George Guido: Remembering a wild Burrell baseball run

By: George Guido
Saturday, July 3, 2021 | 4:44 PM

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The 2001 Burrell baseball season had a little of everything.

Start with a quest for a school-first undefeated regular season, then a game that took three days to complete, three games decided by wild pitches, capped with a trip to the PIAA title game.

As that 22-2 team looks back at its road to success, it’s time to recall that wild journey from Huston Middle School field to Williamsport.

“That was probably the best team I ever had,” said veteran coach Mark Spohn, who just completed his 23rd season at the helm. “We had two great pitchers, and it was a great group of kids who played hard.”

The first milestone of the season took place May 1 when the Bucs clinched the Section 3-AA title at Freeport, 12-0. Craig Licata was 3 for 3 with six RBIs, including a grand slam, and Bobby Reifschneider tossed a three-hitter in the five-inning contest.

It was the first section title for Burrell since 1983. The Bucs finished the section 14-0. Burrell compiled the first undefeated regular season in school history at 16-0 as Mark Dzanaj hit two home runs at Knoch. Greg Mazzei pitched a one-hitter.

Reifschneider and Dzanaj finished the regular season with .568 batting averages, and Reifschneider and Mazzei posted 6-0 records.

Burrell was slated to open the playoffs at Connellsville against Washington. In a theme that would follow the Bucs throughout the postseason, rain delayed the game by one day, and the site was moved to Westmoreland Community College in Youngwood. The Bucs prevailed 6-0 over the Little Prexies.

With no rest, the following day saw the Bucs fall behind Mohawk, 3-2, at Butler’s Pullman Park. Then the rains came, and the teams picked up the game in the bottom of the fifth. Burrell scored five runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to take an 8-3 lead. Reifschneider keyed the rally with a three-run double the same day he signed with Duquesne.

But before the Bucs could close it out in the seventh, more rain came. Back to Pullman for a third day, D.J. Lewandowski retired the Warriors in a matter of six minutes to record the victory.

Before the semifinal game against Shady Side, the Bucs went to a Lower Burrell beauty salon and emerged as all blondes.

More wackiness ensued once the game got underway at Freeport: Mac Lynch of Shady Side hit a home run, but it was called back when it was discovered Lynch already had three strikes earlier.

After a rain delay, Jason Zoeller hit a three-run homer to hand the Bucs their first loss of the season, 8-6, and force Burrell to play a consolation game.

Burrell qualified for the PIAA tournament with a 3-2 victory over South Park.

It was on to the PIAA first round at Erie’s Jerry Uht Park, where favored Harbor Creek and all-state pitcher Ben Orengia awaited.

Reifschneider and Orengia matched zeroes until the eighth, when Orengia uncorked a wild pitch to score Nate George.

A rematch against Shady Side then loomed at Pullman Park. With the score knotted 6-6 in the seventh, Burrell loaded the bases. Zoeller’s wild pitch scored Baker, followed by another wild pitch that scored Ben Syput to give Burrell an 8-6 victory.

Things quickly came unraveled for the Bucs in the PIAA finals as they made an uncharacteristic five errors at Williamsport’s Bowman Field against Phoenixville. The Phantoms scored single runs in four straight innings to win 4-1.

“Their pitcher threw changeups in the 80s, and that knocked us off track,” Spohn said. “Reifschneider and (Jared) Bennis hit drives that were barely foul and could have turned the game around.”

Said Reifschneider: “Looking back, it went by so fast. You barely had time to really prepare.”

Spohn is still at Burrell with 21 playoff appearances. Reifschneider is a pharmaceutical rep. Orengia was inducted into the Harbor Creek Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.

Tags: Burrell