Mario’s stuns Bud Murphy’s with 4-3 comeback win to advance
LECKRONE – Managers have been known to get gray hair over one-run games, but Lou Pasquale came out with a big smile. Mario’s scored three runs in the last of the sixth and went on to nip Bud Murphy’s, 4-3, and advance to the finals of the Fayette County Baseball League playoffs.
The win was the third for Mario’s in four games in the best-of-five series, and all four games were decided by one run.
Mario’s now has a couple days off while waiting to see who its opponent will be in the championship series, as Rostraver and Carmichaels are engaged in the other best-of-five set.
Bud’s led 3-1 going into the bottom of the sixth with Jason Halfhill working on a strong six-hitter.
John Harvey singled to lead off the inning, and Bill Rouse ran for him. Jim Cole followed with a single, sending Rouse to third, and when the return throw to second was wide of first base, Rouse kept on running to score, and Cole wound up at third.
That was all for Halfhill, and Matt Basinger came on in relief. He got a strikeout, and then walked Len Pasquale. Scott Van Sickle’s grounder was thrown home trying to get Cole, but Cole slid in under the tag with the tying run, and Pasquale was on second.
After another strikeout, Josh McMullen singled to score Pasquale with what turned out to be the winning run.
Todd Dunham worked the seventh in relief for Mario’s and set Bud’s down in order to protect the lead.
Pasquale said, “A big factor for us was Baker’s pitching. He didn’t get excited with runners on base. He kept the ball down low on the batters and made them hit the ball on the ground. In the previous games, defense had been the big factor for us, but today we had a couple of defensive lapses, although we made the plays when we had to.”
Maybe a little “pep talk” by Pasquale also helped Mario’s get turned around.
He said, “When we were down 2-1 (fourth inning), I told them they looked more like they were playing not to lose than they were playing to win, and they had better get started to play to win. Then we got a break in the sixth when our leadoff hitter got on and the return throw got away, and we went from there.”
Bud’s manager Tom Sankovich was upset with his own defense (4 errors). He said, “We gave them all four runs, and on offense, we did not hit with runners on base. We left too many runners stranded (10).
“Halfhill pitched a great game for us, but we didn’t play defense back of him, and we didn’t get hits when we needed them. The top five batters in our lineup had all of our hits. We just went dead at the plate the entire series.”
There were no extra-base hits in the game with Greg Beucher and Brian Shipley splitting four of Bud’s five singles, and Cole having three of the Mario’s nine hits.
Bud’s led 1-0 in the first. With one out, Ryan Miscik singled, went to second as Brian Sankovich grounded out and scored on Shipley’s single.
Mario’s (24-season, 5-1 playoffs) tied in the game in the second.
Ron Dellarose beat out a roller toward third, and when the ball was thrown past first, he wound up at second, scoring on singles by Cole and Kubina.
Bud’s took the lead back, 2-1, in the third. Joe Bonadio walked to lead off, stole second and moved around on an out and Beucher’s single.
It was 3-1 in the fifth when Bud’s had the chance to break the game open. Sankovich was safe on an error, and singles by Shipley and Beucher loaded the bases with nobody out.
With one out, Sankovich scored on an error, and the bases were still loaded, but a strikeout and popup ended that threat.
Another threat failed in the fourth. Anthony Brown walked to open and Basinger was aboard on an error. Rich Means bunted them to second and third, but a grounder and fly ball ended that move.
The 3-1 lead held until the sixth, when Mario’s made its winning move.
For Bud’s, the season is over at 23-9, including 1-3 in playoffs, and for the first time in four years they won’t be in the playoff finals.
But Pasquale is making his fourth trip to the finals as he noted, “Three as a player and now my first as a manager.”
Now all he has to do is avoid getting any grayer.