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Graham wins classic pitching duelleadsCats to WPIAL title. . v p-i, v ■; ; v r' ? , lt;v V. v ‘* ^:* :$*■y :-vT;*4s’.; ■* *' ^ Gny:' * ?¥' t' •• i 5*.- ; ^ w** ’:• /*1rI;; I.•a •-X-. a . , ::lt;*■■ ► *-. :■/r-'rasse-:* *••■* * :• . . ' «, v■• ' V^ M v '* * •* » ♦ v- • V.% *' ft JT S’■ .bVi ■»* . •**» ••*» - -WV.Vy, , -W. V- -A. WW.t,jjm. .'«W«.V . - - - -.V ‘l - - - ------ *».!*lt; 4James Graham fires away for Shenango.Matthew S. High/NEWSBy Steve TreuNew Castle NewsNobody could have anticipated the ending of this baseball game.How it ended was not that surprising, but what was a shock was that the game ever came to an end at all.Although two outstanding pitchers both seemed determined and capable of maintaining a scoreless tie forever, Shenango High escaped with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Mars in the WPIAL Class AA semifinals Saturday at Flaherty Field.The Wildcats (18-3) advance to the WPIAL championship game on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Butler’s Pullman Park against Se-ton-La Salle, a 3-0 semifinal victor over Canevm. The Planets (18-3) will play Canevin in the consolation game at 1 p.m. for achance to join the ’Cats and Se-ton-La Salle in next week’s PIAAplayoffs.As dominating as Chuck Young of Mars was on the mound on Saturday afternoon, Shenango’s James Graham was just a bit better.(t' Graham fired a two-hitter, winning when Shawn Stalker ripped a two-out, two-strike single to score Shane Lanigan in the top of the seventh inning.It was a great game with two great pitchers battling it out,” Shenango coach Jan Budai said. “They were mowing them down both left and right.”Mowing them down from the left was Young, who struck out 12and allowed only four hits. The senior southpaw brought mostlyheat, throwing his mid-80s fastball right past the ’Cats all day long.On the other hand, Graham was unbeatable from the other side. The junior right-hander was even deadlier with his sharp curveball than his opponent was with his heater, never letting the Planets make good contact.Graham faced just one batter over the minimum, striking out seven and walking none. He has now fanned 16 without walking a batter in consecutive playoffshutouts.“Graham stuffed us. He didn’t give us a chance to get anything going the whole game,” Mars coach Brian Hobaugh said. “He got better in the last three innings. He was getting that curveball over, and we were in trouble. You can’t score a lot of runs when you can’t get people on base.”Graham retired the side in order in all but the second and seventh innings. He was simply incredible in the fourth and fifth frames, setting the Planets down 1-2-3 on four pitches in the fourth and then striking out the side on nine pitches in the fifth.With Young blowing away the ’Cats, Graham had no choice but to be flawless.“You’ve got to take on the competition and try to do better,” Graham said, “If he beats you, he beats you. Today, I beat him.”He did so thanks to Stalker, who struck out twice against Young before finally solving himPlease see CATS, page 14gameMUM*.................Chuck Young delivers the heat for Mars.Matthew S. High/NEWS
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New Castle, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, May 29, 1995
Page 13
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