Stunned, saddened
Grieving athletes take field after fatal crash
The DeSales University baseball team took the field for its season opener at Weiland Park against visiting Misericordia, and that’s what was most important on a picture perfect but chilly Saturday afternoon.
The DeSales squad was less than a week removed from a horrible auto accident just a few miles away on Lanark Road in Upper Saucon Township that claimed the lives of current DeSales player Sean Hanczaryk, former Bulldogs’ all-conference outfielder Nick White and White’s girlfriend, Emily Kattner, both 2019 graduates.
Another DeSales baseball player, Brandon DiChiacchio, remains in critical but stable condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. He was pulled from the car by witnesses before it burst into flames.
DeSales’ 12-3 loss in the first game of the MAC Freedom Conference doubleheader to a team it annually battles with for the conference championship hardly mattered. Just getting the chance to play a game they love and take their minds off the tragedy for a few moments here and there during the afternoon will all be part of a difficult healing process.
“They were all focused and they made a great effort; they played great,” said Tim
Neiman, the DeSales head coach since 1990. “These are really difficult times, and I can’t imagine what is going through their minds. I have to tip my cap to them.”
Fans arrived well before the first pitch. Many sat atop a bank behind the right field fence. Below them on the grass in DeSales’ colors was stenciled “Pray for 8, 18, 23 EK.” Because of MAC Freedom Conference COVID-19 rules, fans were not allowed in the seats behind home plate.
Prior to the doubleheader, DeSales students, friends and family of the players embraced with emotional hugs as they greeted one another. Other than small talk, little was said. Between games, players mingled with fans and family as they quickly grabbed something to eat. By then, the mood was a little brighter.
Hanczaryk, a senior from Frenchtown, New Jersey, who would’ve been a four-year starter at catcher, wore No. 23. White’s number was 18 and DiChiacchio, a senior from Delaware County, wears No. 8.
When the Bulldogs ran onto the field prior to the first pitch and the playing of the national anthem, the positions of catcher and second baseman, where Hanczaryk and DiChiaccho normally would have been standing, remained empty. A 23-second period of silent reflection was held.
Senior Hunter Spalt set up behind home plate and junior Robert Lamm of Whitehall High School manned second base. Lamm drove in DeSales’ first run with a triple in the fourth inning. Billy Scanlon and Liam Kyle accounted for the Bulldogs’ other runs with RBI doubles in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively.
The Bulldogs practiced outside just once — on Friday — because of the weather and the circumstances of the previous week. Neiman said he couldn’t be prouder of his team, which acted in unison to be in uniform Saturday. That included Sean Hanczaryk’s younger brother, Dan, a freshman pitcher on the team.
“The decision to move forward with the season was entirely in the hands of the kids,” Neiman said. “They all felt strongly that Sean would’ve wanted them to play. It was my standing that I would support whatever they decided. Whether to play this weekend, or wait another week, or not even to play at all. They unanimously chose to play.
“This is emotional on many levels but an important step for them to take as a team. And they really are all of that … a team.”
DeSales travels to Misericordia on Sunday for another doubleheader. The Cougars have defeated DeSales in the last five conference tournament championship games. Last year’s seasons for both teams were cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Corky Blake is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.