St. John Fisher baseball players get lesson in life
(By Kevin Oklobzija, Staff writer for the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
May 10, 2008
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A frightening injury and an extraordinary
display of sportsmanship ended the St. John Fisher Cardinals'
baseball season before they could take their final turn at bat on
Thursday.
Fisher trailed visiting State University College at Oswego 9-5
when Oswego coach Frank Paino was hit on the right side of his head
by a line drive in the top of the ninth inning.
Paino instantly collapsed and lost consciousness, said Fisher
coach Dan Pepicelli, who was the first person to reach him.
Moments later, while Paino was being transported by Brighton
Ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital, Fisher players huddled in
the dugout and decided there was no reason to finish the game.
Pepicelli walked across the diamond and told the Lakers the
Eastern College Athletic Conference Upstate Tournament play-in game
was over.
"At that point, nobody was feeling like playing a game anymore,"
said Pepicelli. "What we were trying to get done, advancing in the
tournament, seemed very, very distant.
"We can all say with a clear conscience to them, 'You did what you
needed to do to win this thing.'"
The gesture, which ended Fisher's season and NCAA Tournament
hopes, truly defined amateur athletics. The Cardinals finished with
a 25-14-1 record.
"It was a lesson in the rules of the game of life," said Marilyn
Montesano, a teacher at New Hartford High School near Utica, whose
son Marc was playing in the outfield for Fisher. "My son learned a
life lesson I could not have taught him."
A lesson that had to have been experienced.
"It was tough for us seniors because that was our last game," said
Fisher's Justin Lutes, who was pitching when Lakers catcher Dan
Pecora hit the ball that struck Paino, "but we knew we couldn't
keep playing."
Especially after seeing what had just happened in front of their
dugout.
"The impact that ball made - no one will ever forget it,"
Montesano said.
Within minutes, Paino was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital,
where he spent Thursday night for observation. Doctors released him
Friday afternoon, but he won't be allowed to attend today's
tournament semifinal game against Rochester Institute of Technology
in Oneonta.
For the players, the minutes and hours that followed on Thursday
evening - from the time Paino was struck to the time they learned
his injuries weren't believed to be serious - were traumatic yet
precious.
Players cried. Parents cried. Players prayed. Parents prayed.
And college baseball players grew as people.
"My son told me, 'Mom, that's probably the most moving experience
of my life,'" Montesano said.
Paino (right), in his 22nd season as SUNY
Oswego's coach, had six former Section V players in his lineup
Thursday. He is fortunate his injuries weren't catastrophic. In
July, first base coach Mike Coolbaugh of the Double-A professional
Tulsa Drillers died after he was struck by a line drive.
As a result of Coolbaugh's death, Major League Baseball and all
minor leagues now require on-field coaches to wear helmets.
However, there is no such rule in the NCAA or even for high school
adult coaches.
"I remember when they made the rule at the big-league level, we
talked about it and you always assume they're overreacting,"
Pepicelli said. "Now I understand. That ball went from Point A to
Point B so fast, he was down on the ground before people knew what
happened. When you're coaching, you're not locked into the moment,
you're thinking one pitch or one batter ahead."
Pepicelli (above left) was calling pitches from
the dugout when right-handed hitting Pecora came up in the ninth
inning. Lutes tried to fire a pitch past Pecora on the inside half
of the plate.
The Lakers catcher wasn't fooled. He lined the ball foul down the
third base line.
Paino was just beyond the third-base coaching box, Pepicelli said,
and had virtually no time to react.
"I saw him hit it, but I never saw it hit the coach," Lutes said.
"He hit it that hard that I didn't have time to turn and see
it."
Said Montesano: "It was a laser, just a laser beam."
Pepicelli quickly bolted from the dugout to Paino, all the while
yelling toward the spectator area for Cardinals athletic director
Bob Ward to call 911.
"He was maybe 10 feet from our dugout and it made the grossest
noise," said Pepicelli. "It hit him probably four inches above the
temple.
"When I got to him his eyes were open, but he was out. Within
probably 30 seconds he started refocusing and coming to."
By Friday, Paino, a four-time ECAC coach of the year, was alert
and heading home. Pepicelli visited him in the morning.
"He's really sore, but he's a pretty tough guy; he's dealing with
it," Pepicelli said.
He was apparently dealing with it very well. While at Strong,
Paino drew up the Lakers lineup for today's game.
As Oswego attempts to earn an NCAA berth, Fisher players can only
reflect.
"The players wanted it so bad; it was a goal of theirs," Montesano
said. "But what they did, that was a win for those boys; that
wasn't a loss."
