This Month's News
July2006
South Lebanon wins Allentown Fourth of July Classic
July 3, 2006
Allentown, PA
South Lebanon wins Allentown Fourth of July Classic
South Lebanon defeats Keating Fitness Center ISC to win the championship.
Article from Allentown Morning Call about results of the Fourth of July Classic follows.
TNT South Lebanon results:
Round Robin:
South Lebanon - 5
PA Power - 1
South Lebanon - 8
Allentown Patriots - 1
South Lebanon - 1
Keating's Fitness - 0
Semi Final:
South Lebanon - 9
Matarazzo Bros. - 1
Final:
South Lebanon - 5
Keatings Fitness - 2
Respectfully submitted.
July 3, 2006
For Tracy, MVP is for memorable vacation planning
Canadian begins his visit by leading TNT South Lebanon to title.
By Keith Groller Of The Morning Call
Jeremy Tracy smiled as he clutched the Most Valuable Player Award from the 41st annual Allentown Patriots' 4th of July Classic Sunday afternoon at Pates Park.
But he said the most valuable person of the weekend was really his wife, Roxanne, who took care of the couple's children - 3 1/2-year-old Brooke and 11/2-year-old Sierra - throughout their visit to the Lehigh Valley.
While Mrs. Tracy took care of the kids, Mr. Tracy took care of the hitting and pitching exploits to lead his TNT South Lebanon club to the championship of the eight-team, men's fastpitch softball event at Patriots Park.
Tracy hit a two-run home run to help his team beat the Matarazzo Brothers' Sea Dogs 9-1 in the semifinals, then fired a four-hitter to knock off defending tourney champion Keating's Fitness of Wilkes-Barre 5-2 in the title game.
It was TNT South Lebanon's first Pates' crown and the 30-year-old Canadian's first visit to Allentown. Chances are he won't forget it.
Tracy was 5-for-15 with three home runs at the plate and went 3-0 in the circle, notching 32 strikeouts.
Two of TNT's and Tracy's wins were over Keating's, a quality club that will return to Pates for the more prestigious Bob Walsh Memorial tourney later this month.
Tracy fanned 15 in a two-hit shutout of Keating's Saturday night. He wasn't as dominant on Sunday, losing his shutout on a two-run home run by Kevin Smith in the second inning, but he didn't allow another run the rest of the way.
''I'm a rise-ball pitcher and I spotted it pretty well,'' Tracy said. ''I didn't put the ball over the middle of the plate. Everything went pretty well.''
Tracy had four strikeouts, just one after the first inning. but his defense didn't make an error over the last six innings.
Keating's defense wasn't nearly as sound, making three errors that led to three unearned runs.
The go-ahead run in the fourth was set up by a miscue. Justin Cevette, who homered in the second, had his line drive to left dropped for a three-base error. He scored on Keith Evans' tapper to short.
''It was a disappointing weekend; we're a better ballclub than that,'' said Keating's manager Mike Fulton, whose team reached the finals via a 7-4 semifinal win over the Perkasie-based Rise. ''We gave runs away with shoddy defense. We were missing our ace pitcher [injured Billy Hillhouse], but it's no excuse. We're back here in three weeks for the Walsh, a tougher tournament than this one, so we'd better come to play.''
Meanwhile, TNT South Lebanon manager Irv Lutz, whose team enjoyed a 5-0 weekend, just hopes he can be back in Allentown next summer to watch his team defend its title.
Lutz is wheelchair-bound while battling a kidney disease and is awaiting a transplant from his son, Andrew, a team member, later this year.
''My brother, Lee, and I were Class A All-Americans in 1978 and have been in the game for 35 years and we've both got sons on this team,'' Lutz said. ''We just love the game of fastpitch. We've had a team since 1963 and winning this tournament for the first time is very gratifying to us. We have a great mixture of young and older guys.''
It's not certain which category Tracy is in, but Lutz is just happy he's on his team.
''He's the best all-around player I've seen in all of the years I've been playing ball,'' Lutz said. ''He joined us for a tournament in Elkand last Labor Day and was 7-1 as a pitcher and 12-for-20 with eight home runs. Plus, he's a good family man with his wife and daughters with him.''
For the rest of the holiday weekend, Tracy is just concerned about being a great father and husband.
''We're going to do some vacationing in this area, just enjoying a few days off,'' he said. ''I'm not sure where we're going; just some place where the kids can have fun.''
Keating's 020 000 0 - 2 4 3
TNT So. Lebanon 020 120 x - 5 4 1
Garrity, Stokes (6) and Sell; Tracy and Lutz. HR: K, K. Smith (2nd, 1 on); TNT, Cevette (2nd, none on).
Rise 003 000 1 -4 8 2
Keating's 240 000 1 - 7 10 2
Vogel and Simes; Garrity and Sell.
Sea Dogs 000 100 0 - 1 5 1
TNT So. Lebanon305 100 x - 9 14 0
Wright and Avesco; Adams and Lutz. HR: TNT, Tracy (1st, 1 on); SD, Larry Peck (4th, none on).
keith.groller@mcall.com <mailto:keith.groller@mcall.com>
