3) 0) 0 D EN 7 @ |e > @ > © PE EE ) | 9 ) 9 The Dallas Post The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, July 21,1993 9 Sports\Week HW School news HM Classified | Hl Calendar | FIRING LINE - Kyle Droppers hurled five innings and gave up only two runs in Back Mountain American's win last week. By DAVE KONOPKI POST PHOTOS/RON BARTIZEK YOU'RE OUT! - Kevin Pizzano puts a diving tag on a Swoyersville's Steve Laskowski for the out. The strong throw came from Mike Faneck in right field, who recovered after the ball got through him. Laskowski was credited with a single on the play. American goes for the gold in District 16 WAY TO GO - American assistant coach Mark Sowcik gives an atta-boy to Matt Barnard after Barnard successfully reached third base during last week's game between American and Swoyersville. American meets Edwardsville/Larksville for the District 16 title. Sports Writer Even before the post-season had begun, the Back Mountain American Little League all-star team had taken a giant step towards their goal of a District 16 championship. No, it wasn't capturing the 11-year-old Kubis Tournament nearly 12 months ago. And it wasn't the grueling daily practices for the two weeks lead- ing up to the District 16 tourney. In fact, it didn't even take place on the baseball field, but rather in the hearts of the 14 team mem- bers. On a team laden with individual talent, the Pa. ers quietly decided to sacrifice their individual ac- complishments and concentrate on teamwork. The decision has paid huge dividends. The American League is in the driver's seat for the Dugan's unbeaten in rec basketball league Play continued last week in the District 16 title and is on the verge of giving the community of the Back Mountain their second dis- trict title in four years. American is 6-0 in the double-elimination tourney and will face Ed- wardsville/Larksville at the W.W. Kubis Memorial Field in Dallas on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Ed/Lark, which survived the loser’s bracket of the tourney, must defeat the American League two consecutive times to win the title. “All of the kids are trying to help the team win,” said American manager Herb Fehlinger. “We have a lot of kids who can hit the ball over the fence but they're not up there swinging for: a home run. They're willing to give up that in order to put the ball in play. We have some very unselfish kids.” The success of the American team should come as no surprise to followers of local Little League baseball. The American League did win the prestig- ious Kubis tourney last summer and that put his- tory clearly on their side. Luzerne/Courtdale/ Pringle (1992) and Swoyersville (1991) both won Kubis titles the year before winning the district championship. “We knew we had a talented bunch of boys. We knew we had a good ball club,” added Fehlinger, who noted that four players (Kevin Pizzano, Chuch Fehlin- ger, Kyle Droppers and Neil Dymond) returned from last year's district team. “They have the ability and the desire to win. We've hit the ball well and the defense has risen to the occasion when it had to. It makes it easier on the pitchers when you have kids, like Kyle Droppers and Mike Cleary making diving catches.” For a team that practiced for 15 consecutive days and then played six games in 12 days, the four day rest they are getting has been embraced with open arms by the coaching staff. “It's a welcome relief, especially for the pitching staff,” said Fehlinger, who has had four different pitchers (Pizzano, Fehlinger, Droppers and Dymond) pick up wins in the six games. “It also gives us a chance to reiterate the things we talked about in the beginning of practices. We should be well-rested.” With the regional and state playoffs looming on the horizon, the American coaching staff is making sure the team stays focused on the job at hand. “The team that we are going to play has battled - back through the loser's bracket.,” said Fehlinger, who is assisted by Mark Sowcik, and Russ Hoover. “They have knocked off a couple of very good teams and we've told the kids that they (Back Mountain) could be next if they don't keep working hard. But the kids haven't