Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 48

DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE, Rochester. N.Y.. May 13, 1981 il if 2S 1 1 IS 't a ty Bruce Bell Mike Decillis Tom Dyer First baseman-designated hitter Rookie Amateur team: Spur of the Moment Greece Athena High School graduate, freshman at St. John Fisher College At 18, the youngest Express player All-County baseball first baseman as a junior Coached by Don Brown in high school 6-foot-1, 220-pound left-hander. Don Brown Pitcher Third year Holds team records for victories in a season (30 in 1979) and career (52), and for season batting average (.536 in 1979) Co-player of the year for 1979 divisional champs Most valuable player in last year's APSPL World Series Teaches and coaches varsity basketball at Greece Athena Graduate of Jamestown High School, Ithaca College Pete Castle Right fielder Fourth year One of four original Rochester Zeniths from Mazzola-Castle's 1977 USSSA amateur world champs Durability has allowed him to set career records for at-bats (563), hits (263) and RBI (162) Best season was 1978 17 HR, 59 RBI, .492 Former Cardinal Mooney High School, St Edwards University baseball player drafted by Pittsburgh Pirates in 1969 and 1970 Rich Brown Right-center fielder Third year Leadoff batter Led league in hitting (495), triples (11) last season All-pro and league MVP runner-up last season Holds team career record for triples (19) and season records for at-bats (220 in 1979) and hits (107 in 1980) Rush-Henrietta High School, Huntingdon College Career totals: three homers, 62 RBI, .450 average.

Mike Nally First baseman Rookie Amateur team: Rochester Rockets fast-pitch Led Miller Upstate Classic Fast-Pitch League in batting with .480 average in 1980 Has played slow-pitch in tavern leagues Bishop Kearney High School health and driver education teacher, assistant football and baseball coach Lives in Chili Graduate of Aquinas Institute, Jacksonville University. Billy DeMars Left-center fielder Third year Amateur team: Pace Electronics Branch manager for Marine Midland Bank Lives in Irondequoit Irondequoit High School, Canisius College Drafted by Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates in baseball and by Buffalo Braves in basketball Son of Philadelphia Phillies coach, former Rochester Manager Billy DeMars Pitcher Another who has been with team from its birth aa Mazzola-Castle world champs Co-player of the year in 1978 (16-22 pitching and .447 batting for last-place team) Player-manager of 1979 Eastern Division champs and part of 1980 Co-owner in 1980 Gates-Chili girls' Softball coach and University of Rochester assistant basketball coach Shortstop Rookie 22 years old, 5-11, 175 pounds Played baseball for Rush-Henrietta and one fall season at Monroe Community College before transfering to Nazareth Last amateur team: Crest Lounge Started playing slow-pitchat age 16 Considered a good glove man who needs work on his hitting Stepped into starting position vacated when Andy Santillo retired and Tom Bianco moved Ff4C $3 pNp ffi' yt ci John Warren Dale Sturm Infielder Second year Amateur teams: State Farm Insurance, Gubiotti Insurance Stuck with Express after last year's pre-season tryouts 29-year-old Edison Tech graduate, where he was Ralph Piccinino's baseball teammate Works for Kodak. Don Schwartz Outfielder-designated hitter 30-year-old rookie Hornell High School and Alfred Tech graduate, made hour-and-a-half drive from Hornell for tryouts and made a big impression Supervises bowling lanes at Alfred Tech Played amateur slow-pitch in Hornell. Ralph Piccinino Left fielder Second year Long considered one of the area's top defensive players during his amateur career with Pace Electronics and Wintonaire A singles hitter still learning to hit in pro softball 28-year-old Edison Tech graduate, works at Kodak Career totals: no HR, six RBI, .305. Bob Schuster Catcher Second year Tied Kentucky's Bill Gatti for league lead with 21 HR in 1980 Uncertain whether he'd return this season because of out-of-state job offers Also possible pro football prospect after record-breaking career as quarterback at Livonia Central School and Alfred University.

