Gilbertsville ousts Limeport in Tri-Co

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call


Todd Slonaker is happy that there's no strike in the Tri-County Baseball League. He and the rest of his Gilbertsville buddies are having too much fun to stop now.

Perhaps only a player walkout, such as the one set to begin today in the majors, could stop Slonaker and Co. these days as last night Gilbertsville won its 17th game in a row and 21st in its last 22 by defeating Limeport 6-3 to wrap up a Tri-County semifinal series two games to none.

Gilbertsville, which claimed the regular season crown last week, will meet either Upper Perkiomen or Coplay in a best-of-three series for the post-season title, beginning later this week. Upper Perk defeated Coplay 6-5 last night to knot that semifinal series at a game apiece.

"It doesn't matter who we play, we're just on a roll right now," said Slonaker, whose team moved to 27-4 overall. "We just do enough things right to get the job done. Like tonight . . . we didn't get a lot of hits. But the hits we got were big ones and we were able to pull it out."

Gilbertsville got several of its "big ones" in the first inning. Diminutive Brian Gilbert opened the game with his first home run of the season - a blast over the 345-foot sign in left - and Bill Sassaman followed with a triple to right. Scott Gilbert then hit a fly ball to right, scoring Sassaman and Jeff Evans doubled.

But Evans was stranded at second as Limeport starter Mike Witkowski finally settled down and escaped further damage.

"We saw Witkowski before, so we knew what to expect and fortunately, we were able to get the jump on him early," said Brian Gilbert, who has been with Gilbertsville ever since the team joined the league five years ago. "He was getting behind the hitters and had to come in with good pitches. I hit a high fastball for my homer."

After the rocky first, Witkowski only gave up one hit over the next four innings. Then in the sixth, Scott Gilbert walked and Jeff Evans followed with a long home run into the cornfield beyond the leftfield fence. Witkowski was removed after Keith Endy tripled and reliever Bill Fatzinger gave up a bloop single to Derrick Acker to make it 5-0.

Meanwhile, Gilbertsville starter Lew Chillot battled control problems, but still took a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth when Limeport came to life. Herb Hemerly and Bob Sedler singled to left and after Chillot was replaced by Rolland Green, John Szalachowski walked, Bob Zeky singled to left for one run and Fatzinger and Jim Schaffer both walked to force in runs and close the gap to 5-3.

Kevin Mackey relieved Green with the bases loaded and promptly picked off Fatzinger at second and retired Dale Weiss on a long flyout to center to get out of the jam.

"That pick-off play in the bottom of the sixth may have been the key to the game," said second baseman Brian Gilbert, who applied the tag on Fatzinger at second. "It's a timing play we work on quite a bit. You just have to catch him leaning the wrong way at the right time. He (Bill Fatzinger) was also hobbled by a leg injury and that might have slowed him down in trying to get back."

Gilbertsville added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on an error and Mackey set down the side in order in the bottom half of the inning to close out Limeport's season.

"It's tough to lose, but I just have to salute my guys for a helluva season," said Ishky Fatzinger, Limeport's gritty player- manager, whose club finished at 21-11 overall. "We had to overcome so many injuries that it's amazing we even got this far. Over the entire season, eight or nine players were sidelined. We never had our starting team entirely healthy, yet we battled to the end."

*In the other Tri-Co semifinal series, Upper Perk held off a Coplay rally for a 6-5 win last night, which sets up a third and deciding game at 8:15 p.m. today in Coplay.

Upper Perk scored of its runs in the first two innings, getting five runs in the bottom of the first and adding a single tally in the second for an early 6-0 lead. Mike Svanson drove in two first inning runs with a double, and Joe Ricapito, Todd Swenk, and Keith Leamer each drove in single runs. Swenk hit a sacrifice fly in the second to drive home Pete Hoff, who had doubled.

Coplay battled back with runs in the fourth and fifth to cut Upper Perk's lead to 6-2. Coplay added three more in the sixth, on Steve Weidener's sacrifice fly and Jeff Snyder's two-run single, but winning pitcher Craig Kriebel closed the door to register the complete game victory.

Svanson was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and Leamer was 2-for-2 for Upper Perk. Coplay's Randy Remaly went      3-for-4 in a losing cause.



keith.groller@mcall.com

From The Morning Call -- August 6, 1985

Copyright © 1985, The Morning Call