(EDITOR’S NOTE: Since May of 1999, the Times News Sports Department has featured an On This Date practically every day, highlighting an event that happened in the past. With the coronavirus putting a halt to sports locally and nationally, the On This Dates have been expanded to the stories that actually ran in the next day’s newspaper. Today’s On This Date story is from July 10, 1988).

By Craig Potter

Associate Sports Editor

Lehighton clinched at least a tie for the Lehigh Valley League American Legion playoffs with a 14-6 victory Sunday night over host Whitehall.

The triumph gives Lehighton a 9-7 record, and a win either Thursday against Northwestern or Friday over Whitehall will clinch a spot in the playoffs. Both games are at Baer Memorial Park.

Lehighton could have a berth already if Coplay and Northwestern each have 10 losses before then. The loser of Sunday’s Northwestern at Coplay game is out of playoff contention with 10 losses. Southern Lehigh dropped out of the picture with its 10th defeat Sunday.

Lehighton (9-7), Whitehall (8-7) and the East Side Rams (8-7) currently hold the final three playoff berths. Last night’s Northwestern-Coplay victor still has nine losses and a mathematical chance of making the playoffs.

John Searfoss paced the victors with his bat as well as his arm as the husky right-hander scattered 10 hits and went 4-for-4 with six RBIs.

“I knew this was a good hitting team and I knew we’d have to score some runs to win,” said Searfoss. “Guys got on base for me and I just hit them in. Give credit to the guys in front of me, if they didn’t get on base, my hits wouldn’t have meant anything.”

Searfoss had a low strikeout count of four in this game.

“I usually get more strikeouts than that,” he said. “For some reason I thought these guys could hit my fastball, so in the early innings I was coming with the curve and they were hitting it. Once coach (Art Dietz) told me to stick with the heat, they couldn’t hit the heat. I should have just stayed with my ballgame and threw heat the whole game.”

Lehighton collected 11 hits and converted seven of 12 walks into runs.

The visitors scored four times in the first inning. Frank Bokan and John Cooper both walked. With one out, Searfoss singled to center for two runs. One out later, Don Ansbach walked and both runners scored on Joe Strauss’ triple to right-center.

Whitehall battled back to tie the game with one run in the third and three in the fourth on Dave Steckel’s home run.

But once again it was Searfoss who broke open the tie game with the second of his three two-run singles.

In the fifth inning, Steckel issued his seventh walk and Chuck Rissmiller replaced him on the mound with runners on first and second. Tim Benyo beat out an infield chopper to load the bases for Searfoss.

The pitcher singled up the middle as two runs scampered home. Chris West followed with a hit off Rissmiller’s glove that deflected into center field. Searfoss used his hustle to advance to third.

When the throw went to third, West broke for second. He beat that throw and Searfoss took off for home and slid in safely as the throw was up the line. Strauss then singled to center to score West.

Pat Bailey took the mound for Whitehall in the sixth and received the same kind of treatment. Ryan Horvath walked and Bokan bounced a hit up the middle. Cooper and Benyo drew walks to set up Searfoss once again for a two-run single.

With one out, Ansbach walked to reload the bases. One run scored when Strauss popped a controversial infield fly ball call in short rightfield that was dropped. The final run came home when Brad Niehoff singled off the third base bag.

“We knew this was a must-win situation,” said Searfoss. “The guys got up for the game. It was a whole team effort when you score this many runs.”

“These kids played a good game tonight,” said manager Dietz. “In batting practice we were hitting real well and I had a feeling we were going to hit well in the game, and we did. John had four hits and just about everyone else had one, too.”

Lehighton 400 055 0 - 14 11 6

Whitehall 001 310 1 - 6 10 3

Searfoss and Benyo, Niehoff (7); Steckel, Rissmiller (5), Bailey (6), Iampietro (7) and Henninger. W - Searfoss. L - Steckel. HR: Whitehall - Steckel (4th, two on), Henninger (5th, none on).