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hand throughout the entire game. He retired the first 10 men in order, although leadoff hitter Bill Bojinski opened with a single. Wolverines catcher Blazin cut down Bojinski trying to steal on the first pitch to the next batter.The victory sent Ellwood into the semifinals against North Hills which defeated Montour, one of the tournament favorites, 5-3. On the other side of the brackets, Wayneburg advanced with a 4-3 win over South Allegheny and Kiski Area tripped Penn Hills 2-0.The Wolverines now stood in the exact spot where their Section 6 champions of two years previous were when they were eliminated by eventual WPIALchampion Kiski Area.Both games in this semifinal round were staged as a double-header at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The WPIAL had originally scheduled its championship game at Forbes Field, but rain delayed the regular season so long that the dates had to be shifted. The championship contest was rescheduled for West Field in Munhall.The appearance at Forbes Field gave Smith, the Wolverines outstanding shortstop, a chance to play in a major league park just a week after he had been selected by the Cleveland Indians in the major league draft, and hetook full advantage of the opportunity.He had a single, double and triple and scored three runs to leadEllwood City to a 6-2 victory tothe delight of his fans and particularly Pat Mullen, the Indians scout who had recommended that he be drafted.This was Smith’s third season as a regular for Spellman, and, although he didn’t have the year at the plate that he had as a junior, he repeated as the section’s all-star shortstop and was one of his team’s most valuable performers.He batted .262 compared to .314 the year before, but of his 11 hits in the regular season, two were against second-place New Castle and three against third-place Wilmington, both crucial games. He committed just two errors in section play, and teamed with his brother, Hick, to form one of the area’s best double play combinations.(Incidentally, Lawrence County had two major league draft selections that spring. Mark Tanner of Neshannock, oldest son of former major league manager Chuck Tanner, was selected by Kansas City in one of the early rounds.)In spite of not playing one of their better games, the Wolverines helped Bukac go the distance against North Hills for his sixth victory of the season. He was in trouble a number of times but came through in the clutch, and was the beneficiary of Smith’s big day and a bloop double — which should have been a routine fly ball — that broke the game open in the fourth inning.Thus, Ellwood City advanced to the championship game against Waynesburg, a 3-0 victor over Kiski Area in the second game of the semifinal twinbill.On June 19, with a sophomore pitching ace playing the key role just as another sophomore had done six years earlier when the Wolverines had won their first and last WPIAL crown, Ellwood City earned its second title 1-0 over Waynesburg.A fantastic pitching job by Lawson and a 70-foot infield bleeder brought the championship home. Lawson limited the opposition to just three hits and five base runners, while Blazin provided the little dribbler with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, which produced the onlyrun of the game.Lawson’s performance was reminiscent of one turned in by Bob Poholsky when he hurled Ellwood to its ’62 championship when he was just a sophomore, and it earned Lawson a postgame ride off the field on the shoulders of his teammates.Lawson finished the season with a 7-0 record in WPIAL play and an 11-0 mark overall. He hurled 40% innings in league play and allowed just one earned run for an ERA of 0.17. He gave up just 18 hits while striking out 37 and walking 15.In the playoffs alone, Lawson was 3-0 while hurling 16 innings and not allowing an earned run.He gave up just five hits during that span, walked one batter and fanned 16.Smith, the fiesty shortstop, was finally retired in the playoffs on his last trip to the plate. Prior to that, he had gotten nine hits in nine official trips to the plate, plus four walks and was once hit by a pitch.Smith, by the way, turned down that major league offer and took a full scholarship to the University of Iowa, along with histeammate Blazin.Ellwood City finished this, itsbest season ever, with a 27-2 record. With a good nucleus returning, they made it two games deep into the playoffs the following season. There were to be more section titles but no more WPIAL championships during the Spellman regime, although the Wolverines were never very far away.Spellman remained as the coach at Ellwood City from 1954 to 1971 when his team finished as WPIAL runnerup, and returned for one year in 1979. He was forced to give up his coaching duties when he moved into school administration, but over a nearly 20-year career his teams won 320 games, lost just 87, and claimed 11 section titles and the two WPIAL championships.He died in 1983 and was inducted into the Lawrence County Historical Society Sports Hall of Fame posthumously in 1992.(Blast from the Past is a weekly feature which chronicles local athletes and sports events from years past. Vosburg is retired managing editor from TheNews.)
Newspaper Details
New Castle News Weekend
New Castle, Pennsylvania, US
Sat, Jun 18, 1994
Page 21
Full Page
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USA 02 Jan 2023
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