Wvw Loses, Unity Wins 
Baseball Team Falls Just Short Of State Title

Ailing Spartans Keep Believing

Thursday, June 13, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





WVW (14-4) vs. North Allegheny (23-2) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 PIAA Class AAA championship game &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12 p.m., Riverside Stadium, Harrisburg &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Admission -- $6 adults, $3 students &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Probable Starting Lineups &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 NORTH ALLEGHENY WYOMING VALLEY WEST &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 No.|Name Pos. Yr. No.|Name Pos. Yr8|John Richmond SS So. 17|Kevin Miller 1B
Sr. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 20|Chris Luthultz C So. 8|Neil Fisher 3B So. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 4|Jeremy Purcell LF Sr. 20|Pat Storz SS Sr. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 35|John Korn P Sr. 32|Mike Stevenson C Sr. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 12|Cory Sullivan 1B Jr. 2|Charlie Goff CF Sr. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 39|Brent Curtin 3B So. 16|Rich Kerpovich P Sr. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 22|Robby Codol RF Sr. 12|Gene Lepore LF So. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 31|Matt Hreha 2B Sr. 9|T.J. Carlin 2B Jr. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 1|Erik Bachman CF Sr. 24|Mike Nafus DH Sr. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 22|Mike Dmuchoski RF Sr. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 LOOKING BACK: Wyoming Valley West needed extra innings for the second time
in the state tournament, beating District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic 6-4
in 10 innings on Tuesday to reach its first-ever state final. District 7
champion North Allegheny held off District 7 third seed Penn Hills 4-3 on
Monday in the Western final. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 THE ROAD TO THE FINAL: The Spartans have gotten a pair of one-hitters and
needed extra innings twice during their five-game post season run. Beginning
with Rich Kerpovich's one-hitter against Valley View in the District 2 AAA
semifinals and ending with a 10-inning thriller on Tuesday against Bethlehem
Catholic, the road to the state final has been a roller coaster of emotions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Tigers have provided plenty of excitement in their two roadblocks,
beating DuBois 2-1 and Penn Hills 4-3. In the victory over Penn Hills, North
Allegheny led 4-1 entering the seventh inning, but Korn had to escape a
bases-loaded, no-out jam to protect the one-run lead. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TEAM HISTORY : Wyoming Valley West's appearance in today's state title
contest marks the first time any Spartan team has reached a PIAA final. No WVW
team had ever won a game outside of district competition before this season.
Coughlin was the last Wyoming Valley Conference team to make the baseball
title game, losing 5-2 to District 7's Shaler in 1980. Old Forge is the only
District 2 team to win a state title in baseball, capturing the AA crown in
1992. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 North Allegheny is making its fourth appearance in the state final since
1991. The Tigers are three-time runnersup, having lost in the 1991, '93 and
'94 finals, all in heartbreaking fashion by a combined four runs. Against
Boyertown, North Allegheny owned a 4-1 lead, had two outs, two strikes and
nobody on in the bottom of the seventh inning. But, Boyertown scored three
runs to tie the game and the game-winner in the eighth inning. Elizabethtown
scored three runs in the last of the seventh to beat the Tigers 5-3 in 1993.
Plymouth-Whitemarsh scored a run in the sixth and the game-winner in the
seventh in the 1994 final. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 STREAKS : North Allegheny has won 15 consecutive games since losing to
Mount Lebanon 6-4 during the regular season. Wyoming Valley West is on a
six-game winning streak since falling 5-1 to Pittston Area in the next-to-last
regular season game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 RANKINGS: Wyoming Valley West, a pre-season favorite in the Wyoming Valley
Conference's Division I, knocked off Chambersburg 10-0 in five innings in the
Eastern semifinals. Entering the game, Chambersburg was ranked 11th in the
nation, according to USA Today. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to this week's rankings in USA Today, North Allegheny is the new
no. 11 team. Today's game marks the second time the Spartans have faced a 23-2
team ranked 11th in the country. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The matchups &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 OFFENSE: Valley West and North Allegheny have received offensive support
from top to bottom of their lineups during the post season. Mike Nafus, the
no. 9 hitter in the Spartan lineup, has come up with two monster hits -- the
game-winning suicide squeeze in the ninth inning against Montoursville and a
single to right to score what turned out to be the tying run in the seventh
inning against Bethlehem Catholic. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Cory Sullivan is the Tigers' leading hitter at .430, but four other
starters are hitting over .320. John Korn is at .381 with 18 RBI. Jeremy
Purcell is hitting .375 with 21 RBI. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 DEFENSE: Both teams have been solid. No state finalist could have survived
otherwise. In their victory over Bethlehem Catholic, the Spartans made several
outstanding defensive plays in extra innings to stay alive. Pat Storz made a
solid play in the hole at short to get a force out and prevent the winning run
from scoring in the bottom of the seventh inning. Neil Fisher, T.J. Carlin and
Rich Kerpovich also made outstanding plays in the infield in the final
innings. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Tigers were cruising with a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the
seventh inning against Penn Hills. However, the first two Penn Hills batters
reached against Dave Higginbotham. John Korn relieved and gave up three
straight hits to close the gap to one run. Penn Hills had the bases loaded and
no outs. But, Korn got a strikeout, third baseman Brent Curtin made a nice
play on a high chopper and threw home to get the force play for the second out
of the inning, and another grounder resulted in the final out of the game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 PITCHING: The tandem of seniors Kevin Miller and Rich Kerpovich have been
unbelievable in the post season. Opponents have a .126 batting average (11 for
87) against Miller; .073 (3 for 41) against Kerpovich. The two have combined
to allow just 15 hits and seven earned runs in 38 innings. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kerpovich, the no. 2 man all season, has pitched as well as a no. 1,
yielding just three hits and seven walks in 13 post season innings. He is 2-0
with one save in the playoffs. Miller is 3-0 with 44 strikeouts in 25 post
season innings. Kerpovich gets the start in today's final. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Senior John Korn, today's probable starter for North Allegheny, has been
the Tigers' ace. He owns a 7-1 record with a 0.77 earned run average. The
righthander has allowed but seven earned runs and struck out 93 batters in 63
innings. He picked up the save in the Tigers' 4-3 win over Penn Hills in the
West final, getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Junior Chris Cooper (7-0, 0.97 ERA) and senior Dave Higginbotham (5-1, 2.23
ERA) have also been solid for North Allegheny. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 -- Tom Housenick, Times Leader Sports Writer &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Wvw (14-4) Vs. North Allegheny (23-2) 
Piaa Class Aaa Championship Game 
12 P.m., Riverside Stadium, Harrisburg 
Admission -- $6 Adults, $3 Students 
Probable Starting Lineups 
North Allegheny Wyoming Valley West 
No.|name Pos. Yr. No.|name Pos. Yr.

Wvw (14-4) Vs. North Allegheny (23-2) Piaa Class Aaa Championship Game 12 P.m., Riverside Stadium, Harrisburg Admission -- $6 Adults, $3 Students Probable Starting Lineups North Allegheny Wyoming Valley West No.|name Pos. Yr. No.|name Pos. Yr.