BASEBALL
By: Tim Falls
A loss gave the Lawrence High School baseball team the motivation it needed to win.
Lawrence lost its season opener to Pennington, 5-4, on Saturday.
The Cardinals fell in a five-run hole by the top of the third inning. Lawrence rallied back and almost tied the score but wound up losing to the Red Raiders after a run was called back on an appeal.
In Lawrence’s second game of the season, the Cardinals were more determined. Lawrence struck first with two runs in the top of the first inning and scored six in the seventh inning in a 12-4 victory over Notre Dame, the defending Mercer County champion, on Monday.
"Saturday was a heartbreaker," said Lawrence coach Brian Carter. "I have to think the way we lost on Saturday helped us. After that loss we had a chip on our shoulder. We had passion."
The controversial call in the loss to Pennington came in the bottom of the sixth with one out after Lawrence closed to within a run.
Junior Christian Cox ripped a shot into center field, but Pennington’s Chris Slanina picked it off with a diving catch for the second out of the inning. Bobby Hallowell came home from third on the play for what would have been the Cardinals’ fifth run, but Pennington appealed and the umpire ruled that Hallowell didn’t tag up properly. The ruling turned a sacrifice fly to tie the game into an inning-ending double play.
"I can’t believe he caught it," said Cox. "That will make us work even harder. I’m expecting a lot more wins."
That one play broke Lawrence’s momentum and gave it the motivation it needed when Notre Dame began a rally of its own on Monday. Pennington retired the side in the seventh inning to seal its win, but the Cardinals attacked their next game fired by the loss.
"The guys felt we had one taken from us," said Carter. "They weren’t going to let another one get taken away. They scored six runs in the top of the seventh."
Lawrence certainly made sure it stayed ahead of Notre Dame.
Carter gave credit to Cox for another at-bat late in the game that changed the momentum’s direction.
"Their pitcher was settling down and getting into a groove," said Carter. "There were two outs, Chris had two strikes on him and he turned a pitch around and sent it onto the lacrosse field."
The solo home run put Lawrence ahead, 6-4, after the sixth inning.
"The difference between a one-run lead and a two-run lead that late in the game was huge," said Carter. "Our guys were starting to look overmatched. Their pitcher was getting into a groove and you could see the momentum shifting. Chris took it right back with that hit."
Cox went 4-for-5 with a triple, a homer, two RBI and four runs scored against Notre Dame after going 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored against Pennington.
Geoff Kimmel joined Cox with big hits against Notre Dame. Kimmell pummeled the Irish with two doubles and a home run for three RBI and two runs scored. Matt Casale added a home run and two RBI for Lawrence as well.
Sophomore Dan Ciccone collected his first pitching win after relieving senior starter Mike Barbee. Ciccone closed out the game against Pennington and had three strikeouts in two innings as Lawrence retired the side twice.
The sophomore might have needed that confidence to take on Notre Dame after giving up eight runs, seven earned, five hits and three walks with three strikeouts in just under two innings of work in a 16-7 loss to the Irish last season.
"Dan was strong," said Carter. "He gave up just one run in four innings and struck out five. Mike Darbee went three complete and didn’t give up an earned run. The three runs were all unearned."
The loss to Pennington could be blamed on early season jitters.
"We have a young team," said Carter. "We have experience, but we’re still young."
Being a little too tense might have allowed the Red Raiders to get the jump on Lawrence in the first few innings.
"That first inning was dire," said Carter. "They played the first inning like it was the last. Now they know they have seven innings."
"The first two innings when they got their runs we had to get our nerves settled," said Cox. "We were able to relax after the second inning. We knew we were down. We just had to fight our hardest and go for the win."
While Lawrence was able to fend off Notre Dame by putting plenty of runs up late in the game, Carter feels his team could have done the same had it been behind again.
"This group, when they were freshmen, I saw them play every game," said Carter. "I saw them battle back from huge deficits. Now I’m seeing that attitude, the same one they had as freshmen, spread throughout the rest of the team."
Lawrence faced Northern Burlington on Wednesday, and hosts Hamilton today and Morrisville on Saturday.
Now all the Cardinals have to do is hold on to their passion, keep the momentum going and concentrate on winning.

