DeLaubell goes the distance
CHESHIRE 4, STAPLES 3
CHESHIRE — It’s as if Cheshire pitcher Ben DeLaubell had been waiting his entire life to pitch in a game like he found himself on the mound for Saturday.
With the Class LL quarterfinal game in his hands heading to the seventh but his pitch count creeping closer to the threshold where he would have to be removed from the mound, DeLaubell did not want to waste any pitches in the final inning with his team leading by one.
He struck out the first two batters before getting the last hitter to fly to the warning track in left, sending him and the No. 4 Rams to the Class LL semifinals with a 4-3 win over No. 5 Staples.
Cheshire will face the winner of Sunday’s game between No. 1 Fairfield Prep and No. 9 East Hartford in the semifinals Tuesday at a neutral site.
“There’s no feeling like this, right now,” DeLaubell said. “We’ll celebrate this, then get back at it tomorrow. It’s remarkable playing my last game on this field and definitely better going out with a win. It’s all about believing. It doesn’t really matter what other people say about you. It’s all about how much you believe in yourself and how much you can push yourself to work harder and get wins like this.”
It was DeLaubell getting the Cheshire bats going in the first inning, ripping a double to left field on the first pitch he saw.
He came in to score on a single to right center by Ben Shadeck
Cheshire jumped on Staples starter Chad Knight’s fastballs early in the game, stringing together four straight hits, loading the bases with one out after DeLaubell scored.
Knight was able to escape the jam by getting back-to-back strikeouts.
Staples tied it 1-1 in the fourth with Kevin Rabacs beating out an infield single with two outs as Max Popken scampered home from third.
An error would open the door for a three-run bottom of the fourth for Cheshire.
Ryan Strollo and DeLaubell both drove in runs for the Rams as they grabbed a 4-1 lead.
Staples would get two back in the fifth, scoring twice on two wild pitches with runners on third.
The Wreckers would not get a runner on base in the sixth or seventh innings as DeLaubell finished strong.
The final out ended an incredible run for Staples, which won Class LL last season, reached the FCIAC championship this year and fell one run short in the LL quarterfinals this season
“When you’re in the final eight, this is what you’re going to see: real baseball,” Staples coach Jack McFarland said. “You have two good teams, two Division I kids on the mound and kids making plays all over the place but in singleelimination baseball, you lose 4-3 and you go home. I’m proud of my kids and how they defended this title with a big target on their back all season. They stood tall and had a great year.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ben DeLaubell, Cheshire. Not only did he pitch a complete game, striking out five, he also went 3 for 4 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. He would have been 4 for 4 with a two-run home run but Staples center fielder Chris Drbal made the best catch of the season, leaping high at the center-field fence and pulling the home run back for an out in the bottom of the sixth.
QUOTABLE
“Lately when (DeLaubell) is pitching, he’s been hitting. Obviously he got robbed or he could have had a two-run homer, too. He’s a four-year starter and he’s going to West Point and he has that commitment and that dedication. I can’t say enough about the kid, as a person.” Cheshire coach Bill Mwroka said. “At the beginning of the year if you’d told me we’d be in the semis I would have told you, ‘You’re crazy.’ I’m so happy for these guys; to experience this is awesome.”