DIVISION III Zembillas cousins rescue Campbell

The Red Devils needed eight innings to defeat Lisbon.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- The lineup card calls both players the same name -- Anthony Zembillas.
Their family calls them cousins.
Now the fans of the Campbell Memorial baseball team can call the pair "heroes."
With no outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, sophomore Anthony T. Zembillas singled to right field, scoring junior Anthony S. Zembillas with the winning run, as Campbell Memorial beat Lisbon 8-7 in a Division III district semifinal game at Cene Park Monday.
"I felt good; I just wanted to get a hit and win the game for my team," Anthony T. Zembillas said.
Anthony S. Zembillas walked to open the eighth and stole second base, then Mark Such walked.
With a 2-2 count, Anthony T. Zembillas delivered the hit that gave the Red Devils (13-7-1) their largest comeback win of the season.
"I knew my team could fight back and win this," said Anthony T. Zembillas of the 6-0 deficit.
Campbell coach Wayne Zetts said, "The young man [Anthony T.] Zembillas and the other one -- his cousin -- that's who's been carrying us the last two weeks."
Big lead squandered
Lisbon (15-8) led 6-0 after two innings and a 375-foot homer by Nick Schnader put the Blue Devils ahead 7-2 after five innings.
However, Lisbon starter Jay Yorty was beginning to tire and Campbell's Jason Metzka (7-1) was just starting to warm up.
In the five-run sixth inning, Anthony S. Zembillas' bases-loaded double knotted the score at 7. He also singled in the first.
Campbell drew 12 walks in the game, including eight in the final three innings.
"We just didn't put the ball across the plate," Lisbon coach Ron Witman said. "We just walked too many men. When you continue to walk people and the strike zone gets smaller, you have to put it down there and they're going to hit it."
Late rally
Campbell nearly won the game in the seventh when the Red Devils loaded the bases on a hit batter and two walks.
Meanwhile, Metzka shook off his early problems and struck out 14, including the last six men he faced.
"He just got stronger as the game went on," Witman said of Metzka. "Once he got his control, other than the one hit for the home run, he basically shut us down."
Metzka retired 19 of the final 21 batters he faced.
"It was 6-0 and we got guys in scoring position," Zetts said. "We were just smart enough probably to stay off the pitches."
And fortunate enough to have the cousins to pull them through.
sullivan@vindy.com