Swaintek homers twice as Lansdale Catholic tops Carroll

The final outing of his summertime 2010 baseball season yielded three types of losses for Stefan Swaintek.

Of the game, for one. Of the chance to have fun somewhere else, for two. Of his right knee, for three.

OK, so we exaggerate. Swaintek did not "lose" his knee. But he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, and the next time that qualifies as fun will be the first.

"I was playing third base," Swaintek said, "and I came in to catch a popped-up bunt. There were runners on first and second, and I had the idea to look right at the guy on second [in case a doubleplay opportunity presented itself].

"Well, my foot stayed and my leg kept going. There were claims that people heard the 'pop!' in the stands. I know I heard it and felt it. Not good."

The 5-8, 180-pound Swaintek is now a senior at Lansdale Catholic, his position remains third base and, little by little, he feels closer to his ol' self.

Wednesday helped. In an admittedly small ballpark, Swaintek poled two home runs and came close to a third as the visiting Crusaders powered their way (and routine fly balled; as we said, the place is undersized) to a 9-5 Catholic Blue win over Archbishop Carroll.

"I'd love to play all my games here," Swaintek said, smiling.

No wonder. The dingers, the last of five for LC, were the cleanup hitter's first of the season.

Swaintek's initial at-bat produced a routine groundout to second. Major frustration was not exactly his reaction, though, since the Crusaders already led, 2-0, thanks to solo homers by Rory Clemens (game's very first pitch) and Eric Lewandowski.

In a five-run second, highlighted by Kevin Neumann's well-struck grand slam to center, Swaintek sent another shot up the middle. Centerfielder Steffen Ramondo used a partial leap to catch the ball against the fence.

"I didn't think I hit that one too great," Swaintek said. "Then I saw the kid at the fence and thought it maybe had a chance. He made a nice play. Give him props."

Swaintek's homers were a way-outta-here job to left-center and a barely-made-it to center. In fact, on that second one, Ramondo cruised back in classic I'll-catch-this-one mode and, thump, had his journey terminated by the fence.

"Damn popup," grumbled two guys near Carroll's bench.

Said Swaintek: "You definitely get some cheap ones here. It's easy to hit in this place, but it's also kind of difficult mentally. You have to stay within yourself and focus on hitting line drives. Not try for them and maybe mess up your swing. The ball might go out here, but it's not going to go out [at LC's home park, and elsewhere]."

The homer by Clemens, a lefty swinger, that opened the game departed the premises a shade to the left of dead center. Lewandowski's was a garden-variety liner to center that barely cleared the fence. In the second, Zach Bell, Ryan "Mugsy" Mulligan, Nick Gulla and Clemens strung together singles before Neumann unloaded to center. The hits by Gulla and Clemens were forceful, well-placed bunts they had no trouble beating out.

Of Clemens' homer, Swaintek said: "That was energizing. To see your leadoff hitter jack one on the first pitch, it gives everybody confidence. If he goes down swinging, you're thinking, 'Maybe this won't go as well as we hope.'

"That really didn't surprise me. Rory's been ripping the ball."

On Monday, LC had dropped the teams' first meeting, 4-2, with a controversial umpiring decision playing a critical role.

Just before this one began, coach Rick Norwood told a few of his players: "I want to drop three touchdowns on these guys. After the way that other game played out, we have to show that mentality. Let's get after them."

Junior lefty Jon Motts took a shutout into the fifth inning. Second baseman Sal Megaro (5-5 1/2, 160 pounds) and Steve Dengler burned him for two-run homers in that frame, and Eric McGough, shaking off three strikeouts, lashed an RBI single with one away in the seventh. Clemens worked a three-batter save and received immediate diving-catch help from his replacement in center, Tyler Smith.

For Carroll, righthander Alex Tansey allowed only one hit over the final three innings.

Swaintek, who lives in Sellersville and is bound for Wheaton College in Massachusetts, thanked the coaches and trainers, and the support of his parents, for guiding him back to normalcy.

"I've been starting since the opener," he said, "but it took some time to regain my timing and proper mechanics. It's been a long road."

Meanwhile, last summer, despite its title-game loss, the Pennridge American Legion team advanced to a regional event in the Great Lakes area.

"Nope, I couldn't go," Swaintek said. "The day they left was the same as my first doctor's appointment."

Talk about a knee to the groin. *