Wild/Wacky Stories

The game lasted 13 innings and 4 hours and 13 minutes, not counting an 8-minute rain delay.

There were 10 errors, 10 extra-base hits and 7 stolen bases, and the teams combined to use 32 players.

It was wild. It was wacky. It was wonderful. Part of the time it was wet.

Fittingly, the eventual winning pitcher was a kid who had never thrown a pitch in a high school uniform, including the junior varsity variety. A kid who, this season, had been granted only two innings of playing time against Catholic League opposition, as a substitute shortstop.

Meet Tom Billek, a sophomore righthander for Archbishop Ryan, which somehow outlasted Father Judge yesterday, 11-10, at La Salle University in a memorable Catholic North semifinal. Overlook the fact that Billek is still shaking this morning, or this afternoon, or whatever time it is now.

Billek replaced reliever Jim Yozallinas (six full innings) with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning, after Ron Filippo's RBI double had drawn Judge within 10-9. Billek's qualifications for being called upon?

"He's thrown batting practice for us, and he's always thrown strikes," coach Al Lake said. "At that point, we were desperate for an arm. "

Billek allowed Judge to tie the game, on Brian Machinski's single, then lived dangerously in the 12th and 13th. But what the heck, he won, and advanced Ryan to Saturday's division final against La Salle at Temple's Erny Field at noon. And the mere fact that he got to pitch was amazing enough.

"When they told me to warm up, I didn't have any idea I'd get in the game," said Billek, who does pitch regularly on the sandlot level. "I warmed up in the 10th, then they told me before the 11th, 'If someone gets on, you're going in. ' I was nervous going out there, but I was also excited about getting a chance to play. I didn't look at anybody or anything. Just the catcher's glove.

"I don't think Judge took me seriously. They were probably thinking, 'Who's this guy? ' "

Like everyone else was.

"I can throw strikes. I have good control," said Billek, who is 5-9, 140 pounds. "Am I a fastballer or a curveballer? Neither. I don't have a great breaking pitch and I'm not that fast . . . I'm a location pitcher. "

In Judge's 12th, centerfielder Gerry Eck bailed out Billek by making a hard-running, over-the-shoulder catch of Bill Cummiskey's deep shot.

In the 13th, Filippo started things with a rocket off the leftfield fence. Too much of a rocket, actually, because Curt Cooper was able to hold him to a single. Joe Cloud then grounded into a 6-4-3 doubleplay and Machinski ended the marathon by popping out to shortstop.

"The guys lifted me up, carried me off the field. It felt great," Billek said. "It was an incredible game. It would look like we were going to win, then they'd come back, then we'd go ahead again, then they'd match us. " Each team scored two runs in the eighth and 11th, and Ryan led, 6-2, after 4 1/2 innings. "Everybody's throats were hurting from yelling. "

The decisive run, meanwhile, came with one out. After Jim Stafford walked, Bill Filer singled to shortstop and Pete Rendina collected a bunt single on what was designed as a sacrifice, Cooper lofted a fly to ultrashallow center. Then, despite being lodged in a 1-2 hole, Steve Devlin delivered a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to score Stafford.

As for Billek, the only sophomore on Ryan's varsity, in some ways this has

qualified as a lost season.

"If they didn't use me much in the first few non-league games, I figured they'd send me back to JV," Billek said. "But I'm the only backup we have for second or short."
As Tom Billek discovered yesterday, he also is a backup pitcher.

PLAYOFF PATTER: With no outs in Judge's seventh, Jim Benner was rubbed out at the plate, catcher Jim Stafford to pitcher Jim Yozallinas, while trying to score on a would-be wild pitch . . . Ryan's Jim McNesby had a two-run homer in the first . . . No one had more than two hits . . . Al Lake: "I'm in the doghouse. I promised a friend I'd take her out to dinner. I'm late."

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Despite injured finger, Lipford leads Central in grand style

By TED SILARY silaryt@phillynews.com

Teddy Lipford tried his best to grin, well, wince and bear it. To be strong. To be a man.

