By Steve Smull
LVBL News
SCHERERSVILLE – “Byrnes, Knipe & Vigilanti” is not a law firm. However, Tommy Byrnes, Brayden Knipe, and Nick Vigilanti could charge top dollar for their performances on Saturday, as the trio scored every run, knocked in every RBI, and earned the win and the save on the mound while leading the Landsharks (9-5-1) to a 6-3 win over the RedHawks (5-10).
This first-round series of the 25+ Division playoffs of the Lehigh Valley Baseball League (LVBL) will continue Sunday with Games 2 & 3 (if necessary) starting at 12 noon at Scherersville #5.
Despite the trio’s strong effort, the RedHawks came to play Saturday as they battled the Sharks right on down to the last out of the game. The RedHawks outhit the Landsharks 12-6 and had a quintet of players of their own who had big games. Gabe Hurtado, Dave O’Leary, and Tyler Witt collected three hits apiece. Also, Jay Fuhrman threw six strong innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run, and Brian Gasda did not allow an earned run over the final three innings while scoring two runs on offense.
Question: So how did the Landsharks win this game when you consider that they were outhit 12 to six and allowed three earned runs compared to the RedHawks allowing just one earned run?
Answer: Three RedHawks errors that lead to five unearned runs. Seeing the RedHawks make 19 outs in 22 at-bats with runners in scoring position, including having a runner thrown out at home on a base hit. Stealing seven bases and, of course, having a little luck.
The most significant piece of luck the Sharks would receive happened just six pitches into the game.
After Vigilanti walked on four pitches to start the game, Knipe came to the plate and hit a groundball to short with an 0-1 count. However, the shortstop bobbled the ball briefly, and everybody was safe. The E6 was not the lucky part of the play. The lucky part of that sequence for the Sharks is that Vigilanti was attempting to steal second base on the pitch. Had Vigilanti not been running on the pitch, the shortstop would have had plenty of time for a force play at second base despite the bobble. So had a force play taken place, the Landsharks would not have scored a run in the top of the first, despite the balk that took place about 30 seconds later.
So as we resume the game action, the Sharks had runners on first and second with no outs, and then a balk moved the runners to second and third. On the next pitch, Byrnes grounded out to second base, easily scoring Vigilanti from third base. However, Knipe, who can fly, sailed around third base, and never broke stride as he scored from second, giving Byrnes two RBI on the 4-3 groundout. Thus, the Landsharks had a 2-0 lead just seven pitches into the game.
In a game where 289 pitches were thrown, it is easy to overlook that lucky break the Sharks received way back on pitch #6. However, they created that lucky break by having a runner in motion that took away a force play when the shortstop bobbled a grounder slightly.
Whether anyone in the park recognized that significant play or not, the RedHawks did not seem phased as they answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first.
O’Leary led off the frame with a double, and then Gasda walked two batters later. Then, after a pop-up, Hurtado laced an 0-2 pitch down the left-field line for an RBI double to cut the deficit to 2-1. Brian Mello followed with an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 2-2. However, shortstop T.J. Johnson did knock the ball down to keep Hurtado from scoring from second, thus saving a run.
Vigilanti got things going again for the Sharks in the top of the third. He blooped a one-out single to right field, stole second, and then scored on an RBI single to right by Byrnes, and the Sharks took a 3-2 lead.
There was only one tally by the Sharks in innings three through five, despite all the action between both teams. There were also 11 baserunners stranded during that stretch, and a Redhawks runner gunned down at the plate by Vigilanti from left field in the bottom of the fourth.
And Vigilanti got things going again in the top of the sixth as he reached third on a three-base error to start the inning. Knipe then hit a long fly ball to center for an RBI sacrifice fly and a 4-2 Sharks lead.
The RedHawks would answer during the bottom of the seventh.
Gasda led off with a double down the left-field line. Witt blooped a single to right to put runners on the corners, and then Hurtado walked to load the bases with nobody out. Mello grounded into a 6-4 fielder’s choice but got an RBI to cut the deficit to 4-3. However, Knipe would wriggle out of the jam with two more groundouts to keep the Landsharks ahead by a run.
“A little bit of luck” example #2 for the Sharks happened in the bottom of the eighth.
O’Leary got hit by a pitch with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Then, Eric Schware hit a 2-0 pitch on the screws for perhaps the hardest-hit ball of the game. The rocket to centerfield looked as though it would carry over Vigilanti’s head and probably would have had he come in another step or two before retreating back to make the catch. However, Vigilanti made the grab, and there would be no tie game.
The Landsharks would get two big insurance runs in the top of the ninth.
José Luis Alfaro singled to right to start the inning. Vigilanti reached on a 5-4 fielder’s choice and stole second. Knipe would reach on an error to put runners on the corners, and then deliberately got in a rundown between first and second base. Vigilanti stole home to make it 5-3 while Knipe made it to second base. A wild pitch moved him to third before Byrnes knocked him in with a 4-3 groundout and a 6-3 lead.
“A little bit of luck” example #3 for the Sharks happened in the bottom of the ninth.
Witt and Hurtado singled to start the inning to put runners on first and second. Then, after a fielder’s choice at second put runners on the corners, Fuhrman hit a screaming liner to shortstop that turned into a game-ending double-play.
“We knew it would be a close game today,” said Landsharks manager Jeff Trexler. “They are a very scrappy team. They already beat us once this year. No matter who we throw at them, they put a lot of balls in play. You have to play good defense against them, and we did that today.”
Trexler also runs the 18+ Landsharks, who play in the AA Division. So he has a lot of players double-rostering on this 25+ squad.
Unfortunately, the 18+ Sharks lost a tough AA semifinals series against eventual champion Bushkill a couple of weeks back. The carry-over effect from that tough loss is that his 25+ team has been flat the past couple of weeks.
“We have been flat ever since the 18+ team lost,” admitted Trexler. “We came out flat today, but we were able to scratch enough runs across to win. This game could have gone either way, right up until the very end. I expect the next game to be the same way.”
One player who has not been flat for the Landsharks is Vigilanti, a Liberty high school grad, who finished third in the entire LVBL this summer with a .533 batting average for the 25+ Sharks.
“He has been a real find for us, at both levels, 18+ and 25+,” said Trexler. “He is on base all the time and always hustling. We are happy and lucky to have him.”
RedHawks player/manager Nate Wagner lamented all the missed opportunities his team had in Game 1.
“We had bases loaded a few times and a lot of runners on base today, but we just could not push them across,” said Wagner. “We were ‘chasing one’ most of the game.”
Wagner was thrilled with Fuhrman’s performance on the mound in Game 1. The southpaw went six strong innings.
“He was great on the hill today,” said Wagner. “He saved his best game of the year for Game 1.”
Asked how Wagner will handle his staff for Sunday if the rain holds off, he said, “It’s playoff baseball, so it’s every arm available.”
