By Frank Rizzo
GRAHAMSVILLE -- June 29, 2001 – Overall Record: 7–9
League Record: 4–6 OCIAA Division IV
Sectionals: Lost to Tuxedo 8-4 in the Class C quarterfinal.
Top Hitters: Durk Pearston batted .604 (32/53) with eight doubles, two triples, one homer and a team-leading 15 RBI.
James Paul batted .431 with two homers, five doubles, and a team-leading 17 runs. He was tied for second to Pearston in RBI with 13.
Bill Gorman batted .395 with 14 runs scored and 13 RBI.
Leadoff batter Josh Lowitz hit .369 while Alex Pearston hit .400 with four doubles.
Top Pitchers: Josh Lowitz was 4–4 while Durk Pearston was 2–2. “Both were good strikeout pitchers,” said coach Jim Kelly. “Josh threw a good fastball which had a lot of movement. He also had a very good curve. Durk was more of a control pitcher. He threw a real good knuckleball that fooled a lot of people.”
Season Highlights: “We needed to beat Fallsburg [late in the season] and Josh pitched a real gem and we came out with an 8-1 win,” said Kelly. “Both on offense and defense we played a real sound game.”
Another pleasing development for Kelly was the emergence of Zach Bright, a freshman he moved up from the jayvee squad.
“Zach was the cement for our team,” Kelly said. “He allowed us to put people in position where they could play better defense. He batted .370 and also played a solid second base with just one error in eight games.”
Kelly also praised catcher Joe Carraccia for “doing a great job. He played solid defense behind the plate.”
Disappointments: “Our start,” said Kelly. “Mother Nature was not kind to us. We were stuck inside and boredom set in.”
He also cited a game against Chester in which the Bears led 10-2 but wound up losing 11-10.
Awards: Durk Pearston was the team’s MVP for the second straight year. Paul was the Offensive Player while Lowitz was the Defensive Player of the Year. Gorman received the Coach’s Award. Outfielder Chris Smith was the Most Improved Player.
Final Thoughts: “After our bad start, the players could have hung up their hats, but they worked hard, they worked on things in practice to make themselves better,” Kelly said.