Date: Fri 30-Jun-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: TOMW

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Dunkin-Donuts-Babe-Ruth

Full Text:

Dunkin Donuts/Babe Ruth

Having won only two of its first seven ball games at the start of this season,

Dunkin Donuts, had been guilty of too many donuts in the hit column. With its

five best players on the Newtown High School freshman baseball team, the Babe

Ruth squad was forced to start the year fielding only eight players.

Dunkin Donuts shrugged off the lumps, though, and when it finally got its full

roster back things started to fall into place.

But even though the team was able to reel off an eight-game win streak at the

season's conclusion, nobody on the squad, coaching staff included, could have

thought that the team would be playing for the Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball

League's Intertown championship on June 28.

But that's exactly what happened.

Against Easton on Wednesday night, though, the ball stopped rolling.

Consecutive win number ten was well within reach, but Dunkin Donuts lost a

heartbreaker, 5-4, in eight innings.

"We squandered a lot of opportunities," said DD coach Dick DiDomizio. "Base

Running has been our weakness all year. You can coach it, but you just don't

make it stick. I'd love to have a couple of those plays back, but. . . ."

Dunkin Donuts starting pitcher Rich Barillari kept his team in the game during

the early going, but didn't get a lot of support from the offense.

Barillari didn't allow a hit, and struck out nine, through five full innings,

but was pulled in favor of Justin Bandura after walking the first two men in

the sixth with a 3-1 lead.

Bandura walked the first man he faced to load the bags and then, with the

infield in, allowed a bloop single just over the outstretched glove of second

baseman Bryan Giesen.

Bandura fanned the next hitter but on the K, catcher Joe Wasko's kickoff throw

down to third base was errant and the tying run sprinted home.

With the score tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh, Giesen walked to lead

things off but was picked off at first base. Matt Prasauckas then singled

before a long fly ball to center by Bandura which was run down for the second

out. With two out, Wasko bombed a double into the right center field gap

scoring Prasauckas all the way from first.

Easton struck back in the bottom half with a run on a single, a steal, and a

double, but a nifty play from Prasauckas to Nick Taylor to Wasko ended the

threat and forced extra frames.

Dunkin's Mike Clyne, who had walked and come around to score his team's third

run of the game, drew another walk and advanced to third with two outs. But he

was stranded there and Easton came to bat in the home half of the eighth.

Bandura worked the count full to Easton's number nine and ten hitters, but

walked them both. A single then loaded the bases and, with everybody pulled

in, Easton won the game on a line drive to right.

In the dugout, a modest Bandura apologized to his teammates and tried to

shoulder the blame for the defeat. All agreed that they win as a team and lose

as one.

It had been an amazing road.

One-Game Playoff

On Monday night, June 26, Dunkin Donuts earned the right to play for the Inter

Town Title when they beat top-seeded Tendler Realtors, 7-1, in a one-game

playoff contest.

Coach DiDomizio started Bandura for three innings and came with Wasko to close

out the final four. Both were virtually unhittable.

Spotted with a 2-0 lead, Bandura got off to a shaky start in the first inning,

walking four batters and allowing a single, but a double play bailed him out

allowing only one run. It was the only run of the game for Tendler.

Bandura retired his opponent in order in the second inning, striking out two,

and then fanned one while pitching to only four batters in the third.

Wasko took over from there.

Striking out seven batters in four innings, Wasko never allowed more than one

base runner until the seventh inning when Tendler loaded the sacks but left

them full.

Offensively, Dunkin Donuts only managed six hits off the pitching combination

of Matt Bouteiller, Pete Zingoni, Mike Kascak, and Bouteiller again, but made

all six count.

In the first inning for DD, Matt Prasauckas singled with two outs and advanced

to third on a double by Bandura. Prasauckas then scored on an RBI single by

Wasko, and Bandura trotted home when Rich Barillari reached on an error.

In the third, DD improved its lead to 3-1 when Peter Ivey singled and later

scored on another Tendler miscue.

The fourth inning saw two more unearned runs cross the plate as Wasko reached

on an outfield error to start the frame and Barillari drew a walk. After a

pair of strikeouts that should have ended the inning, Clyne, Phil Demand, and

Phil Oakley all worked out walks, the latter two both pushing home runs.

In the fifth inning, Tendler pitching pushed home yet another run. Ivey led

things off with a double and walks to Giesen and Prasauckas loaded the bases.

After a strikeout, Wasko worked out a walk forcing home Ivey to make the score

6-1 in favor of Dunkin Donuts.

Matt Prasauckas singled home Ivey with the game's final run in the top of the

seventh. Both Ivey and Prasauckas finished the night with two hits, while

Ivey, the leadoff man, scored three times.

"All things considered we had a very successful season," concluded coach

DiDomizio following the Wednesday-night loss to Easton. "Once our high school

players were back and were eligible to pitch, we won all the rest of our

games. It was nine-in-a-row until tonight."

Dunkin Donuts finished with an overall record of 11-6.