Lefty's Corner

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John "Lefty" McCauley is one of our trusty statisticians/observers. He is not to be confused with Steve "Lefty Carlton. (Even though he was given the nickname "Lefty" because people thought he DID resemble Carlton.) John is a Bonner grad, but also has affection for West Catholic, alma mater of his protege, "Huck." He will make occasional reports on games he sees. We'll let you know later where you may contact him.

MAY 29
CATHOLIC LEAGUE FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF
O'Hara 5, Bonner 0
Just like Thanksgiving, it was all Bird today as O'Hara's ace, Kenny "Bird" Grant, shut out Monsignor Bonner, 5-0. Riding the 6' 7" wingspan of the Southern Division MVP, the Lions showed winning confidence in advancing to the next round of the playoffs. The sr. righthander was in total control allowing only four hits, and one base on balls in going the distance. The single walk is even more remarkable in light of the 11 Ks that he rang up. Those strikeouts, particularly the five which were looking, seemed to be on a cut fastball or slider that seemed to freeze some Friar hitters. At times, as he came three quarters, he must have looked like a right handed "Big Unit" to the Friars batting from that side. Behind Grant's dominating pitching, the Lions played well enough in the field to preserve the shutout. Particular note should be made of the solid contribution of Grant's battery mate, jr. C Brett Altman. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and was excellent in handling Grant's pitches without the usual comfy feeling of a batting cage behind him. He also made a fine grab of a pop foul along first base in the fifth inning. In fact the game ended with Altman scrambling back about 12 feet to retreive the only ball that got by him and then alertly tossing it to his covering pitcher for the game's final out. O'Hara's runs were bunched in the middle three innings, all charged to Bonner's starter, soph. LHP Kevin Horning. The Lions got on board in the home third as jr. SS Mike Essery, (2-for-4 1RS) jacked a one-out double down the right field line, he was then knocked in on a single by jr. 1B Ted Rydesky. A walk to Grant, (2-for-2, 1RS), hitting out of the fourth spot, was followed by a single from sr. 3b Mike Lomas, making it two-zip. With the way Grant was throwing the game was essentially put out of reach in the very next inning when sr. RF Ryan Barksdale walked and nine hitter jr. LF Fran Burbidge, (2-for-3, 1RS) blasted a double into the gap in left and came around to score on sr. CF B.J. "Butch" Hogan's single. For Bonner the season ends disappointingly, but not surprisingly. The Friars played inconsistently all year. What was a surprise, was to go out without a run, because if there was one thing that could be said about the 2001 Friars --- they could hit. But that's testimony to the excellence of Grant's performance. Bonner can draw some consolation in that they return a very good nucleus and seemed to have found a pitcher in Horning that has won the coaching staff's confidence. He has excellent poise and wants the rock in big games; only a sophomore, he'll be heard from. On a closing note, Bonner, trying to find some playoff MoJo, brought along its beefy loyalist, Kozak, to sit on the bench. Alas, the Koz Karma wasn't happening today. When asked for an explanation of the game's outcome, he replied, rather uncharacteristically, "I'm without words."

