Varsity Announcement - Apr 13, 2012 - Game Recap - Holy Redeemer

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ELLEN F. O'CONNELL/Staff Photographer Holy Redeemer's Eric Ringsdoif dives back to second base as Hazleton Area shortstop Carl Cara jumps into the air to catch pitcher Erik Johnson's pickoff attempt during their Wyoming Valley Conference baseball game at Rex Antinozzi Field on Thursday. Hazleton Area's Kyle Klein is on the right.

*** Sal Biasi needed to make an adjustment and he needed to atone for a batting slump that has plagued him early in his first high school baseball season.

With Hazleton Area down to its last out, trailing by one run and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday, it was the sophomore's time to deliver.

After watching teammate Evan Vigna look at a close third strike call, Biasi knew he wasn't going to give anything away.

And in a blink of an eye, Biasi lined a fastball just inside the bag at third, never looking to see it roll to the outfield.

Biasi's game-winning two-run single capped the Cougars' 3-2 win over determined Holy Redeemer at Rex Antinozzi Field.

"I knew at least one run was going to score," Biasi said with a smile. "I've been struggling, I haven't hit the ball all that well - I was in a slump - so I really had to come up with a big hit."

The Cougars (4-1, 4-3) win kept them tied with Coughlin for first place in Division I East of the Wyoming Valley Conference. The Crusaders beat Nanticoke 10-2 on Thursday.

"Our poise was there, even though they played a heck of a game," Hazleton Area head coach Gino Cara said of the Royals (0-5). "(Holy Redeemer) did some good things, but we kept our heads in the game. And all you can do is ask your players to battle. We did that and what a clutch hit from Sal. He's a special athlete and you can see him (rise) to the occasion with that big hit."

What kept the visitors' hopes alive was a superb pitching effort from Pat Condo. The righthander used a nasty breaking pitch to set up a sneaky fastball.

"It wasn't as fast it looked," Cara said. "The curve made it look a lot faster and we're (late swinging) because of it."

Condo allowed only four hits, struck out eight and was the losing pitcher, even though Will Cavanaugh relieved him with one out in the eighth.

"He threw a lot of pitches (109), and with the top of their order coming up, I made the move," Redeemer coach Chris Ritsick said. "But they have a lot of tough outs. There is no easy out in that entire lineup."

Carl Cara opened the winning rally by slicing a single down the right field line after being down in the count 1-2. Tyler Rubasky walked and Matt Barletta served a single into right center that almost hung up long enough to force Carl Cara to wait for it to drop.

Vigna then took three straight balls, before Cavanaugh came back to strike him out. That set the table for Biasi's game-winning single.

unearned run in the bottom of the third for a 1-0 lead. A.J. Greco singled, went to second on a wild pitch, stole third and came home on an error.

The Royals matched that with an unearned run in the sixth to tie it when Jim Strickland doubled and came around on an error in the outfield.

Two innings later, Redeemer took its first lead on Cody Tsevdos' bases-loaded sacrifice fly, but subamarining reliever Nick Thrash escaped the jam without any more damage.

"Thrash did a great job for his first time getting to work in a varsity game," Cara said. "That's funny, here we are looking at (Eric) and he doesn't give up much, and maybe didn't have that pop that he usually has on his fastball. But anytime you get that effort, and you win that says a lot. But Nick really showed me a lot today coming in that situation."

Hazleton Area will play at Dallas Monday, then entertain Parkland in a make-up non-league game on Wednesday.

Policare 2b 4 1 1 0, Condo p 4 0 1 0, Choman 1b 4 0 0 0, Peterlin c 0 0 0 0, Ringsdorf dh 3 0 1 0, Tsevdos lf 3 0 0 1, Ell rf 4 0 1 0, English 3b 2 0 0 0, strickland ss 3 1 1 0, Kerr cf 1 0 0 0, Triblett ph 1 0 1 0, Worinsky ph 1 0 0 0, Kosik cf 0 0 0 0. Totals 30 2 7 1.

Cara ss 4 1 1 0, Rubasky c 2 1 0 0, Barletta cf 4 0 2 0, Vigna 1b 4 0 0 0, Biasi 3b 4 0 1 2, Wolfe rf 3 0 0 0, Johnson p 0 0 0 0, Thrash p 0 0 0 0, Gawel dh 3 0 0 0, Greco lf 3 1 2 0, Klein 2b 2 0 0 0, Seach ph 1 0 0 0. Totals 29 3 6 2.