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By CONNOR ENNIS; Times Leader Sports Correspondent
Sunday, July 21, 1996 Page:
BETHLEHEM — Right now the West Pittston Little League all-stars are hoping
that history repeats itself.
West Pittston lost its first game in district play, then rattled off nine
straight wins on its way to becoming District 16 champions.
On Saturday, West Pittston lost its first game in the Section 4 playoffs,
5-2 to District 20 champion Lehigh.
West Pittston will play Abington American at 2 p.m. today in a losers
bracket game at the West Pittston Little League Field. Lehigh advances into
today’s winners bracket against District 29 champion East Stroudsburg South.
In the top of the first inning Saturday, Lehigh got on the scoreboard as
Brooks Diaz cracked a two-out double that scored Matt Steirer.
West Pittston came back in its half of the inning and scored two runs to
take a 2-1 lead. Matt Cowher hit a triple that brought in Andy Castanaro, who
then scored on a passed ball.
After this inning, however, West Pittston was shut down offensively by a
dominating pitching performance by Lehigh’s Mark Borda. Borda pitched a
complete game two-hitter, striking out 16 and walking just three.
“Mark’s been doing that all year for me,” said Lehigh manager John Steiner.
“He only gave up two earned runs all year.”
Even with Borda’s masterful performance, Lehigh needed a four-run fourth
inning to break open the game. Pinch hitter Mike Loguidice had the big hit as
he tagged West Pittston pitcher Richie Overman for a two-run single.
Asked about the managerial move of using Loguidice to pinch hit, Steiner
laughingly said, “Mike always gets the bat on the ball and puts it in play. It
wasn’t much of a move on my part.”
After the four-run outburst, Borda took over, striking out eight of the
last 11 batters he faced.
“He was very good,” said West Pittston manager Jim Manganiello Jr. of
Borda. “We just weren’t able to get good solid contact.”
“The kids should bounce back,” he continued. “They’re down, but not
defeated.”
LEHIGH WEST PITTSTON
| ab|r|h|bi| ab|r|h|bi
Steiner c 4 0 0 0 Castanaro 3b 1 1 0 0
Steirer ss 2 1 0 0 Coleman ss 3 0 0 0
Borda p 3 0 0 0 Cowher 2b 3 1 1 1
Diaz lf 3 0 1 1 Mattei lf 2 0 0 0
Scipio cf 3 1 2 0 Finn rf 1 0 0 0
Kozak 3b 1 1 0 0 Yurko ph 1 0 1 0
D’Egidio 1b 2 1 0 0 Wrubel pr 0 0 0 0
Smith ph 1 0 0 0 Parr 1b 1 0 0 0
Zsalavecz 2b 1 0 0 0 Dunnigan 1b 2 0 0 0
Loguidice ph 1 1 1 2 Overman p 3 0 0 0
Walter rf 2 0 1 1 Giordano cf 2 0 0 0
Rheiner ph 1 0 0 0 Mazar c 1 0 0 0
Trowbridge ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 24 5 5 4 Totals 21 2|2 1
Lehigh 100|||400–5
West Pittston 200|||000–2
2B–Diaz. 3B–West Pittston.