County League notebook
Pasquale devastated after Mario’s is swept in finals Mario’s manager Lou Pasquale was devastated on Friday after his team was swept by Carmichaels in the Fayette County Baseball League championship series, 4-0.
Pasquale wasn’t sure he was coming back as manager of the 2006 regular-season champions next year.
“If I had to make a decision now, I’d say no, I’m probably not coming back,” Pasquale said. “The only way I would even consider it is if all the core players come back again, too. Then maybe we can take one more shot at it.”
Mario’s has lost in the finals three of the last four years, and all those runner-up trophies are eating at Pasquale.
“I guess I’m just destined to finish second,” he said, then added with a smile, “I thought this might finally be my year because Bill Cowher finally won the Super Bowl with the Steelers. I thought maybe that was a good omen for me.”
Carmichaels manager Dickie Krause has some encouraging advice for Pasquale.
“I’ve been there,” said Krause, whose team came up short in its first three trips to the championship series. “We got to the finals for the first time in 1991 and we lost to Leckrone. We got there again in 1993 and in 1994 and lost both times, once to Mill Run and once to Hopwood. And a few of those were 4-0. I know I was wondering if we’d ever win it all, too.”
The Copperheads finally broke through with their first championship in 1996, and have won five more since then, including four of the last five.
After defeating Mario’s 11-9 in Game 4, Krause’s squad had a subdued on-the-field reaction, but it wasn’t because they’re so used to winning.
“This wasn’t one of my most talkative teams … but they never quit,” Krause said. “They always found a way to come back.”
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County League president Dan Kupets handed out a few of the league’s awards after Friday’s game.
Mario’s earned the “1st Place” award for winning the regular season, while Carmichaels earned the “2nd Place” award.
The Copperheads gathered in “The Mike Susa Trophy” given to the playoff champions, while Mario’s earned “The Bob Nichols Trophy” as the playoff runner-up.
Carmichaels’ Charlie Humes took home “The Tom Croftcheck Trophy” as the playoff MVP.
“He’s the consummate baseball player,” Krause said of Humes, whose two home runs in Game 3 may have been the turning point in the series. “He can play every position on the field. He’s one of the most likeable guys you’ll ever meet.
“And he’s an absolute hammer at the plate.”
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Carmichaels’ six titles puts it two behind Leckrone, which won eight crowns, but Krause did tie John “Arky” Shaffer and Alex “Pickhandle” Mercosky as the managers with the most championships.
Shaffer led Leckrone to six titles, including four in a row from 1984-87, and Mercosky won the first two since the restart of the league in 1975 with Buffington, and four more with Hopwood.
Hopwood has taken home the championship five times overall.
Four others have won multiple titles.
Bud Murphy’s and Death have three crowns apiece, while Buffington and Labelle both won it twice.
Other champions have been Canonsburg, Mill Run and the Brownsville Merchants.
Kupets and long-time Leckrone star outfielder Dennis Santella helped compile the list of past champions.
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John Curtis revealed that he will be back as Jefferson-Morgan High School baseball head coach this school year after a three-year absence.
Curtis coached the Rockets for 23 consecutive seasons before heading over to take an assistant baseball coaching job in the college ranks for Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Curtis will remain on Roaring Lions head coach Ray Smitley’s staff.
“I’m excited about it,” Curtis said of his return to J-M. “I missed the high school game while I was gone. I do like coaching at Fayette, but at J-M, with the younger players and all the rivalries and playoff games we used to have … I’m excited to get back into that atmosphere again.”