By John Royster
Yakima, Wash.
August 29, 2001
YAKIMA, Wash.–The 75th American Legion World Series was won by a manager who has been with the same team for 50 of those years. But for Joe Barth, the 10th anniversary of Brooklawn Post 72\’s only previous national championship was the number that counted.
\”The first time we won, I had been coaching 40 years,\” said Barth, 79. \”And I told the guys if I\’m going to win another one and it takes 40 years, I\’ll be 110. So I saved 30 years.\”
Barth\’s team won 5-2 over Lewiston, Idaho, Post 13, the first team from that state to play in the championship game since the very first one in 1926.
Lewiston took a 2-0 lead with four doubles in the space of five batters in the bottom of the third inning; third baseman Allen Balmer could advance only to third base on second baseman Dustin Zager\’s double, the last of the four. After that, Brooklawn righthander Andrew Noe struck out first baseman Josh Burton and pitcher Julius Smith to get out of the inning.
At that point Noe had given up six hits and two walks. He allowed two more hits the rest of the way, and one Lewiston player got as far as third base.
\”As the game goes on he always gets stronger and hits his spots a lot better,\” catcher Mike Rucci said of Noe, who struck out 10. \”Once we got a lead it took the pressure off him, and that\’s what we needed. Once he\’s on, no one can really hit him.\”
Rucci, tournament MVP and the only player ever to participate in four American Legion World Series, provided the lead at 4-2 with a long two-run homer to left field in the top of the sixth.
\”We had a scouting report, and we knew when he got 0-2 he would try to sneak a fastball right by you,\” Rucci said. \”So I had that in my mind and I was sitting dead red. He gave it to me a little low, and that\’s my power zone.\”
It was one of few mistakes made by Smith, a lefthander who started twice in the World Series and pitched arguably its two best games. Against Brooklawn, he allowed five hits and no walks in the first eight innings before tiring in the ninth. He was charged with all five runs, three of them earned.
On the tournament\’s first night, he pitched a four-hitter in a 5-1 victory over eventual semifinalist Omaha Post 1.
Brooklawn\’s Joe Lamb was another standout, going 5-for-9 in the semifinals and finals while playing errorless ball at shortstop.
Baseball America All-Tournament Team
C–Mike Rucci, Brooklawn, N.J.
1B–Dayton Ries, Midwest City, Okla.
2B–Brendan Winn, Milford, Mass.
3B–Allen Balmer, Lewiston, Idaho
SS–Joe Lamb, Brooklawn
OF–John Devany, Danville, Calif.; Joe Pietro, Omaha; Nate Martin, Lewiston
DH–Josh O\’Dell, Midwest City
UTIL–Nate Schill, Brooklawn
P–Julius Smith, Lewiston; Andrew Noe, Brooklawn
MVP–Mike Rucci, c, Brooklawn
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