Steve Re Designated hitter-infielder Second year Amateur team: Wintonaire After a slow start, he came alive to finish with 11 HR, 49 RBI and a .354 average last year Came into his own during APSPL World Series, when he led the team with five HR, drove in nine runs and batted .444 East High School graduate Receiving clerk at Genesee Hospital Lives in Rochester. Tom Zaccardo Third baseman .2 Fourth year Joined team late in 1978 season Has improved batting average and RBI total with increased playing time each year Led team with 10 RBI and batted .500 in last year's World Series Amateur with Pace Electronics, Wintonaire Physical education teacher in West Irondequoit Lives in Greece Eastridge High School, Niagara University Pitchercoach year Moved from Mazzola-Castle world amateur champs to pros as coach and emergency replacement Finished 1978 as manager and had an 18-25 record with a team that had been 4-16 under Joe Nucci Driversalesman for Pepsi-Cola Lives in Rochester Edison Technical High School, Monroe Community College Rick Page Second baseman Fourth year Mazzola-Castle player still with Express Co-player of the year in 1978 and 1979, but limited to 15 at-bats last year because of torn cartilage in left knee, pulled right hamstring Holds team season records for runs (89), doubles (15), triples (11), homers (24) and RBI (95) all set in 1978, when he was all-pro Played in 1979 all-star game EXPRESS League's loaded with champions Cincinnati Sports Pittsburgh Hardhats: Finished second during the regular season (44-19), lost to the Express in the World Series. Stuck in the wrong division. Don Fazio From Page ID about hitting as well as fielding." It was as a fielder that Fazio made his mark in baseball. In his Henrietta home, he displays the Silver Glove he won as the minors' best-fielding third baseman.

"I emphasize fundamentals," he said. "After I played in my first series for the Express against Louisville, I was wondering what in the world our team was doing in a league like this. We were overmatched. The next week they wanted me to be the manager. "Last year, I employed a lot of baseball strategy.

We had players who really didn't know what to do. We learned the importance of hitting the cutoff man, studying the hitters, learning how to play them, how to cheat to one field or another against them. "The big thing was giving the- players confidence in themselves. I always teach aggressive play. To me, the aggressor is always the winner.

"Tom Zaccardo, he's my pet I think I made him a believer. He thought I knew everything about everything. Whenever I told him something, he'd try it and it worked." Zaccardo may be the manager's pet, but that doesn't spare him from being taught potentially embarrassing lessons. Near the end of Saturday's intrasquad scrim- AWARD ni tir MSSianJ PROGRAM By LARY BUMP D4C Sportswrittr In the 1981 American Professional Slo-Pitch League, much of the big pre-season talk isn't idle boasting. Three of the APSPL's eight softball teams are returning champions.

The Rochester Express won the APSPL World Series in 1980. The Kentucky Bourbons were the regular-season champs. And the 1979 champion, the Milwaukee Schlitz, is returning to the APSPL after winning the title in Ted Stepien's defunct North American Softball League last season. That's not all the contenders. "You want a sleeper?" Express Player-Manager Don Fazio asks? "Cincinnati." Owners John Korinek of Milwaukee and Carl Grande of the New England Pilgrims concurred.

"They have a whole cast of new players," Grande said, "the best amateurs in Cincinnati. They have the best ballclub out there in that division." "Cincinnati and Pittsburgh had teams in both leagues last year. They'll be a lot stronger," Korinek said. This is the APSPL's fifth season. What was a six-team, one-division league last year is an eight-team, two-division set-up this season.

That's good news for the Express because Kentucky and Pittsburgh, the teams that finished ahead of Rochester in the regular season last year, and Milwaukee and Cincinnati, are in the Midwest Division. The Express is in the East Division. The top three teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs, with the first-place teams drawing first-round byes. After two best-of-five rounds, the survivors will meet in the best-of-nine World Series. Predicted order of finish: East Division Rochester Express: Regular season last year 30-34.

Bob Schuster tied for league lead in home runs; Rich Brown led league in batting South Jersey Athletics: Finished sixth (21-43) as Philadelphia, moved to Berlin, N.J. Defense improved over last season, when team lost 24 one-run games New England Pilgrims: Finished fourth (27-37), lost three straight to the Express in the semifinals. "If there are any soft touches in the league, it will be us and Syracuse," Grande said Syracuse Salts: Expansion team. Midwest Division Milwaukee Schlitz: Won NASL title. Signed all-pros Dennis Graser and Buddy Haines yesterday Kentucky Bourbons: 48-16, lost to Pittsburgh in the semifinals, 3-2.

Co-home run leader Bill Gatti is back. Cincinnati Suds: Finished fifth (22-40). Signed top amateur players from Greater directory This is your chance to help us thank those thoughtful teen-agers. You know the kind of young people-we mean. The ones who volunteer their time and talents to help others.

The teen-r agers who care and share. The ones who reach out in a warm and loving way and set an example for all of us. We are counting on friends neighbors, parents and others to tell us about high school juniors and seniors within the Democrat and Chronicle delivery area who really care and unselfishly help others. Please use the form below to nominate a high school junior or senior you, feel deserves a Youth Cares Award. Local winners will be selected by a Youth Cares committee at each high school.

