North Pole Nicks Lose Series Final to Kansas Team

Mike Gillespie, manager of the North Pole Nicks, had begun to believe in Santa Claus, miracle finishes and impossible dreams.

Tuesday night, however, the fairy tale ended.

The Nicks (40-21) were defeated in the National Baseball Congress World Series final, 6-2, by Liberal, Kan., before a capacity crowd of 7,200 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

There was no storybook ending to the Nicks’ season, but Gillespie maintained a strong belief in one thing--his team.

“We should be--and are--proud of what we have accomplished,” said Gillespie after pitching and defense, North Pole’s strengths all season, collapsed in a disheartening loss to Liberal.

“We’ve been together for more than 60 games, and you could not be surrounded by a more quality group of guys. This is a bunch of guys that you would be proud to have as a son or to have date your daughter.”

Gillespie’s opinion of his team in losing was no different than that offered as the club was winning its first five tournament games.

But his postgame comments were the only constants in North Pole’s final effort of the season.

The Nicks’ usual airtight defense, which committed only two errors in the first seven games, had four against Liberal. None, however, figured in the scoring.

The pitching also broke down, although starter Steve French could hardly be held in complete blame. The ace of the North Pole staff was attempting to win his third game of the tournament, but six runs in two innings sealed the Nicks’ fate.

Liberal’s Kerry Richardson did most of the damage, producing a run-scoring double in the four-run fourth inning. Richardson added a two-run home run in the fifth to send French--formerly of Saugus High and College of the Canyons--and North Pole reeling.

The Nicks responded with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Alan Stankiewicz drew a lead-off walk and scored one out later when his brother, Andy, doubled him home.

Andy Stankiewicz also figured in the Nicks’ final run. The Pepperdine senior singled to lead off the eighth inning and stole second base, but was still on third after successive singles by Kevin Watkins and Al Villasenor, the latter formerly of Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks.

Stankiewicz eventually scored when Pepperdine teammate and North Pole third baseman Paul Faries hit into a force play.

The two one-run innings were not enough to overcome Liberal, which on the strength of 15 hits--including five doubles and a homer--avenged its loss to Grand Rapids, Mich., in last year’s championship game.

The World Series final featured a pair of teams that strayed from the general concept of semipro baseball. Many teams have former pros or ex-collegiate players on their roster.

North Pole and Liberal kept only active college players.

“Their approach was similar to ours,” Gillespie said of Liberal. “We both stick with college players who are developing.”

Like Liberal, which was made up primarily of Southwest Conference players, the Nicks also drew from a concentrated area--the Valley.

Eight players and three coaches--Gillespie and assistants Frank Sanchez from Hart High and former Canyons player Bob Brontsema--comprised the nucleus of the North Pole team.

“We could not have predicted making it this far, but we felt good about the team we had put together,” Gillespie said. “We didn’t know what the chemistry would be, but as it turned out, this group got along well both on and off the field. Occasionally, curfew was a bit of a problem.

“But even at first, based on what we knew about college baseball, we felt we had a chance to be as good as any team around.”

To find out, Gillespie took the group from the Valley to Fairbanks, Ala., where a summer of baseball backed up his preliminary belief.

The traveling show moved to Wichita for the World Series, where the Nicks emerged as a dark-horse candidate.

Said Gillespie: “These guys certainly have added a few miles onto their careers this summer.”

The ride, however, ended one win short of a semipro championship.

Notes

North Pole’s tournament winning streak was halted at five games Saturday by Santa Maria, Calif., and former Cincinnati Reds and Grant High hurler Bill Bonham in a 7-3 Nicks loss.

The Nicks rebounded with a 3-2 victory over Anchorage Monday despite uncharacteristic defensive lapses. North Pole committed only one error, but had several other misplays that didn’t show up as errors, Gillespie said. Down 2-0 in the seventh inning, North Pole advanced to the finale when former Hart High catcher Todd Zeile drew a lead-off walk and Chris Donnells, a freshman at Loyola Marymount, followed with a two-run homer. Shortstop Andy Stankiewicz of Pepperdine then walked, stole second and scored the game-winning run when Waves teammate Paul Faries singled up the middle.

Santa Maria, led by former Saugus High and Canyons center fielder Vince Teixeira, dropped a 3-2 decision in 11 innings to Anchorage Tuesday to finish fourth overall. Teixeira, who played for Gillespie at Canyons and with the Nicks last season, batted .375 (12 for 32) and led the tournament in stolen bases with nine. He also scored seven runs and had six runs batted in.