looked ahead at all during the tour- nament. They know what they have to do.” John Oliver gains notice on the baseball diamond By DAVE KONOPKI Dallas Borough Recreation Bas- ketball League with six games. On Wednesday, Tim Puz hit a jumper at the buzzer to send the’ Mounts into overtime vs. Team Straigis. The Mounts took over in the extra period and went on to win 77-70. Scott Kern had 18 and Ed Thomas 16 for the winners. Dave Fosko had 14 for Payne. Earlier last week, Stegmaier 1857 nipped Jim Jon 73-72 be- hind Bill Cuff's 23. Jeff Poorman had 20 for Jim Jon. Dugans whipped the Mounts 66-44 be- hind Frank Debona's 24 and Payne tripped Team Straigis 59- 56 behind Bill Jones 19. Play continues the week of July 19. Jay Straigis led the losers with 22. The Fieldhouse continued to play winning ball and thumped LEAGUE STANDINGS Stegmaier 1857 80-54. George i Marut led the victors with 19 and Dugans Pub 50 : Fieldhouse 3-2 Chuck Wilson added 17. Jim P 3.2 Lister paced Steg with 19. ayne.: : Dugans Pub stayed unbeaten Stegmaier 1857 3-2 with a 67-52 win over Payne Prin- Mounts 2-4 tery. Frank Debona led Dugans Jim Jon 1-4 with 28 including five 3-pointers. Team Straigis 1-4 SportsShorts Jr. Knights slate practice, signup The Lake-Lehman Jr. Knights will hold their first practice of the season on Monday, July 26, at 6 p.m. at the Lake-Lehman Senior High. Any boy who would like to participate and has not registered, may do so that night. Registration fee is $20 and $15 each additional child. A $10 activitiy fee is also required and payable at that time. All participants must have their physical by August 2, or no equipment will be issued to him until his physical is done. All new participants must have a copy of their birth certificate and a recent photo. BMT Baseball trip to Phillies game Back Mountain Baseball will hold a bus trip to Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 31, to see the Phillies take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cost for the family-oriented trip is $35 which includes a 300-level, third-base line ticket. Game time is 7:05 p.m. and the bus will depart the Back Mountain Little League field at 2:30. The general public is invited to attend. Call Larry Lettie at 696-1959 for res- ervations as soon as possible. Cards take AAA title The Cardinals, under manager Tom Dougherty, recently captured the AAA title in Back Mountain Baseball with an impressive 16-5 win over the Tigers. Josh Bryant, John Slaby, T.J. Doughtery, Ben Brown and Chad Williams each had two hits for the Cardinals. Slaby and Brown each had triples while Bryant, Dougherty and Williams had doubles. Bryant picked up the win, striking out eight in going the distance. Buddy Shaw had a double for the Tigers. ‘BMT Baseball, softball awards picnic Back Mountain Baseball's annual awards picnic will be held at Irem ‘Temple Outdoor Pavilion Sunday, August 1. Awards presentations will ‘start at 2 p.m. Food will be served immediately following the awards. ‘Donation, $5 per family. Dallas Borough cop takes silver Bill Morris Jr. of the Dallas Borough Police Department recently competed in the 1993 PA Police Olympics held in Pittsburgh, PA. He was in the powerlifting event winning a silver medal. He is shown here squatting 475 Ibs. The Back Mountain Police Association helped in sponsoring Bill. 11-12 Year Olds BACK MT. NATL. 13 - HANOVER 8 Winning pitcher E.J. Ishley struck out nine batters and ripped two doubles at the plate to lead Back Mountain in opening round action of the Lower Valley Toura- ment. Jim Davis had three hits, including a triple and double, while Russell Wenrich added a pair of hits for Back Mountain. Brad Jumper added a double. BACK MT. NATL. 9 - NANTICOKE 1 James Davis tossed a four hit- ter, striking out 10, to lead the Nationals in the Lower Valley Tourney. Davis yielded just one hit over the final five innings en route to the win. Brad Jumper had two hits, including a towering home run to centerfield, while Bruce Nagle and Charles Whitehead each contributed a pair of hits, including a bases-loaded by Nagle. 