Big in the clutch
MARS — Mars manager Rob Fester found himself counting on two players who were questionable heading into the decisive Game 5 of an Eagle County League semifinal playoff series against Cranberry Friday evening.
Both showed up — big time.
Pitcher Mike Jeffreys landed in Pittsburgh after a flight from Alaska at 1 p.m. Friday and found himself on the mound at Marburger Field just a few hours later.
All the right-hander did was toss five shutout innings as Mars rolled to an 11-3 win over Cranberry to head back to the championship series.
Matt Colella helped make things easy for Jeffreys with a two-run home run to open up four-run third inning that left Mars with a comfortable 6-0 lead after three frames.
Colella missed two games earlier in the series with vision problems thanks to an adverse reaction to his contact lenses and then pulled a hamstring in Game 4.
“I knew I would be able to play,” Colella said. “Obviously, running was going to be an issue.”
Colella, who was the designated hitter, had no trouble jogging around the bases on his long home run in the third.
“When he's here hitting the ball, we're a totally different team,” Fester said. “He's a difference maker. He's a great ballplayer. When he's on, we're tough to beat.”
While Colella was fairly certain he would be able to play, Jeffreys had no idea if he was going to arrive in time.
Jeffreys was playing in an Alaskan summer league after pitching for Mars earlier in the Eagle County season.
He ran into no delays at the airport and arrived in plenty of time to pitch.
“I was texting him last night and he said his plane landed an 1 p.m. and he wanted to see his parents,” Fester said.
“I told him his parents would really like to see him pitch this year,” Fester added with a smile.
Jeffreys was masterful, striking out six and not walking a batter while giving up just three singles.
Colella ended up with three RBI on the day as Mars broke out at the plate with 13 hits.Errors cursed Cranberry. Four of the 11 runs were unearned. Three miscues in the first three innings did no favors for Cranberry starting pitcher Brian Warheit.“You hope for a better showing in Game 5 like that,” said Cranberry manager Bill Clinefelter. “We were a little flat, obviously. All you can do is be happy you took it to five and did your best to get it there.”Cranberry had Mars' number this season, winning four times against the team that swept them in the Eagle County League finals last season.“When Bill has his full team, they're pretty good,” Fester said.Mars was a little better, building a 10-0 lead after five innings.Don Dell had a pair of singles and a double for Mars.T.J. Zarewicz homered for Cranberry.Now Mars will face another familiar foe in the best-of-five championship series that is set to begin Monday evening at Marburger Field: Saxonburg.“Yes, we know those guys a little bit,” Fester said, smirking again. “It should be fun.<B>Cranberry 000 002 1 — 3 5 4Mars 204 041 x — 11 13 0W: </B>Mike Jeffreys 5IP (6K, 0BB). L: Brian Warheit 2.1IP (0K, 3BB).Cranberry: T.J. Zarewicz HR RBI, Chris Larry 2-1B, Brad Johnson 1B, Ben Follett RBI, Greg Miller 1B, Bill Clinefelter RBIMars: Mike Bruno 2-1B RBI, Bob Spithaler RBI, Brendan Malone 1B RBI, Matt Colella HR 3-RBI, Paul Westwood 2-1B, Phil Shallenberger 2B, Don Dell 2-1B 2B 2-RBI, Joel Gatti 1B RBI, Sam Sibeto 2-1B RBIMonday: Eagle County League Championship Series, Saxonburg at Mars, Game 1 at Marburger Field, 6 p.m.
