Dakota Schiffer made sure that Fullerton was going to get a seat at the Lehigh Valley Legion Baseball League playoff table.

Fullerton played host to Salisbury last Wednesday in a game that was to determine who would make the LVLBL playoffs. The winner would advance into the round of eight for a chance at the title.

Schiffer has been the Ramblers most consistent pitcher this season. He has a sub 2.00 ERA, but more importantly, he's the guy who manager Daniel Delp wants on the mound in a must-win situation.

"He always pitches well for us," said Delp. "He's our workhorse."

That workhorse moniker was evident when Schiffer was called upon to pitch nine innings recently, helping Fullerton get into the play-in game. That fierce competitive streak is what landed him on the bump against Salisbury.

"There was no doubt in my mind that he was on the mound today in a must-win game," said Delp. "He's always been my go-to pitcher in a game where we absolutely have to win."

Schiffer's performance validated that confidence. He went the distance in the Ramblers 5-2 win, propelling them into the playoffs.

"He did well," said Delp. "He moves the ball around a lot. He had good command of his pitches, and he gets a lot of pop flies and ground balls back to the mound."

Delp also said that Schiffer's notorious for breaking hitters' bats, noting he's had about 18 broken bats over the last two years.

After suffering two unearned runs in the first inning, the Catty product settled in, shutting the door on Salisbury, eliminating them from the postseason.

Schiffer said that the road to the play-in game was about focusing on each game as it came, just concentrating on the task at hand.

"We knew we had to come out and play hard every day and pick up as many wins as we can to put ourselves in the best position," said Schiffer. "We barely squeaked in, but we're in so we now have a chance."

Schiffer faced Salisbury earlier in the season, and he said the key to winning was simply throwing strikes.

"I wanted to establish the strike zone early," said Schiffer. "If you get up on them early, it makes it a lot easier on yourself as a pitcher."

While he was put in an early hole, he said it's important to block out what's going on around you and just concentrate on the batter and throw strikes.

"If you're pounding the strike zone, it's up to the guys behind you at that point," he said.

Schiffer had to work out of a crucial jam in the top of the fifth inning. He had runners at second and third and Jonathan Benitez at the plate. Benitez was one of Salisbury's better hitters this season, batting .273. Schiffer knew he had to bear down in that situation.

"I love those at-bats," said Schiffer. "Those are my favorite situations when you have guys in scoring position, and it comes down where you can possibly give up a lead; I love that situation because you're most zoned in at that point."

Delp said that Schiffer had good success against the bottom third of their order, thanks in part to Jeff Buskirk who serves as the team's statistician. Buskirk will look at what batters have previously done against Schiffer so they can adjust their defensive alignment. That came into sharp focus when the right fielder barely had to move on a couple of hard hit balls to the outfield.

The big blow came off the bat of Alex Bruneio who laced a double that scored two runs, giving them the lead they would never relinquish.

"He is a rising junior at Whitehall," said Delp. "He really got into one."

In the opening round of the LVLBL playoffs, Fullerton met South Parkland, the second seed, in a game that needed two days to decide the outcome. When play resumed last Friday, South Parkland's Tyler Bruno delivered the game-winning RBI, giving the Trojans a 3-2 win. In the double-elimination tourney, Fullerton went into the loser's bracket, finding themselves in another must win situation against Emmaus on Saturday, a game they won 4-2.