Ten Years Ago Today . . .    

Return to TedSilary.com Home Page

  Look below for Ted's story and website report, Randy Seidman's website report, and the
complete boxscore from a legendary Public League baseball game that took place on May 1,
2003. Hope you enjoy!
  But first . . . here's Washington's Team Pic.

WASHINGTON
Front, L to R -- Matt Peterson, Steve Kern, Scott Haze, Dennis Massott, Adam Eisman, Jim Micoletti.
Standing, L to R -- graduate assistant Jason Welte, Bruce Bauer, Marcus Kennedy, Mike Marcelline, Ken
Radziak, Brian Morgan, Bill Coles, Marc Tankel, Eric Seidman, Justin Presley, Harry Parfitt, coach Max
Bilkins, Matt Yankowitz.

24 RUNS JUST BARELY ENOUGH FOR GW

By TED SILARY
silaryt@phillynews.com
  The sun was about to start its descent behind the building that houses George Washington High, at least from the home-plate angle, and the Flyers already were battling the Ottawa Senators in a Stanley Cup playoff game.

  And there was Adam Eisman , still wearing a baseball uniform, smiling from ear to ear, absorbing untold numbers of hugs and slaps on the back from delirious teammates, and shouting at the top of his lungs, "Let's play another one! "

  At 7:24 p.m., 4 hours and 6 minutes after all the craziness began, with folks who had gone home, eaten dinner and then returned among the witnesses, Eisman became the final hero as Washington edged Northeast, 24-23, in a Public League Division A game.

  With one out and pinch-runner Justin Presley on third, Eisman, a lefthanded batter, lined a ball that comfortably cleared the glove of third baseman Chris Steinke and fell a few feet in front of sub leftfielder Nick Diamond.

  As the Eagles celebrated, one of their fans could be heard to quip, "I'm just clapping because it's over. "

  "Just the first half-inning felt like an eternity," said Eisman, mindful that Northeast jumped to an 8-0 lead while sending 12 men to the plate. "The first two innings [87 minutes] seemed to drag on forever. It was hard to concentrate. You couldn't help but feel like, 'It's going to be one of those days. '

  "At one point, I came in and [teammate] Eric Seidman told me it was 5:30. I didn't believe him. He told me we could be around until 8 o'clock. It almost turned out not to be funny. "

  Eisman finished 3-for-5 with a walk and five RBI. He had a two-run single in a nine-run fourth as Washington took a 17-15 lead. He had another two-run single in a five-run fifth, making it 22-20.

  In the sixth, Northeast posted a 3-1 advantage. Ken Radziak opened the home seventh with a single to right and yielded to Presley. Harry Parfitt fanned on a pitch in the dirt and, with first base occupied, was automatically out. But he dashed toward first and catcher Brandon O'Malley, momentarily duped, made an off-line throw, enabling Presley to advance to third.

  When asked what pitch he smacked for the game-winner, the Eagles' 23rd hit, Eisman said, "I'm pretty sure it was a fastball. He [junior lefty Andrew Lihotz] likes to go with curves on 1-2, so I was expecting one there. But it was straight. I just got a piece of it. We work on poking the ball in play to the opposite field, if that's what has to be done.

  "It wasn't anything special. I'm sure any of my teammates would have gotten us the win by that point. After we kept coming back and coming back, we were all feeding off each other. As the game went on, I was seeing the ball better and better. "

  He added with a laugh, "When I made that comment about playing another, I was feeling all the energy . . . But I'm tired. "

  Eisman's parents, Elliot and Lynore, were in attendance. It was Elliot's birthday and, with permission, he skipped out of work early to watch what turned out to be a marathon.

  There were 40 hits, eight doubles, two triples, no homers, 23 walks, three hit batsmen, 17 stolen bases, 14 errors and eight wild pitches. Twelve of the runs were unearned. Only three half-innings were scoreless. In seven, at least nine players batted.

  Northeast's Steve Sandberg was scratched as the starting pitcher because of arm tenderness and a hamstring problem. He played first base, then later relieved. Off a full outing Monday, Lihotz pitched twice in relief and went 4 1/3 innings total. Parfitt, who also pitched Monday, got the win by going 2 2/3 innings.

  At 5:56, with only the fourth inning about to end, Northeast designated hitter Dennis Heebner departed for a doctor's appointment.

  For Washington, Marcus Kennedy reached base all six times with three hits and three walks; Brian Morgan went 4-for-6 with a double and three RBI; Dennis Massott went 3-for-4 with two walks and three RBI; DH Bruce Bauer had a double and triple en route to six RBI; and Radziak went 4-for-6 with three RBI. For Northeast, Joe Cross collected two hits, three walks and two RBI; Bryan Adamson went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and four RBI; and Jay Banks had two hits and two walks en route to three RBI.

  Overall, Washington coach Max Bilkins was beside himself.

