Bethlehem, PA — Written by Keith Groller of The Morning Call The solar eclipse that happened Monday was described as a once-in-a-generation type of event for those fortunate enough to see through the clouds and actually see the moon block out the sun for a few minutes. It was fitting that the solar eclipse fell on Mark Benetsky Day in Bethlehem because the longtime Liberty assistant baseball coach was also a once-in-a-generation type of person. Benetsky, who died in February at the age of 75, was honored in a pregame ceremony prior to Monday’s Easton-Liberty Eastern Pennsylvania Conference game. A game that began in a special way, also ended with one as the Hurricanes blanked the Red Rovers 2-0 on a combined no-hitter. Senior star Noah Gyauch-Quirk worked the first six innings, striking out 15. Junior Michael Mariano Jr., came on to get the last three outs with little drama. The final out was a routine fly ball to center caught by Braylen Gonzalez. Gyauch-Quirk, a Lehigh commit, loved being around Benetsky as did all Hurricanes players and coaches. It followed a well-executed ceremony with a finely tuned performance that featured 97 pitches, 64 for strikes. He walked just three. “That pregame ceremony reminded me of just how much he meant to this team,” Gyauch-Quirk said. “His sense of humor was great. We’d come to practice every day and he’d make us smile and lifted the energy of the team.” Gyauch-Quirk said all of his pitches were working. “I was able to throw them in any count for strikes and I was being efficient and kept my pitch count low,” he said. “This is the longest I’ve gone this season and the most amount of pitches I’ve thrown. Over the offseason, I took the time to get stronger in the weight room and focused on my nutrition and all of the aspects to become a better baseball player.” Gyauch-Quirk said he just wanted to throw strikes and help get the team a win because “we’ve been through a rough stretch.” Liberty had lost three of its last four games, including an 8-2 loss to Hazleton in a rare Sunday game. The Hurricanes are now 5-3, 5-1 EPC, while Easton, playing for the first time since March 25, fell to 2-2 both league and overall. “Coach Benetsky would have just told us to keep going, keep going … that’s what he told every single one of us,” said Gyauch-Quirk, who also had two of his team’s four hits, including a double, and scored a run. Liberty coach Andy Pitsilos said it was a special day that would have Benetsky “looking down and smiling right now.” “It was great to have his family here and we’ve put this together over a long time and it worked out nice,” he said. “It was nice to see a lot of alumnus here and a lot of people who knew him. He would loved the pitching performance. He might have been disappointed we got out of the way of some pitches, though. He would have said ‘Take the pain’ or ‘Take the ball on the elbow.’ That was Coach.” It was the kind of day that even the losing felt some positive vibes from. While the Red Rovers wore camouflage jerseys to pay tribute to Benetsky’s military service in the Vietnam War, the Hurricanes all wore jerseys bearing Benetsky’s name on the back “Mark used to say that we play for the name on the front of our jerseys, but today we play for the name on our backs, too,” said Liberty athletic director Fred Harris at the close of the 15-minute ceremony that also featured Megan Benetsky, his daughter, throwing out the first pitch. Ironically, the first pitch was dropped by Benetsky’s close friend George Pitsilos, a Blue Mountain League Hall of Famer and the father of the Liberty head coach. Those who know Benetsky know that he probably would have razzed Pitsilos for dropping the ball. “If he picked on you that means he liked you,” Megan Benetsky said. A bagpiper played Amazing Grace and Taps in Benetsky’s honor as the U.S, flag and the U.S. Marines Corps flag were presented. One of the biggest non-playoff crowds to watch local high school baseball was on hand. The famous Tom Hanks line in “A League of Their Own,” about there not being any crying in baseball was never less true as emotions overflowed. It wasn’t just emotional on the Liberty side of the field, but also in the Easton dugout. Red Rovers coaches Greg Hess and Carm LaDuca were among Benetsky’s best friends in baseball. “I’m gonna miss my buddy,” said Hess with tears coming down his face. “I think Liberty did this ceremony first-class. Mark meant a lot to us. We used to visit him all the time and it wasn’t just during baseball. We talked in the winter, we talked in the fall. He meant a lot to both me and Carm and I’m just glad they included us in this ceremony.” LaDuca said that when Easton arrived at Liberty for games, Benetsky was the first one to greet the team. “As soon as we walked up the driveway from our bus to our dugout he would immediately come over and give you a hug,” LaDuca said. “There was none like him. He will be missed.” In his presentation, Harris said Benetsky was one of his favorite people. “A few words that come to mind when we think of Mark … coach, mentor, friend, corn nuts, sunflower seeds, bubble gum, hot dogs, chicken wings, advice, opinions and life lessons sprinkled in with the flair of a matter-of-factness from a man who had been there and done that, often the hard way,” Harris said. “Mark always let you know that he was fiercely loyal to his Northampton and West Bethlehem communities. He was loyal to his family, his friends and every kid in Bethlehem that he coached. He loved this game of baseball for sure, but that’s not why he was here at Liberty. He came because of the relationships he built with all of us, each and everyone of us are better people for having interacted in some way with Mark.” Harris added that he learned more of what it was like growing up in the 1960s from Benetsky than “any news article or history book could have taught me. I also gained much of my perspective of the Vietnam War from Mark. Each day in the spring he’d arrive at Liberty at 2:15 and he’d stop by my office and a conversation ensued that usually started with a question and it ended with a tidbit from the past and a piece of Benetsky wisdom that only he could share.” In reading a proclamation proclaiming it “Mark Benetsky Day,” Bethlehem Mayor Willie Reynolds, a Liberty graduate and former athlete, said: “One of the lessons Mark taught all of us is that you don’t need to be the shortstop or the pitcher to contribute to the success we have here in Bethlehem. People ask me a lot why Bethlehem is such a special place and it’s because we have people like Mark.” Megan Benetsky, a 2004 graduate, was appreciative of what the teams and Liberty administration did to honor her father. “One thing my dad always told me is that you get out of something exactly what you put in,” she said. “In looking around today, it’s really clear how much my dad put in.” She had to leave the Lehigh Valley for a job with the U.S. Census Bureau in Arlington, Virginia, but her dad kept her informed of the baseball team’s success. “Every year he came to me and said ‘Hey Meg, we’ve got a great bunch of kids this year,’ and I would ask him if they were going to go all the way,” she said. “He would say ‘maybe, but they are really a great bunch of kids.’ I want you to know that. He thought you were great. He was here for you guys. He wanted to help. He wanted to mold you guys.”