18-run inning leads to 29-6 playoff loss
By: Steve Feitl
When Broad Street Park pulled ahead, 4-1, in the third inning of the Mercer County American Legion League playoff game Tuesday, things were bad for Lawrence.
One inning later, things got really bad.
Eleven hits, six walks and three errors in the top of the fourth led to 18 Broad Street Park runs and sealed Lawrence’s fate.
Not only did it knock the third-place Post 414 squad (14-9) out of the MCALL playoffs, but the 29-6 drubbing eliminated Lawrence from contention for the state District 4 Tournament, which begins this weekend.
Lawrence manager Angelo Capuano was quick to give credit to the Broad Street Park team (16-8) that pounded out 22 hits off five 414 pitchers.
"You have to give them credit because they hit the ball all game," he said. "We did have some errors too. Sure, our pitching could have been better, but you have to make the plays behind them too."
Lawrence actually led the game at one point. The team jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but things fell apart quickly after that.
Starting pitcher Jonathan "Gator" Kindberg gave up four runs in the top of the third, as Broad Street Park secured the lead – one it never relinquished.
After retiring Nick Kosul, Bob Brundage and Rich Canuso 1-2-3 in the bottom of the third, Broad Street Park came to bat in that fateful fourth inning.
The inning began auspiciously as Brundage flubbed a grounder to short, allowing the lead-off man to reach. A base hit and walk later, the bases were loaded with no one out. Kindberg left the game with an undisclosed injury, meaning Harold Grant came in with little warm-up time. His control seemingly suffered as he allowed two walks and a base hit. Three more runs were home and the bases were still loaded with no outs.
Eric Brown relieved Grant, but had the unfortunate luck of facing Broad Street Park shortstop Nick Massari, who lined a three-run triple to centerfield. Massari was hot all game, going 5-for-7 with an unbelievable 10 RBIs.
With the game slipping away from Lawrence, Brown went back to work. He allowed a single, a walk and a double to push the deficit to 12-1, with runners on second and third and still no one away. A sharp liner to short skimmed off Brundage’s glove to bring home another run.
It was clear things were not going 414’s way.
"In the beginning of the inning, I kept reminding the guys that were had nine innings to play and catch up," Capuano noted. Since it was a playoff game, the normal seven-inning Legion game was extended to a nine-inning contest. It also meant the 10-run rule would not go in effect until the seventh inning, rather than in the fifth.
"By the end of the inning, you know where you’re at," Caupuano added.
It was 15-1 and Broad Street Park had sent 16 batters to the plate before Lawrence collected the first out of the inning – a Brown strikeout. By the time the inning finally ended, Lawrence was down 22-1 and had faced 23 Broad Street Park batters in one inning.
414 narrowed the insurmountable gap to 22-3 in the bottom of the fourth, but fell further behind in the fifth when Broad Street Park added three more runs. The lead extended to 29-4 in the top of the seventh.
Lawrence picked up two more runs in the bottom of the seventh, but that was all the team could muster before the game was mercifully called due to the 10-run rule.
More discouraging for Lawrence was it was the team’s second-straight blow-out. 414 ended the regular season by losing to MCALL-powerhouse Hamilton (22-0), by a score of 19-0. 414 was outscored 48-6 in its final two games of the year.
"We just ran into a buzz saw these last two games," Capuano acknowledged.
After the game, Capuano called his players together in front of the dugout and said a few thank you’s to his four year players (Brown, Canuso, Brundage and Eric Weiner), Legion Post 414 and sponsor Dick Greenfield.
"We can’t do it without these people," he said.
And strides were certainly made with the third-place finish this season. Capuano hopes to use a fall program to improve the squad (Interested players can contact Don Cemelli at Post 414 for more information) and build on the success of the playoff team.
"Whenever you finish third in this league, you’ve done well," Capuano said. "We did a good enough job, but we just didn’t get over that hump and that’s unfortunate. The team can hold its head high. We did a good job."