  "I usually like to vent," he said. "I feel, if we're going to go anywhere, I have to point out mistakes and try to get them corrected. But in this one, phew. There wouldn't have been enough words. I had to hold back. So many little and mental mistakes.

  "The kids showed so much heart. To come back from [8-0 and 15-8] . . . I guess they'll believe from now on that we can rally from [large deficits]. "

  And that they can make magic way past dinnertime.*

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TED'S REPORT
MAY 1
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Washington 24, Northeast 23
   Hmmmm. What are the chances that I own a national sports writing record for highest-scoring games seen in a week? The other day it was 36 runs, as Ryan beat O'Hara, 20-16. Today it was 47 runs!! Amazing!! The first two innings gobbled up 87 minutes and the game in total took 4 hours, 6 minutes. It ended at 7:24 as jr. 2B Adam Eisman (five RBI) lined a single to left to score pinch-runner Justin Presley and set off a wild celebration. Jr. 3B-P Ken Radziak opened the home seventh with a single to right and yielded to Presley. Sr. 1B-P Harry Parfitt fanned on a pitch in the dirt and, with first base occupied, was automatically out. But he dashed toward first and sr. C Brandon O'Malley, momentarily duped, made an offline throw, enabling Presley to advance to third. Eisman followed with his hit. As he was being mobbed, he bellowed, "Let's play another one!" Let's not and say we did (smile). This game was often brutal, but since it became such a memory-maker with so many twists and turns and comebacks and blown leads and such, I didn't mind being there for so long. DN sports writer Mike Kern arrived at 4:45 from a round of golf in South Jersey thinking he'd see two innings. He saw five! His son, Steve, is GW's sr. SS. They were 40 hits, 8 doubles, 2 triples, no homers, 23 walks, 3 hit batsmen, 17 stolen bases, 14 errors and 8 wild pitches. Twelve of the runs were unearned. Only three half-innings were scoreless. In seven, at least nine players batted. Northeast sr. Steve Sandberg was scratched as the starting pitcher because of arm tenderness and a hamstring problem. He played first base, then later relieved. Off a full outing Monday, Lihotz pitched twice in relief and went 4 1/3 innings total. Parfitt, who also pitched Monday, got the win by going 2 2/3 innings. At 5:56, with only the fourth inning about to end, Northeast soph DH Dennis Heebner departed for a doctor's appointment. For Washington, sr. CF Marcus Kennedy reached base all six times with three hits and three walks, jr. RF Brian Morgan went 4-for-6 with a double and three RBI, sr. handyman Dennis Massott went 3-for-4 with two walks and three RBI, sr. DH Bruce Bauer had a double and triple en route to six RBI, and Radziak went 4-for-6 with three RBI. For Northeast, jr. SS Joe Cross collected two hits, three walks and two RBI, jr. P-OF Bryan Adamson went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and four RBI, and jr. OF Jay Banks had two hits and two walks en route to three RBI. Northeast blew leads of 8-0 and 15-8.

MAY 1
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Washington 24, Northeast 23
BY THE NUMBERS:
       6   Lead Changes
       7   Pitching Changes
   434   Pitches Thrown: NE-240, GW-194
       2   Pens Used for Keeping Score 
       7   Bat Arounds:  (NE-4, GW-3) 3 Scoreless half-innings (out of 14)
       0   One-Two-Three Innings
.657   Combined On-Base Pct
4:06   Time of game (started 3:18 pm & ended 7:24 pm)
MARATHON ODDITIES:  GW manager Taryn Trachtenberg left the game to attend her birthday celebration dinner at Benny The Bum’s. After a relaxing dinner, she returned to the field and was able to watch the second half of the game………..Players from two GW teams returned on the bus from road wins, were picked up by their parents and got home while this game was just in the 5th inning……………..The Girls High bus for JV softball was an hour late, so they were witnesses, as well……..GW volunteer coach Jason Welte had to leave for work when the score was only in the teens…….A Northeast player had to leave for a doctors appointment.
READY EDDIE:  While players on both teams were able to sit for a portion of the game, home plate umpire Eddie Grove stood, or crouched the entire time, and was nicked throughout with foul tips and wild pitches. Eddie’s quip, "Are we havin’ fun yet?"
MEDIA FRENZY: In attendance were the Philadelphia Daily News’ Ted Silary & Mike Kern (Steve’s dad), and The Northeast News Gleaner’s Patrick McNally, along with photographers from both papers.
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME: My hand still hurts from keeping score!
INSTANT CLASSIC: Let’s face it - the video of this game will not be going to Cooperstown, however for all of the parents, friends, and especially players, it was a game everybody will remember.

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WASHINGTON 24, NORTHEAST 23

One out when winning run scored.

DP: None.
LOB: Northeast 10, Washington 9.
SF: O'Malley, Zitman.