FOR MORE COVERAGE: Kutztown-FPU Game Story
CARY, N.C. (May 23, 2010) – Kutztown University baseball seniors Ryan Cassidy, Mike Bucklin, Adam Maini, Mike Kacelowicz, Jared Frey, Matt Kulbacki and Nathan Reed have waited their entire lives to win a game at the NCAA Division II Baseball National Championship.
So, playing extra innings, waiting nine hours, 11 minutes and enduring three delays, which totaled 5:38 and ranged from lighting to heavy rain to a power outage was nothing. It was just another day at the ballpark for the Golden Bears. Yeah, right.
In a day that started under sunny, bright and cloudless skies and ended on crisp and clear evening with stars twinkling, Kutztown and Franklin Pierce battled each other and the elements in a game that only every meteorologist in America could love.
“That's the wildest game I've ever been a part of and I can't even describe it,” Kacelowicz said. “I mean there were power outages, lightning delays and rain delays. There are no words that can describe this game. It was crazy and at times it seemed unreal.”
However, once the game finally and mercifully concluded, junior shortstop Brett Wigder provided a happy ending for the Golden Bears and their fans. He finished the longest and looniest game by dropping a bloop single over a drawn-in infield to lift Kutztown to a 2-1 victory in 12 innings at the USA Baseball National Training Complex Sunday afternoon that stretched late into the evening.
The game was so strange that it earned mention at the conclusion of the Sunday night SportsCenter on ESPN by anchor Steve Levy.
By the time the Golden Bears (42-13 overall) finished their home plate celebration, they barely had enough energy for the postgame handshake. This victory was memorable and special no matter how much quality time the Golden Bears spent at the stadium.
“This win is special to us because we were here in 2007 and we didn't win a game,” Frey said. “Being a senior this year and having the younger guys come up big for us means a lot to us and means a lot to me personally. It's a special feeling. I have chills just talking about this game. It's awesome. Never in my life have I ever been involved in something like this. I mean, I've played when there were rain delays for like two or three hours, but nothing ever like this.”
It was Kutztown's first win in the NCAA Division II Baseball National Championship since an 11-7 victory over Florida Southern in 2002. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for the Golden Bears in this round of the tournament.
“Everything was crazy about this game,” Frey said. “Both starting pitchers threw insanely well. The weather almost took all of the fun out of the game for us. The effort that both teams put into this game was amazing. I mean to be out there for nine hours and be that intense during the game, that's hard for anyone to do.”
Kutztown's seniors led the way.
Kacelowicz led the offense with three hits including a leadoff single in the bottom of the 12th inning that fueled the winning rally. He scored the winning run on Widger's single at 10:14 p.m., only nine hours after the first pitch was thrown.
Kulbacki probably had the biggest at-bat of the entire game. He was at the plate and in a 1-2 hole when a set of lights went out and the game was delayed a third time. The game resumed 22 minutes later and Kulbacki worked a walk to put two runners on base with nobody out. He fouled off a few pitches before earning his way on base with a patient and poised at-bat.
“All of the credit goes to Matt because he's at the plate and the power goes out with him in the hole,” Frey said. “For him to draw a walk in that situation was huge and its one of those little plays that made a difference for us.”
However before the game could get to 12th inning, Maini started the ninth inning after the first delay, a 68-minute lightning stoppage in which the sun shined the entire time as home plate and the pitchers' mound were covered with a green tarp. Maini tossed two scoreless innings despite FPU having a runner at second base with two outs in each inning.
Bucklin pitched a strong 12th inning to earn the victory which included a timely pickoff of Franklin Pierce's Derek Ingui at second base. Frey started an inning ending double play in the 11th inning with a spectacular catch off of a screaming line drive that he picked up barely an inch off the ground and fired a strike to Kacelowicz who stepped on second base.
The second stoppage occurred at 5 p.m. in the bottom of the 10th inning with two outs and Frey on deck. This one was longer. The white tarp covered the entire field as fans talked on cell phones, stood in long lines at the concession stands, sat in their seats and talked with one another. At one point, the NCAA sent Southern Indiana and Minnesota State, the two teams scheduled to play at 5 p.m. back to their respective hotels as the delay stretched into the evening.
Frey eventually stepped back into the batters' box at 9:07 p.m. and never took the bat off of his shoulders as he was called out on strikes.
“I was frozen,” Frey said. “I could've had a better at-bat there but it was tough. I mean we came right off the bus, stretched and then right back into the game. Franklin Pierce brought in a left-hander and I didn't know what to expect.”
During the delay, the Golden Bears passed the time by eating Domino's pizza, munching on chips, talking to fans and in Kulbacki's case leaning over the green padded railing of the dugout like Superman. Kutztown even had to go back to the bus when the skies opened and rain fell to the ground with the ferocity of a Mike Tyson uppercut. On the bus, the players were subdued and relaxing.
Meanwhile, in the air-conditioned press box, media members, broadcasters and school administrators checked on the Yankees-Mets Sunday night game, ate ice cream and updated statuses on Facebook.
The emotional game left the usually loquacious Kulbacki speechless.
The day started with the Golden Bears leaving the hotel at 11 a.m., taking a team picture in their maroon tops around 12:15 p.m. and scoring the game's first run around 1:30 p.m. Little did anybody know that the team bus would eventually depart from the USA Baseball National Training Complex at 10:48 p.m.
“It's the longest and most bizarre game I've ever been involved with,” Kutztown coach Chris Blum said. “Between the rain and the lights going out, I was just waiting for the fog to come in to give us another delay. As has been the case all season, my team never gives up and they keep fighting and they did it again tonight through tough and trying times.”
--KU--
