CR NORTH:Indians fall in state quarters

CR North first baseman Scott Runzer makes the stretch but can't quite get to the ball.

By Mary Jane Souder
For BucksLocalSports

ROYERSFORD — It had the look and feel of a risky play with little chance of succeeding.
But this was an advertisement for the value of perseverance.
Twice with Jimmy Smith barreling towards home from third on called suicide squeeze plays in Saturday's PIAA quarterfinal game against North Penn, Knights batter Mark Grassie attempted to bunt fastballs well out of the strike zone.
The first, Grassie somehow managed to get a piece of for a foul tip that saved the base runner. The second, he missed, but with no one anywhere near third, Smith beat the third baseman back to the bag.
North Penn fans exhaled.
"They were fastballs that rode away," Grassie said of his first two attempts. "I couldn't seem to reach out there and get them. With the squeeze, you have to try to get them.
"I tried."
Would Grassie get a third try?
"I knew coach (Bob) McCreary had confidence in me to get bunts down," he said. "I've been bunting a lot the whole year. I really have it hammered in my brain.
"He really believes I can do it."
That belief prompted the Knights' coach to call for the suicide squeeze yet one more time. Grassie wasn't surprised.
"I've actually gotten it with two strikes a couple of times this year," he said.
This time, Grassie didn't see a fastball out of the strike zone but rather a curveball. He knew exactly what to do with it, laying down a bunt toward the mound that easily scored Smith — who doubled to lead off the inning — with the game's first run. North Penn went on to defeat Council Rock North 2-1 June 6 in a PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal contest.
"I knew there were two strikes, but I have to say I really wasn't that nervous," said Grassie, who was safe at first with his first of two hits on the day. "I felt really confident. I think that's the reason I got the bunt down.
"It was a curveball that started down the middle and dropped to my knees. That's actually a pretty good pitch to bunt, rather than one up high.
"I knew he (Rock North pitcher Scott Runzer) might be coming with a curveball because he threw me two fastballs right before that, so I knew I had to stay low and drop that bunt down because we really needed that run to get us going."
The run put the Knights on top 1-0 in the third, and the significance of Grassie's ability to execute was underscored in Rock North's sixth when - with Kelly Adams on third with one out and the Knights clinging to a 2-1 lead — the Indians failed to push the tying run across with back-to-back bunts.
On the first, Ryan Venner bunted the ball back to the mound on a safety squeeze. Pitcher Eric Ruth looked Adams back at third and fired to Grassie, who was covering first, for the second out. The threat ended when Tim Filer's bunt for a base hit was fielded by Ruth, who threw to first to retire Filer and the Indians.
"Ruth throws the ball very well," Rock North coach Dan Kusters said of his decision to call for a pair of bunts. "He wasn't necessarily throwing the ball by our guys, but in that situation with a runner on third, we need to do whatever we can to get the runner in.
"Tim is a very good bunter, and that third baseman was so far back. He had a chance to put it down and tie the game."
It didn't happen, and on the other side of the diamond, the Knights were celebrating because McCreary's unwavering faith in Grassie's ability to lay down a bunt turned out to be well-founded.
"He's a good fundamental player, and as a nine hitter you're looking for him to put a bat on the ball," the Knights' coach said. "I just had a gut (feeling) to try a suicide squeeze there.
"It didn't work out the first couple of times, but I said, 'What the heck— try again,' and thankfully for us, it worked."
And because it did the Knights are in the most enviable position — the state semifinals, just one win away from a spot in the state championship game.