Bath and Nazareth will square off in league championship series

FROM MIKE BLOUSE

Alex Longernecker and his Bath teammates are very familiar with, and very respectful of, their opponent in the upcoming Northampton County Legion championship series.

Nazareth prevailed in the battle of West Division rivals in last summer's Norco final, two games to one.

Pitching is the story line this season as Bath and Nazareth again collide in the best-of-three championship round, which begins Monday at Cowling Field in scenic Bath. First pitch is 5:30 p.m. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday at Nazareth Boro Park, with a third and decisive game, if necessary, set for Thursday in Bath.

Longernecker and Jimmy Sawyer delivered second-seeded Bath into the playoff final with Sunday's 3-1 win over No. 3 Birches at Saylorsburg Playground.

Bath (18-5-2) swept its series against Birches, while No. 4 seed Nazareth (17-7) conquered top-seeded East Stroudsburg in two games. With semifinal-round victories, both teams advance to the Region 2 Tournament, which is scheduled to start Saturday at Nor-Gwyn in Upper Gwynedd Township.

It was Longernecker who lined the go-ahead, two-out single into center field to score Sawyer from second base in the fifth inning. The offense was enough (Bath added an insurance run in the sixth) for Sawyer, a Liberty High School graduate who dominated the opposition over his final six frames.

"This is how it's been in the playoffs with a lot of late rallies," said Longernecker, who went 2-for-4 with a run, an RBI and several superb plays from his shortstop position. "Jimmy pitched real well and never looked back after the first inning.

"Now we look forward to playing Nazareth. If we want to be the best, we've got to beat the best. I know a couple of the guys on that team and it should be an exciting series."

Against Birches (16-9), Sawyer struggled through the first inning, allowing a leadoff walk that came around to score, a single and another walk. But after that, the right-hander settled into a good groove. He yielded just two hits and two walks the rest of the way and finished with a three-hitter. Sawyer struck out five, including losing pitcher Russell Baldino on a slider to end the game.

"I hit my spots and got a lot of groundballs," Sawyer said. "The defense behind me is outstanding and I just let them make the plays. I had trouble getting used to the mound in the first inning but I felt a whole lot better after that."

Andreas Haller contributed two singles for Bath, including a perfectly executed hit-and-run grounder through the vacated spot at second base to advance Longernecker from first to third. Peter Daland followed with the first-inning RBI single.

Evan Allman and Sawyer both doubled for the West Division champions.

But, it's been pitching that has carried manager Dave Brong's club throughout the summer. In 25 games, including four playoff games, Bath pitchers have allowed just 47 runs — less than two runs per contest.

"That statistic speaks to our pitching and defense," Brong said. "If you look at the other teams in the league, no one's even close. Not even Nazareth."

Birches' Derrik Walling produced the only run for his team with an RBI single into center field. Baldino, who defeated Wind Gap 6-1 in the quarterfinals, pitched well in the losing effort, scattering 10 hits and stranding seven baserunners.

"I really thought we'd break through at the top of the order the second time through," Birches manager Al Foust said. "But (Sawyer) pitched a very good game."

Bath can now fully focus on its championship series against Nazareth.

The teams split two late-season meetings — Nazareth prevailing 1-0 on June 30 and Bath winning 7-0 on July 1. Jordan Smith, who was the winner in the first matchup, is expected to start Game 1 for Nazareth while Daland will take the ball for Bath.

"I've played against (Nazareth standout Karl) Keglovits for a while and (Jordan) Smith pitched against us a couple weeks ago and was real good," Longernecker said. "But I think it's up for grabs. Both teams are very good."

"I think after the two games we played against each other during the season," Brong said, "this is where we both expected to be. Bring 'em on."

Bath 100 011 0 – 3 10 1

Birches 100 000 0 – 1 3 2

Sawyer and J. Bertolotti; Baldino and Wiesmeth.

Michael Blouse is freelance writer.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/baseball/mc-legion710-20110710,0,6855877.story