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATION IS MAY 20th. mages, the left-handed-hitting Zaccardo stepped up in the right-handed batter's box. When it came time for him to take the field, Fazio replaced him. "He was telling me that he didn't want to work on his hitting any more that day," Fazio explained, "so I was telling him we could put somebody else in his place in the field." Fazio said he is a pessimist, but he's very optimistic about this season. He has been ever since last year.

And Fazio knows how to exploit a psychological advantage. "I have this thing where I come on to the field before a game and call over to the other team, 'Here we come, here we come, When we were playing Pittsburgh even when we were down, 4-2 their pitcher, John Paul, was warming up and I yelled, 'Here we come, here we come, John He turned to look and you could see that look on his face like he wasn't sure they would win." Here's the Express' lineup that will come at Syracuse for Saturday's first game of a 7:30 p.m. doubleheader: Rich Brown, right-center field; Zaccardo, third base; Page, second base; Pete Castle, right field; Steve Re, designated hitter; Bob Schuster, catcher; Billy DeMars, left-center field; Don Brown, pitcher; Nally, first base; Ralph Piccinino, left field; Bruce Bell, shortstop It's also the prototype of Piacentino's ideal APSPL lineup. "You need about four or five juicers and the rest singles hitters," he said. "Ricky Page, I think he's the premier left-handed hitter in the league.

Schuster can hit the ball. It took that kid a good year to learn how, and he could hit a lot more home runs (his 21 tied for the league lead in 1980) because of that ballpark there. "If you want to use a prototype of the ideal player in this league, it would be Richie Brown with a little more power." Fazio has sold his players and his opponents on his team. Now the manager even has sold himself on his talent He's saying, "Here we come, here we come." ADDRESS: 214 Filon Rochester 14622; telephone 266-1025. STADIUM: Softball Centre, Union Street, Scottsville (seating capacity telephone 889-3060; Silver Stadium, 500 Norton Rochester (capacity telephone 467-3000.

LEAGUE: American Professional Slo-Pitch League, Eastern Division. TEAM OFFICIALS: Andy Yazwintki, owner; Don Fazio, manager; John Warren, coach; Frank Goodrich, trainer. TICKET INFORMATION: Adults $3, youths (high school age and below) and senior citizens $1. Available at Express office, Softball I Centre, Gauss Sporting Goods, Ruby's Sport-Mng Goods, Sports Specialties. Twenty-five-cent discount for advance sales.

SEASON TICKETS: Adults $30, youths and senior citizens $5. SPECIAL TICKETS: Ten-date packages: adults $25, youths and senior citizens $4. Discount plans available for groups of 25-500 youths or adults. RADIO-TELEVISION: none. .1.

I I Nomination Form 'carer I I nominate ATLANTIC CITY DFUtl $8995: express schedule grsdt tnd tcttool tttmdiitg (mutt to junior tr unior) tor the Gannett Rochester Youth Cares Award indicated by (S), at Silver Stadium. Game times: 7:30 p.m. Away i'For 'For $89.95 because dHCriplion of tfrvfc to you get all this: Home Mividml, roup, tact' community Round trip non-stop jet irantportAtion from Rochester to Atlantic City via Intercontinental Atrway DC-B. FREE transportation to and from the Casino. Ten hours of Casino action where you can challenge your luck and return the same night.

Deport! Monraa County Airpart oppriimoteJy 9:00 am end ratumt from Atlantic Oty appmimorory 11:00 pm For reservations and information call our toll free Expressline (800)257-8524 or locally, 716-544-9596. may includt nt 1x11 furttMf inscription yautti 'I Mrvfca to tort) 1 May May 24-25 Pittsburgh 16-17 Syracuse 27 Syracuse 22-23 Cincinnati 29-30 South Jersey June June 5-6 New England 20-21 Milwaukee 7 South Jersey 26-27 New England July 28 South Jersey 10-11 South Jersey July 22 Syracuse (S) 18-19 New England 24-25 Kentucky (S) 31 Syracuse August August 7 Syracuse 1 Syracuse 14-15 New England 9 Syracuse Visa and Master Card accepted. AND Ul SUftCMftftOE tifnttun Th next aMmpaM Cine Iiprtst I flights leave Oddrtit Monroe County Airport Moy 19th, gyh dty it Send to Youth Cares Committee at the high school your nominee attends I I BALLY'S PARK PLACE 1 Tour operated by Atlantic City Group Services 161 Pacific Avt. Suit 714, Atlantic City, N.J. 0S401 (609) 548 I CASINO HOTEL I All dates are double-headers.

Games at Softball Centre except those.