All was quiet as Ian Dassance completed his warm-up pitches.

Fans in the stands, coaches along the baselines and players in both dugouts watched ...and listened intently...as the big righty unleashed one missile after another.

Dassance had drawn the starting assignment for Paupack in Tuesday evening’s Junior Legion championship game against Delaware Valley. And all eyes were fixed on the mound.

His final pre-game offering was a blistering fastball that split the plate and sounded like a rifle report when it impacted the catcher’s mitt.

Ian turned his back to the batter’s box for a moment. He mopped the sweat from his forehead and re-arranged his hat. He took a deep breath, then turned to face his enemy. The stage was set now set and Dassance was ready to go.

His first victim...er, batter ...was Kyle Bertsch. DV’s lead-off man dug in and prepared to face that notorious Dassance heater. And, that’s just what he got. At first.

Ian jumped ahead in the count 0-2 with a pair of barely visible fastballs. Then, he threw Bertsch a curveball...a knee-buckling, eye-popping, 12-to-6 curveball that broke right across the heart of the plate.

“Steee-rike three!” cried the home plate umpire.

It was a call that would be repeated many, many times before this game was over.

“Ian Dassance pitched an amazing game,” Paupack Coach Mike Guy told TWI Sports. “He’s really fallen in love with his curveball the last three or four games and he can throw it for strikes anytime in the count. Ian throws a fastball in the mid-80s, so if he can command both those pitches, he’s gonna be almost impossible to hit.”

Dassance really was “almost impossible to hit” against DV. Ian surrendered just two dink hits in seven innings, leading Paupack to a thrilling 2-0 victory in the 2008 Junior Legion championship game.

“I’m really proud of these kids,” said Coach Guy. “They worked hard all summer and they deserve this. I can’t even explain to you the monumental progress they’ve made since the start of the season. It’s the games like this one... the games you win one or two nothing...that show what kind of heart you have.”

With the victory, Paupack now advances to the Junior Legion regional tournament. Coach Guy’s lads open their quest for a berth in the state tourney next weekend.
The young Bucks travel to Royersford on Saturday, July 26th for an opening round game against York.

Swing & Miss
Paupack has been the class of Junior Legion this summer. The Bucks rolled to a 16-4 regular season record and earned the #1 play-off seed.

Coach Guy’s squad drew an opening round bye, then handed Montrose a 7-5 loss and advanced to the semifinals. There, Paupack posted a 4-1 victory over West Scranton and punched its ticket to the title tilt.

Dassance was outstanding in that one, too. Ian pitched a complete game six-hitter. He did not allow and earned run while walking three and fanning 14.

Such stellar outings have become almost routine for Paupack’s ace. Dassance has been dominant all summer long, both as a starter and closer. With just one game left in the ‘08 campaign, Ian led the loop with a perfect 4-0 record and a tiny 1.98 ERA. He’d also posted four saves and struck out 67 batters in just 36 innings of work.

“Ian has come a long way this season,” said Coach Guy. “He’s showing a lot of composure out there. Right now, he’s carrying himself like the #1 pitcher in the area...which he absolutely is.”

On Tuesday, Dassance returned to the hill as Paupack’s starter. And this time, everything was riding on the game’s outcome.

Ian fanned two DV batters in each of the first two frames, then struck out the side in the third. Before the night was over, he would pile up a mind-boggling 17 Ks.

Dassance was opposed by Gabe Beecher. A wily righthander who relies more on finesse than on power, Beecher also turned in a solid performance. DV’s ace pitched six innings on his way to a heartbreaking loss. Gabe scattered five hits while walking two and striking out six.

Erik Pulkkinen opened the game with a clean single through the left side. He was cut down trying to steal second, though, and Beecher escaped the home first unscathed.

Kane Kellogg, who would ultimately prove to be the game’s offensive hero, slapped a single of his own with one down in the second. Once again, however, Beecher dug down deep and retired the side with a pair of strikeouts.

Isaiah Slutter led off the third with a line drive single, but was also cut down trying to swipe second. Slutter would enjoy a perfect 2-for-2 day at the dish.

Meanwhile, Dassance had shifted his game into cruise control. Ian struck out the side again in the fifth and sixth innings, thus setting the stage for Paupack’s gamewinning rally.

Charlie Hustle
Pulkkinen ripped his second basehit of the game to lead off the sixth. Erik was then sent all the way to third on a DV overthrow that ended up in the home bleachers

Beecher then bore down and retired Dassance and Jake DeSane before walking John Gardepe. Paupack’s clean-up man promptly stole second to put two runners in scoring position.

With two down and the big hometown crowd clamoring for a hit, Kane Kellogg step-ped in and looked for a pitch to drive. Beecher delivered a low fastball and Kellogg hit a high chopper up the middle.

DV’s second baseman ranged far to his right and made a sweet backhand play. He then tried to execute a Derek Jeter-esque, leaping throw to first. The ball was on target, but Kellogg beat it to the bag by a half-step.

Pulkkinen trotted in from third with the game’s first run, but that’s when the fun began.

Gardepe, who actually leads the team in stolen bases, was running on contact and looked up to see Coach Guy waving him toward the plate. John never broke stride and scored the second run in a cloud of dust.

Suddenly, Paupack had a 2-0 lead and needed just three outs to claim the championship.

“Everybody on this team gave 100% out there tonight,” said Coach Guy. “We scored the only two runs of the entire game on an infield single and that doesn’t happen unless you have kids who are willing to give it everything they have all the time.”

Dassance went back out to the mound one last time in the top of the seventh. Ian retired the first two DV batters he faced before surrendering an infield single to Dustin Sebring. He then walked Connor Geiger, which put the tying run on base and sent a ripple of through the crowd.

Coach Guy took called time and took a leisurely stroll to the hill.

“I told him to relax and just focus on the batter,” he said. “The next two kids in their line-up were a combined 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. I was pretty confident that Ian could handle them.”

Turns out he was right. Dassance ended this title tilt exactly the way he started it: with a strikeout. Ian’s 17th and final K of the day came on a high heater and set off a wild celebration in the infield.

Score by Innings...
DV     0  0  0  0  0  0  0 - 0
WAL  0  0  0  0  0  2  x - 2