To view game action photos, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
COPLAY – There was a barely audible groan from the Upper Merion faithful as Abington Heights second baseman Mike Umberich fielded the grounder and fired to first for the game’s final out in Thursday’s PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal game.But that groan quickly turned to appreciative applause and then a chant of ‘We still love you. We still love you.’
And the love affair between the Upper Merion baseball team and its loyal fans didn’t end just because the Vikings’ season came to an end as the result of their 6-1 loss to the Comets.
As the players headed back to the dugout after their final post-game huddle, they stopped to exchange high fives and fist bumps with the students who lined the fence at Sam Balliet Stadium, and just as they shared in every win, the Viking fans shared their team’s final loss.
“Upper Merion is just alive with spirit and support right now,” coach Jason Darnell said. “It’s really energized the entire community.
“I couldn’t be more proud to be part of something.”
“It’s been amazing,” senior Pat McCaughey said. “Everyone has been behind us from the very beginning. It’s great to get such a turnout when you’re playing an hour and a half away.
“It’s just something special.”Special hardly covers a run to a district crown and a spot in the state quarterfinals for a Viking squad that was seeded seventh out of eight teams in the district tournament.
“This was awesome, there’s no doubt about it,” Darnell said. “I have been saying since the post-season started – we have no regrets about anything.
“As soon as I got these guys in the post-game huddle, they were all smiles. I wouldn’t say they’re just happy to be here because we didn’t fold, and we wanted to win this game, but to get this far – it’s an absolute dream. I still feel I have to be pinched because this has just been magical.”
And in a post-season that has featured one Viking comeback after another, yet another comeback didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility, especially when the student fan buses arrived as the Vikings were coming to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning staring at – what else but a 3-0 deficit.
“You could see when they all walked in – even the other team, they all looked over,” Viking senior Joel Paradis said. “It got into their heads a little bit, so that was an awesome feeling.”
But then came the fifth inning that saw three different Comets – Tony Castellano, Matt Badamo and Ross Fiore – hit solo home runs.
“After the second home run, I was like, ‘Alright, these guys are good,’” Paradis said.
The third one by Fiore put the Comets on top 6-1.
Still, the Vikings and their fans had reason to hope when Kevin Neufer opened the bottom of the inning with a single to left. An errant throw on Ryan Dolga’s grounder to third put a pair of Vikings on board, and it looked as though the Vikings might be staging yet another miraculous comeback when Matt Shannon’s sharp grounder to short – a custom-made double play ball – got through the legs of shortstop Cory Spangenberg.Not only did Neufer score on the play, but the Vikings had a pair of runners on board with the top of their lineup waiting in the wings.
“After we scored the first run on the error, I was like, ‘You have got to be kidding me. There’s no way we’re doing this again,’” Paradis said.
The Vikings didn’t do it again.
Comet hurler Steve Mills saw to that, calmly retiring the next three batters he faced to kill that potential rally. Pete Doggett worked two scoreless innings of relief as the Vikings managed just four hits on the day.
“They’re very good,” McCaughey said. “We knew coming in that they would have a solid lineup. They pretty much showed that they’re the better team today.
“But I think we thought we were in it the whole time, and we battled the whole way. We never gave up.”
“To lose to a team like this is not that upsetting,” Paradis added. “They’re an excellent team offensively and defensively – the best we’ve seen all year. They probably deserve to beat us.”
Darnell also tipped his hat to the Comets.“These guys just were better,” the Vikings’ first-year coach said. “They were on another level today. Their talent is as good I have seen on any team in any class – 3A, 4A.
“They’re energetic, and credit to them – they put their bats on the ball. We lost to an awesome team. I’m fine with that. We didn’t hand them the game. They absolutely earned it. They deserved it.”
For the Vikings, the hardest part was saying farewell to a special season.
“It’s (tough) because we just love playing, love being with each other,” McCaughey said. “We had a great ride, so it’s tough, but we accomplished more than we thought we would
“We’re pretty satisfied with what we accomplished and all the people we proved wrong.”
“We’re getting a banner in our gym,” Paradis said, “so whenever I come back, I’ll see that and remember the season. I’ll remember the fun we’ve had – it’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
ABINGTON HEIGHTS 6, UPPER MERION 1
Abington Heights: Mike Umerich 2b 4 0 1 0; Cory Spangenberg ss 4 1 1 0; Tony Castellano lf 4 1 3 3; Steve Mills p/rf 4 0 1 0; Matt Badamo 1b 4 1 1 1; Ross Fiore cf 3 2 1 1; Dan Smith dh 2 0 0 0; Brian Mahlstedt rf 0 0 0 0; Pete Doggett p 0 0 0 0; Mike Diskin 3b 3 0 0 0; Matt Mortell c 3 1 1 1. TOTALS 31 6 9 6.
Upper Merion: James O’Toole c 3 0 1 0; Joel Paradis rf 1 0 0 0; Chris Baker p/3b 3 0 0 0; Ben Dworecki 1b/p 3 0 1 0; Drew Santangelo pr 0 0 0 0; Greg McCuch ss 3 0 1 0; Pat McCaughey dh 3 0 0 0; Bill O’Donnell 3b 0 0 0 0; Corey Develin 1b 0 0 0 0; Kevin Neufer lf 3 1 1 0; Ryan Dolga 2b 3 0 0 0; Matt Shannon cf 3 0 0 0. TOTALS 25 1 4 0.
Abington Heights 101 130 0-6
Upper Merion 000 010 0-1
E-UM 1, AH 2. DP-AH 1. LOB-AH 5, UM 5. 2B-Mills. HR-Castellano, Badamo, Fiore. SB-Paradis, Santangelo. SAC-Smith.
IP H R ER BB SO
Abington Heights
Mills (W) 5 4 1 0 2 6
Doggett 2 1 0 0 0 2
Upper Merion
Baker (L) 4 1/3 8 5 4 0 2
Dworecki 2 2/3 1 1 1 0 1
WP-Mills, Baker 2.
- Log in to post comments
0