MAY 17
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
SJ Prep 11, Bonner 6
Unfortunately for Bonner loyalists, the Friars weren't able to match the performance of their centerfield fans today. The crowd estimated between 150 and 200 was definitely in full effect. Picnic tents were erected. A PA system was brought out and set up. Three barbecue grills were fired up, each covered with dogs. All this under the cognizance of the one simply known as "Kozak." The self-appointed emcee, his ample torso bearing a green painted "B", (which when caught in certain postures was mistaken for an "8"), led the cheers. He also laid down an entertaining mix of baby boomer standards. Hendrix, Santana, and The Guess Who, were the selections. Hand made signs, offering individual Friars support, were displayed from the fence in center as well, adding to the spirited atmosphere. This then was the scene that met the Prep squad as it made its way along the first base side. Curiosity, rather than intimidation, seemed to be the effect on the Hawklets. The game itself started out with promise for Bonner as it jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the strength of a leadoff, ground-rule double by so. RF Frank Nunan, a walk to sr. 2B Dave Shockey and a three-run blast to right-center off the bat of sr. 3b Ryan McMahon. McMahon drove in four runs on the day and handled five chances at the hot corner flawlessly. Shockey also had a productive day going 2-for-2, including a double, 2 BBs and 2 RS. The Prep though answered those three runs by scoring six in the top of the second. A single by sr. 3B John Kirchner started things off and the Hawks batted around; they posted six hits, including a three-run HR by leadoff hitter sr. RF Brandon Blake. The Hawks in fact hit three home runs on the day, sandwiched around a couple of ground-rule doubles and a long single off the "in-play tree" in straightaway center. The variety of shots that St Joe's hit seemed to test just about every quirky possibility that the ground rules could have covered. The other HRs were hit by cleanup hitter, jr. 1B Eric Smith and Kirchner. There were a number of Hawks with multi-hit efforts: Blake added a single and 2 RS to his HR; sr. SS Tony Longo was on base three times with a HBP, a single, double and scored twice; the hard-hitting Smith added a single to his homer; sr. 2B Bill Carapucci was 3-for-4 on the day; and sr. C John Huyette had a pair of singles. But it was the powerfully built Kirchner who posted the best numbers, going 4-for-4 and cracking a homer that scattered some of the centerfield fans. Kirchner also made an outstanding catch, staying with a foul pop down the left field line off the bat of Bonner's cleanup hitter sr. LF Dan Auld to end the sixth with two on and two runs in. Mention must be made too of the fine outing that sr. RHP Matt Altomare had in weathering first-inning trouble and ultimately going the distance. The lanky righthander showed excellent poise and was able to get the outs when he needed them. His defense also came up big and made all the plays. In addition to Kirchner's catch behind third were Carapucci's leaping grab of an Auld shot that doubled up Nunan in the third and a couple of fine catches by jr. CF Pete Chromiak in the fourth and seventh innings. The loss left Bonner at 8-8 with two games remaining; at West and home vs. Kennedy-Kenrick. Fourth spot is in serious jeopardy. The Prep looked like a much better team than its record would indicate, but then they have lost some tough ones this year that had they gone the other way would have put them right in the hunt. One final note on the antics of fan favorite Kozak --- it was he who retrieved McMahon' first inning shot and held it aloft in running celebration and then, as advertised before the game, was tackled and piled on by a good part of the Friars' Faithful. And --- not quite sure on this one --- but it could have been Kozak again who, when the Prep's Blake hit his 2nd-inning homer, disdainfully tossed the ball back onto the field ala Wrigley Field, with a cry of, "we don't want this one." On this day Kozak was certainly worth the price of admission, which I believe was nothing. Just kidding Koz, you were the Man today!

MAY 15
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Neumann 13, Bonner 12
As Yogi Berra might have said, "It was deja vu all over again." In a final score very much like their earlier win over Bonner, 15-14, the Neumann Pirates outscored Bonner, 13-12. The win kept the Buccos very much in the hunt for a playoff spot at 7-8. Bonner, perhaps thinking it had things in hand, now hosts the Prep on Thursday and is trying to hold onto that fourth spot at 8-7. Both starting pitchers deserve sympathy cards after this affair. Neumann sr. RHP Anthony Meccariello was battered for 11 runs, of which only five were earned. He exhibited a sneaky quick fastball that accounted for five Ks in his 4 1/3 innings. He also showed an ability to get the Friars to hit comebackers to the mound. He had 4 assists in his stint. For Bonner, so. LHP Kevin Horning settled down after a rocky first inning to record nine Ks in 5 2/3 innings. Of the eight runs charged to him, only five were earned. His most effective pitch was a curveball that found the bottom of the strike zone as the game wore on. He gave way to sr. RHP Marc Kuchler in the sixth after reaching a pitch count that had to be triple digits. Neumann's offensive heroes were many: Meccariello, batting leadoff, had three hits, three RS. Sr. inf Pasquale "Pat" Narducci was 3-for-4 with a walk. Sr. OF Bill Loskiewictz had a 2-for-3 day with a pair of BBs; both walks were with the bases loaded. Five Hitter and sr. C Robert Houck drove in two off sacrifice flies. But the big hero was soph. Jimmy Porreca, who came off the bench in the home seventh and drove a ball deep into the gap in left-center, knocking home the tying and winning runs. The shot was officially a triple as the winning run scored in front of him. For Bonner, soph CF Frank Nunan, hitting leadoff, accounted for four runs scored while ringing up a double and a triple. Sr. 2B Dave Shockey had three hits and sr. LF Dan Auld contributed a bases-loaded single through a drawn-in infield, bringing home two. Both teams were brutal in the field; there were 14 errors -- eight by Neumann and six by Bonner. The Pirate errors were a little more creative, overrun balls in the outfield, dropped flies, booted grounders. Bonner's, though somewhat more conventional, were in the end more costly. Two closing notes: Houston's new EnRon Field has nothing on the more original Pirate home park. At least three CSX freight trains passed close enough for a foul ball to nail a hobo sitting in an open boxcar. The overhead rail line, along the third base line, was quite busy during the game. The other thought is that if Bonner is looking for something to do during its next practice, it might consider working on pickoffs and rundowns; their execution against an aggressive, "runnerish" Bucco squad was woeful.