Making history
PINE TWP — Scott Lumley is a junk-ball pitcher.
While most hurlers would be offended by such a characterization of their pitching prowess, Lumley smiles, nods and wears it with honor.
“You can say it, because that's pretty close to what it is these days,” said Lumley, a Butler High and Waynesburg University graduate. “I mean, my fastball's not awful. The difference between that and the other things (curveball and a circle-change) is what makes it work.”
And it worked well for Lumley and Zelienople in the third and decisive game of their Eagle County League baseball playoff series against Pine-Richland. Lumley used his guile and grit to work seven innings and stymie Pine-Richland's lineup in a 3-1 win.
It's the first Eagle County series win for Zelienople (9-24), which came into the series with just seven wins this season.
“No one gave us a chance to win this series,” said venerable Zelienople manager Stew Weimer. “I guess we fooled 'em.”
And so did Lumley, who struck out three and only walked one batter.
Lumley had pitched parts of the first two games of the series and Thursday was his fourth straight day on the hill.
“We didn't know if he had seven innings in him,” Weimer said. “He did.”
Lumley used his offspeed stuff to set up his fastball. Pine-Richland (15-18) was off-balance. When P-R's hitters did make solid contact, it was usually right at a fielder.
The only run P-R managed against Lumley was a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning by Zach Staszak, who asked pitcher Matt Kaminicky while in the on-deck circle, “Who was the last one to hit one out of here?” before his homer.
Pine-Richland loaded the bases in the sixth, but could not push a run across. Lumley got Staszak to ground out to third to end the threat.
P-R put two more runners on in the seventh, but Lumley got a fielder's choice groundout and a flyout to end the game.
“It's funny, you know. I'm 35 and I've been in this league for a long time,” Lumley said. “Right out of college I was more of a thrower — I threw a lot harder than I do now. But with age, I guess, you kind of figure out how to pitch.”
Lumley has been in the league for 17 years.
He started off with Saxonburg for a season, then moved on to Freeport for five, five more as a player/manager for Butler, then back to
Freeport and finally to Zelienople.“I've been around awhile,” he said, laughing.Lumley is the oldest player on the Zelienople roster. Some of his younger teammates affectionately call him “Dad.”He doesn't mind. Lumley said this win meant the world to him and his “kids.”“I would say this was No. 1 because I had to pitch three days in a row to get this one,” Lumley said.Lumley got his first run before he even had to take the hill. Leadoff hitter Noah Medich tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Durbin for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Kaminicky.Zelienople got two more runs in the top of the sixth on RBI singles by Todd Forsythe and Luke Law.“We hit the ball hard every inning, just right at people,” said Pine-Richland manager Jeff Kline. “It was just one of those days.”Zelienople will play No. 1 seed Mars II in the first game of the best-of-five semifinals at Highfield Park Saturday. The time is still to be determined.“We're here for a reason,” Lumley said. “We all love the game and we all want to win. It just shows the heart that we got.”Zelienople 100 002 0 — 3 5 1Pine-Richland 000 100 0 — 1 7 3W: Scott Lumley 7IP (3K, 1BB). L: Matt Kaminicky 6+IP (6K, 2BB).Zelienople (9-24): Noah Medich 3B, Brandon Durbin 1B RBI, Luke Law 2-1B RBI, Todd Forsythe 1B RBIPine-Richland (15-18): Paul Nuessbaum 1B, Mike Wood 2-1B, Zach Staszak 2B HR RBI, Tyler Perenic 1B, Andrew Nussbaum 1BSaturday: Zelienople at Mars II at Highfield Park, TBD