He didn't fare very well.

During a postgame interview, while being treated by a trainer, maybe every 15th word out of Lipford's mouth was "Yah!" or "Ouch! " Finally, he figured he would just go ahead and state the obvious - "This really hurts! "

Yesterday at La Salle University, in the first inning of a Public League semifinal that would redefine wild and woolly, Lipford got spiked on the tip of the middle finger on his right (throwing) hand while making a rundown-ending tag.

Though a sliver of Lipford's flesh disappeared, his will to win remained.

Central edged Frankford, 13-12, in eight innings, as Lipford, a senior shortstop, went 3-for-5 with a walk, double, grand slam and five RBI.

Lipford's salami, a hard-hit fence-scraper to dead left, came in the top of the eighth and, at the time, appeared to be gravy, as it expanded the Lancers' lead to a time-to-frolic 13-6.

Lipford did just that as he rounded the bases, too, jumping, skipping, yelling and darn near doing a moonwalk.

But in the bottom half, Frankford pecked away and Central got sloppy (two walks, three errors, three wild pitches). When Adam Hartman, who started the rally with a single, came up again, Will Bromley was standing on third base, itching to tie the game.

Hartman sent a slow grounder up the middle. Lipford flashed across, made a clean scoop and fired to first. Out!

"With this finger being messed up, I was worried on all my throws," Lipford said. "That last one, I just had to make sure I had enough juice on it. I had the guy. He was out. Good call. "

Lipford was in the minority.

Frankford's coaches, players and fans, some of whom ran onto the foul-territory portion of the field, within maybe 15 feet of umpire Marc Ross, complained bitterly about the game-ender. Later, some Central loyalists were heard expressing their joy over "lucking out" and "getting away with one. "

The eighth inning featured five pitchers, 22 batters, eight hits, four walks, one hit batsman, four errors, two stolen bases, three wild pitches and one passed ball. It lasted three days.

The win went to junior lefthander Noah White, who threw roughly 150 pitches, according to one man's count.

White moved to first base after the first two batters reached base in the eighth. In the seventh, after coach Bob Barthelmeh showed faith in White (despite seven previous walks) by ordering an intentional pass that loaded the bases, White extended the game by getting a strikeout and groundout.

"This was his best game of the year," Barthelmeh said. "I knew he could give us this kind of performance sometime.

"This was crazy. But we're used to this. We've been involved in some high-scoring games, of all kinds. Lose a big lead. Come back from a big deficit. No matter what happens, these kids never hang their heads. I'm proud of them. "

Lipford had a busy day, just as he's had a busy school year.

From La Salle, he was heading home to prepare for his prom. Two weeks ago, he threw a record 80-yard touchdown pass in the Daily News-Eagles City All-Star Football Game. He spent his winter running indoor track (and ignoring coach Fred Rosenfeld's constant suggestions to stay around for spring track).

Lipford was the only black starter in the semifinal doubleheader.

"I'm here because I love the game," he said. "I don't love baseball as much as football, but it's close. Why do I love it? Because it makes you think.

"I played coming up with the Ivy Hill Youth Association. The other guys gave up on baseball. They never said why. Guess they just had other stuff to do. Me, I played on a championship team at an early age and I liked that feeling. "

Lipford doubled and scored in the second, popped out in the third, delivered an RBI single in the fifth, walked in the seventh and cracked his first home run of the season in the eighth. Among those scoring in front of him was Leo Schonwald, who'd hammered a two-run single.

"I knew we already had a three-run lead," Lipford said. "With the bases loaded, I was just trying to put it in play. But hey, that pitch was right down the middle. Wham! There it goes!. . .I knew it was out right off the bat. And I was amped going around the bases. "

Central's No. 2 batting hero was John Hickey, who went 3-for-4 with a walk, double and two RBI. (He also recorded a save. )

For Frankford, which used pitchers Glenn Labadie and Tom DiBello two times apiece, Joe Manini went 4-for-5 (all singles) with two RBI. *