DANVILLE - Just a day after Shamokin-Mount Carmel's American Legion team lost its season finale to Danville by six runs, the teams met again in the opening round of the Susquehanna Valley League playoffs.
What a difference a day makes.
Or better yet, a hot pitcher.
John Rimokaitis fired a complete game, five-hit shutout, outdueling Danville's just-as-good Mason Fausnaught, and Shamokin-Coal Township, the number eight seed, pushed across an unearned run in the top of the seventh inning to stun top-seeded Danville, 1-0, to go to the winners bracket in the double elimination tournament.
Shamokin-Coal Township (4-13) will take on the winner of the Selinsgrove-Berwick game tonight. Danville (10-4-1), the defending league champion, will play the loser of that game.
"Don't talk to me. Talk to Rimo," Shamokin-Mount Carmel Manager Joe Varano said. "He did all the work."
Rimokaitis struck out seven batters, walked one and hit one, and was in real trouble in only one inning, the second. He and third baseman Nate Malett each made a throwing error that inning and Danville had runners on first and third with one out, but Rimokaitis struck out Scott Heeter and Malett redeemed himself by throwing out Adam Creasy for the third out.
"It was a nice day and everything seemed to be working for me," Rimokaitis said. "We played good defense and we finally got our bats going a little in the last inning. Everybody's pumped right now."
Fausnaught was just as good for Danville. He gave up just three hits, struck out five and walked two. Danville made only one error, in the seventh, but it was costly. After getting the first out, Fausnaught walked Ryan Burns. Rimokaitis followed with a single, and third baseman Tyler Jenkins made a throwing error on a slow roller to the left of the mound by Brody Young. Although Young was thrown out at second trying for the extra base, Burns scored on the play.
There was one more heart-stopping moment in the bottom of the seventh for Shamokin-Coal Township. Rimokaitis gave up a leadoff walk to Heeter. Creasy then hit a grounder back to the mound, and Rimokaitis, instead of taking the sure out at first, threw to second, and got out the forceout, barely, on courtesy runner Dylan Lupini. Leadoff hitter Cody Herman then bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
"It was one of those plays that happened real fast," Rimokaitis said. "We were able to get the call."
"I felt like we've been playing better ball the last week or two," Varano said. "We played pretty well in a tournament on Saturday. And the last two nights are the first times all season we've had all our players here. I understand that, too. Kids go away and have work. All I tell the kids is to let me know in advance when they won't be here. But if they're all here, they know they'll get a chance to play and it gives us more depth."
Danville Manager Harold Albertson, who guided many of the players on this year's team to the league and Region 5 titles last season, expected his kids to bounce back.
"We went pretty far with this group last year," Albertson said. "But we were flat tonight and the kid (Rimokaitis) pitched a nice game."
Game Summary
SHAMOKIN-MOUNT CARMEL (AB-R-H-BI) - Malett 0-0-0-0, Kosmer 2-0-0-0, Grinaway 3-0-1-0, Fry 3-0-0-0, Deptula 3-0-0-0, Burns 2-1-1-0, Rimokaitis 3-0-1-0, Przekop 0-0-0-0, Young 3-0-0-0, Bressi 3-0-0-0, Gurba 2-0-0-0. Total 24-1-3-0.
DANVILLE (AB-R-H-BI) - Herman 4-0-1-0, Berg 2-0-1-0, Ross 3-0-0-0, Cooper 2-0-0-0, Gallagher 3-0-0-0, Hahn 3-0-2-0, Jenkins 3-0-0-0, Heeter 2-0-0-0, Fausnaught 0-0-0-0, Creasy 3-0-1-0. Total 25-0-5-0.
Shamokin-Mount Carmel 000 000 1 - 1 3 2
Danville 000 000 0 - 0 5 1
2B: Grinaway; Hahn.
IP H R ER BB K
Shamokin-Mount Carmel
Rimokaitis (W) 7 5 0 0 1 7
Danville
Fausnaught (L) 7 3 1 0 2 5