YORK – Ken Kulina wasn’t about to put up the stop sign.
Not with his resourceful Lower Dauphin baseball club belly-button deep in a scoreless duel with a quality Exeter side that was matching Kulina’s Falcons pitch for pitch and out for out as pressure continued to mount.
So with Kaylor Kulina perched at second base with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning – Kaylor Kulina is Ken Kulina’s junior son – the green light was flashing brightly as soon as Deon Stafford drilled a hard grounder to second.
And when Derrick Jackson was unable to come up with Stafford’s shot cleanly – allowing LD’s quick junior catcher to beat the throw to first – Kulina was already around third, heading for home and about to score rather easily.
Kulina’s burst on the basepaths turned out to be critically important – and Stafford’s, too – since that was the only run either side managed to manufacture in Thursday night’s District 3-AAAA title game at Sovereign Bank Stadium.
Not only did Kulina’s run gave the Falcons (19-5-1) a 1-0 victory and their first district title since 2005, but that timely marker also provided the only score senior righty Marshal Kiessling needed to best the Berks County Eagles (17-8).
Kiessling limited Exeter to two hits, fanned nine and hit two batters in a splendid 85-pitch effort that propelled Kulina’s ballclub into a PIAA Class AAAA matchup with District 1-AAAA rep Council Rock North Monday at Wenger Field.
“We were squaring balls up all night,” Kaylor Kulina said.
“I thought we hit it pretty well, just right at people, so we knew that eventually something was going to fall and something was going to happen. Marty was pitching a heck of a game out there, so we just knew we had to get a couple because we knew they weren’t going to get a whole lot.”
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Exeter righty Ben Bortz was equally effective, conceding a mere four hits, an unearned run and striking out a pair while needing just 66 pitches to wheel through six frames.
Only Kulina, who wound up 2-for-3, nicked him more than once.
Exeter also will advance to states, meeting District 2-AAAA champ Wyoming Valley West on Monday at a site in northeastern Pennsylvania.
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Scoreless into the sixth inning, Bortz appeared poised to tack up yet another zero until Kaylor Kulina ripped a 2-1 delivery into the left-center gap for a double. And after Kiessling was plunked by Bortz with an 0-1 pitch, Stafford strode to the plate and dug in.
Moments later, Stafford hammered a grounder to second that handcuffed Jackson. And by the time the Exeter junior was able to get his hand on the ball and uncork a throw, Stafford was crossing first base to keep the inning alive.
Kulina, at least halfway between third and home when Jackson’s throw finally reached first baseman Scott Galbraith, was steaming toward the plate with what turned out to be the game-winning run.
“I was just lucky enough to get on base and once I got on second I just knew that anything put in play I was looking four the whole way,” Kulina said.
“And hopefully it was hit through the infield, but I knew I was getting four the whole way. I just busted my butt to get there as quick as I could.”
“Over here, he was going,” Ken Kulina recalled. “He was going. He was going with two outs and he gets good secondary leads so he was going.”
“Game like that, we just needed something.”
LD also needed something from Stafford, who possesses terrific wheels for a catcher. And that speed certainly came in handy.
“My approach was to hit the ball wherever it was pitched,” Stafford said.
“As soon as I saw I hit it hard, you never know what can happen especially in high school baseball, and he was a very good second baseman so I just sprinted my butt off as soon as I saw it was a ground ball,” Stafford added.
“Definitely,” Kulina cracked. “I knew if he put it in play, he’d bust his butt to get there as well so I figured I had to do the same thing.”
“Deon runs well,” Ken Kulina said. “I was just hoping we could get him to use it. Keep the ball out of the air and get the ball on the ground.
“Game like that, it’s going to happen. There’s going to be a mistake. Fortunately for us, we were on the better end.”
Remarkably, Kulina and courtesy runner Drew Patterson (who ran for Kiessling in the sixth) were the only Falcons to get as far as second base or beyond all game – and both accomplished that feat in the decisive sixth.
And given a 1-0 lead – which was absolutely huge under the circumstances – Kiessling retired the Eagles 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh. Fittingly, the last two outs were recorded on ground balls to Kulina at short.
Moments later, gloves were flung into the air and players bounced excitedly out of the third-base dugout as the Falcons celebrated.
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Even a particular father and son – both sporting Falcon blue – took a moment to share a hug near the same third-base line that played a critical role in LD’s dramatic victory only a few anxious moments before.
“It’s awesome,” Kaylor Kulina said. “For as many years as I’ve been around this program – and I’ve been around it since I’ve been able to walk – all I’ve wanted was a District 3 title. I watched them win it in 2005, so for me and my dad there’s nothing else I’ve wanted more. It means the world to me.
“I love it. Nothing better, I’ll tell you.”
MICHAEL BULLOCK:mbullock@pennlive.com
BULLOCK ON TWITTER: @thebullp_n