It was the bottom of the seventh and Jerry Capone had one helluva tough decision to make.

Coach Capone’s team led Honesdale by two runs and was just an out away from forcing the American Legion finals to Game Three. However, Hawley’s starting pitcher was obviously exhausted and Dime Bank had the tying runs in scoring position.

Worse still, Bobby Kinsman...undoubtedly the hottest hitter in all of District 15...was on his way to the plate.

Kinsman had already crush-ed a two-run homer in this game and Coach Capone needed to make up  his mind...in a hurry.

•Should he leave Cody McCuen in the game?
•Should he intentionally walk Kinsman, pitch around him or challenge him?

Just to complicate matters even more, Joel Watson loomed in the on-deck circle. Honesdale’s clean-up hitter had bashed three homers in a single game earlier this year. So, the prospect of facing Watson with the bases loaded wasn’t exactly appealing.

These are the kinds of decisions that haunt a baseball skipper. These are the kind of situations that cause a man’s hair to turn grey or fall out in clumps.
And yet, these are also the kinds of decisions that win and lose championships.

“I went out to talk with Cody and reminded him that he was in charge,” Coach Capone told TWI Sports. “We were definitely going to pitch to Kinsman, but we didn’t want to give him anything good to hit. We wanted to keep the ball down and see if he’d chase something.”

As it turned out, McCuen did indeed make a good pitch. It was a sizzling heater, down and a little bit away. However, Kinsman didn’t hesitate for even a nanosecond. Bobby’s eyes lit up and his hands flashed through the zone.

The ball jumped off Kinsman’s bat and rocketed toward the 30-foot Metal Monster that towers over leftfield at Keith Sutton Memorial. Nearly 200 fans rose to their feet in unison as the horsehide climbed for the clouds.

At this point, Bobby Kinsman himself picks up the narration.

“I knew it was gone as soon as I hit it,” he said afterward. “I knew I was going to get a fastball because that’s the way he pitched me all game. It was pretty much right where I wanted it.”

Hawley’s Kevin Hendrickson sprinted to the warning track, but all he could do from there was watch dejectedly as the ball disappeared over the wall. Coach Capone hung his head as Kinsman circled the bases and Dime Bank fans celebrated in the stands.

Suddenly...in a heartbeat...Honesdale had gone from the brink of defeat to Victory Lane. The Pythons erased a two-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh and claimed the 2008 American Legion championship.

The final score was 6-5.

“We’ve been playing this group of Hawley kids for almost 10 years now and every time it goes right down to the wire,” said Coach Kinsman. “I was a little bit worried when we went down 5-2. I was more worried when they got those first two outs. But, I knew if we could get a couple of guys on and get either Bobby of Joel up there, we’d have a chance.”

Bobby Kinsman arrived at home plate and was immediately mobbed by his teammates. Hawley players still stood on the field, motionless and seemingly paralyzed with shock. The regular season champs had just been swept by their archrivals in the best-of-three finals.

Honesdale will now advance to regionals, which are being held this summer in Sunbury. The Pythons open their quest for a berth in the state tournament Saturday afternoon against District 11 champion Carbondale/Lakeland.

First pitch for that contest is slated for 12:30 p.m.

Emotional Rollercoaster
Off all the subplots and alternate storylines associated with Monday’s game, the saga of Jeff DeSane warrants special mention.

Hawley’s second baseman recently lost his father at a tragically young age. In the days following that heartbreaking experience, Jeff has focused intently on baseball...a fact that can’t be overlooked in Post 311’s summer surge.

On Monday night, DeSane played a key role for the visitors from Hawley. DeSane popped out in each of his first two at-bats, but delivered a huge blow in his third.

Jeff capped a four run, sixth inning explosion with a mammoth homerun. His line shot over the fence in right field chased home three runs and gave his team a seemingly safe 5-2 lead.

“Jeff DeSane has really become one of our team leaders,” said Coach Capone. “Despite everything he’s had to deal with this summer, he’s had an outstanding season. Jeff hits the ball hard every time up. He drives in runs in bunches.”

Scotty Shaffer drew the starting assignment for Honesdale and pitched three strong innings. He received relief help from Anthony Matacchiera, Wilson Davis and Jake Schilling.

Matacchiera, who’d been Dime Bank’s ace all season long, surrendered four of the five Hawley runs and stood to suffer the loss until Kinsman’s heroics. Schilling, who is known more for his Gold Glove fielding than his pitching prowess, worked the final frame and picked up the win.

Mike Callahan turned in the defensive Play of the Day. Honesdale’s rightfielder made a spectacular diving catch near the foul line to rob Nick Petrillo of certain extra bases in the sixth.

Petrillo had already belted a solo homer earlier in the game and his blistering line drive seemed destined for the rightfield corner. Callahan sprinted to his left, dove headlong toward the line and saved what looked to be a bases-clearing double.

“You won’t see a better catch in a bigger situation than that one,” said Coach Kinsman. “No one works harder at being a good baseball player than Mike Callahan. He’s a great kid.”

Score by Innings...
HAW    0  0  1  0  0  4  0 - 5
HON     0  0  2  0  0  1  3 - 6