By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor

Can lightning really strike twice in the same place?

Unless your name is Lee Trevino, then no.

The SOL National/ Bicentennial tried to rewrite the proverb in this year’s Carpenter Cup baseball tournament, advancing all the way to today’s (June 24) championship at Citizen’s Bank Park.

The local boys fell short in their conquest, however, dropping the finale to Burlington County, 2-1, at the big league ballpark. Trailing 1-0 on a sixth-inning RBI double by Council Rock South senior Eric Ebert that scored Truman senior Chris Bechter, BurlCo tied things up in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double by Eric Barbieri that scored John Montemuro.

Then in the seventh, BurlCo outfielder Charles Szymczak raced home with the winning tally on a play that looked destined to end the inning with the sides still locked at a run apiece. But the ground ball to Ebert at third base handcuffed the infielder to a certain degree and his throw to Neshaminy junior first baseman Rick Brebner was just a little too high.

When the ball bounced off Brebner’s glove, the infielder tried to respond by going home with an ensuing throw, which was also off target. When the dust settled, BurlCo had all the runs it needed to get passed SOL National/BAL.

The boys from Bucks got one last chance to turn the tide in the top of the ninth and came oh so close. William Tennent junior Pat Traczykiewicz and North senior Kelly Adams threatened to put the SOL National/BAL ahead, reaching second in third after the two got on board with a walk and a single respectively.

But Brebner’s ground ball to first base was out number two, albeit questionably, and Matt Hone’s grounder to short was the final out of the game.

“I’m happy we made the finals but you don’t want to come down here and lose,” stated SOL National/BAL head coach Keith Smeraglio. “Especially a game like this. We end up on second and third, a questionable call at first and then [Hone] hits the ball real hard and it’s right at [the shortstop].

“That ball is four feet either side and we’re ahead with [Holy Ghost senior Andrew] Strenge on the mound.”

SOL National fans were left wanting to see the replay on a one-out ball hit to first base by Brebner, who looked like he might have beaten the BurlCo first baseman in a race to the bag when three opposing infielders converged on the play.

“There was hesitation on their part about who was going to go--the first baseman or the pitcher,” stated Smeraglio. “I thought [Brebner] beat it but the ump didn’t see it that way.

The boys from Bucks County made six errors in this one. In the end, it shouldn’t have mattered, stated CR North senior Scott Runzer, who saw action on the mound for the runners-up.

“The errors shouldn’t have made a difference in the end,” stated Runzer. “We still held them to just two runs--we should have been able to score more than that.

“We just didn’t get a couple of clutch hits when we needed them.”

It’s not that the local boys didn’t make any plays in the field. There was Neshaminy senior Brian Fiocco turning a doubleplay in the first inning that got the SOL National out of the inning without any damage then going deep in the hole to make another putout in the second inning. There was Nick Mascioli making a diving catch with a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth then nearly doubling the runner off second base.

The SOL National/BAL got the key hits when they needed them in the semifinal, a 3-2 triumph over the Philadelphia Catholic League.

In that one, Adams got things started with a double down the left field line then came home on a single by Traczykiewicz. A double by junior Johnny Schiotis kept the drive alive, putting runners at second and third base.

A double by CR South sophomore Billy Fleming was the key hit, scoring a pair of runners including Schiotis with the winning tally. Fleming has been on fire this spring, hitting over .500 in varsity play and entering the Carpenter Cup finale as the top batter, hitting .571.

“He’s always putting the ball in play.” said Runzer, of Fleming. “Whenever he’s up at bat, there’s always a good chance that he’s going to end up on base.”

As hot as he was throughout the tourney, Fleming’s bat grew cold in the championship. Against BurlCo, he didn’t get a hit in three trips to the plate. Fleming, Hone and Schiotis were a combined 0-for 7 in the finale.

“We played good, we just didn’t hit. Sometimes, that happens,” stated Smeraglio. “Two-one could go either way. There’s ten places where the game could have gone either way.

“It just didn’t go our way today.

Still, SOL National/BAL--last year’s winners--made the Carpenter Cup championship for a second consecutive season. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of.

“Anytime you hold a team to two runs...give them credit--their pitcher did the job against us too,” stated Smeraglio.

“This tournament is about pitching--that’s how you win.

“Baseball is a funny game. Today, their pitchers were just a little bit better than ours.”