Cambridge Springs designated hitter Andrew Sinclair smacked Lapkowicz’s first pitch of the seventh down the third-base line. Giles went to his right and backhanded the ball, falling down in the process. He righted himself and gunned a strike to first baseman Stu Swann, who stretched in time to just nab Sinclair.

“Yeah, I guess I owe him,” Lapkowicz said with a laugh when asked about Giles’ play. “It was a great play, but he’s been making plays like that all year.”

Sinclair’s grounder was the Blue Devils’ best chance for a hit other than losing pitcher Aaron Sinclair’s liner to left fielder Aaron Bowlen leading off the bottom of the fifth.

Lapkowicz retired Cambridge Springs in order in every inning but the second, when Aaron Sinclair reached base after his grounder was mishandled. He struck out nine batters and went to a full count only three times.

“Whenever he’s out on the ballfield, you don’t think of him as a freshman,” said Giles, a junior. “He’s very mature.”

Carmichaels, which came into the game averaging seven runs, didn’t fare much better at the plate. The Mikes’ lone hit came when Jeff Lapkowicz led off the seventh and lined a single past the backhand of Blue Devils second baseman Nathan Lewis-Sanders.

The Mikes, though, took advantage of an error and Aaron Sinclair’s wildness to score the game’s only run in the top of the first inning.

After Aaron Sinclair struck out Jono Menhart and Giles, Shayne Busti reached base when Cambridge Springs shortstop Dan Wheeler misplayed his grounder. Jared Lapkowicz then ran the count full before drawing a walk, and Jeff Lapkowicz and Bryan Wilson followed with five-pitch walks to force in Busti.

Aaron Sinclair then breezed through the next four innings, allowing only Jamie Kowalczyk (hit bats person) and Menhart (walk) to reach base while striking out seven. Brad Smith worked the final two innings, retiring six of the seven batters he faced.

“It was a tough one to lose,” said Cambridge Springs coach Jim Dailey. “He’s (Sinclair) thrown a number of one-hitters this season, but against a team like Carmichaels, which was averaging, what, 10 or 12 runs a game, it was an outstanding performance.

“But I take my hats off to Carmichaels. Their pitcher changed speeds and moved the ball around well. He did a quality job.”

NOTES: The Mikes pulled out of Carmichaels for the 1 p.m. game at 6 a.m. … Jerry Uht Park is the home of the Erie Sea Wolves, the Detroit Tigers Class AA minor league team. … The temperature at game time was 61 degrees. … Carmichaels’ last appearance in the state playoffs was 1980. Cambridge Springs lost a first-round game last season. … Along with twins Jared and Jeff Lapkowicz, the Blue Devils sported a pair of brother tandems: Aaron and Andrew Sinclair and Jeremy and Nathan Sanders-Lewis. … When one of Cambridge Springs’ assistant coaches went to the mound to talk with Aaron Sinclair in the first inning, the organist at Jerry Uht Park played the theme to “Jeopardy”. … Cambridge Springs student Emily Kent sang the national anthem. … The game was the first of a schedule tripleheader.