9-10 Year Olds BACK MT. NATL. 8 - BACK MT. AMERICAN 7 Matt Eyet, who tied the contest with a run-scoring triple, scored Little League tourney roundup the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Steve Liparella in the sixth inning to give the Nationals the win. Justin Bicking picked up the mound win in relief of Mike Domzalski, who had nine strike- outs in five innings. Brian Vetter and Kevin Piekara had triples for the American team while Pat Barnard and Lloyd Droppers also had hits. HANOVER 10 - BACK MT. NATL. 4 Matt Eyet and Josh Katyl each had two hits for Back Mountain in the Lower Valley Tourney. Keith Sprau, Mike Domzalski and Josh Bryant also had hits. Justin Bicking and Josh Katyl shared the pitching duties. BACK MT. NATL. 13 - ASHLEY/NEWTON 4 Justin Bicking and Matt Eyet had two hits apiece to lead Back Mountain in the opening round of the Swoyersville Tourney. J.C. DeRojas, Steve Liparella, Keith Sprau, John Isaacs and Mike Domzalski each had hits for the winners. Josh Katyl picked up the win, striking out five in four in- nings. Sports Writer Three years ago he was turning heads with his baseball talents on the W.W. Kubis Memorial Field in the Back Mountain, as he helped lead Back Mountain National to the District 16 title. Now, John Oliver is impressing baseball people from all over the country. The son of John and Carol Oliver recently competed in the eastern finals of the Pennsylvania American Legion all-star tryouts at the Coplay Baseball Complex near Allentown. Oliver earned his way to Coplay by making the cut of three other tryout camps dur- ing a two-week period. He was just one of three players from the Wyoming Valley American Legion League to earn their way to the eastern finals. What makes the accomplish- ment even more impressive is that Oliver is just 15 years old, having recently completed his freshman year at Lake-Lehman High School. The overwhelming majority of American Legion players are 16- 18 years old, with many of them graduating high school seniors or college freshmen. Oliver was the youngest player to make the east- ern finals. During the tryouts, players are timed in the 60-yard run, field four balls hit to center- field and participate in a game against the other competitors. Back Mountain teammates Todd Paczewski and Will Woronko both made it to the eastern semi- final before being eliminated. Oliver's success did not come as a surprise to his Legion coach. “Johhny is an outstanding baseball player,” said Back Moun- tain Legion head coach John Konopki. “He has a strong arm, a’ very quick bat and excellent speed. He can go a long way in baseball. His potential is unlimited.” Despite not making the final cut, Oliver was rated highly by many of the scouts in attendance and was pleased with his per- formance during the competition. “I had a lot of fun,” said Oliver, a few hours after the competition. “Iwas pretty nervous at first. Alot of these guys were almost 19 years old. You just go out there and do your best. I still have three more years to get there (the Pennsylva- nia all-star game). : A major reason Oliver did not make the final cut was his time in the 60-yard run. Oliver, who pulled a groin muscle in a Legion game with his Back Mountain club five days ago, completed the run in a time of 7.2 seconds, well below his average time of 6.8 seconds. But he did impress a lot of people and, in the process, laid the foundation for his baseball future. “There were about 35 college coaches there,” said Olvier, who said coaches from Notre Dame, Penn State, William and Mary and Old Dominion were among those present. “I want to play college baseball someday and I'm hoping to use this experience to help me get some exposure. It was a great experience.” Lake-Lehman schedules physicals Physicals for Lake-Lehman Senior High fall sports teams will be held on the following schedule: Sr. High Football, July 21, 9 a.m. at the Senior High. Sr. High Boys Soccer, July 22, 9 a.m. at the Senior High. Jr. High Field Hockey, July 23, 9 a.m. at the Junior High. Jr. High Soccer, July 26, 9 a.m. at the Junior High. Sr. High Golf, July 26, 9 a.m. at the Junior High. Jr. High Football, July 28, 9 a.m. at the Junior High. More Sports on page 11
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