Gilbertsville uses big frame to win

By Lori Shontz
Of The Morning Call


Mike Moyer called it before the inning even started.

"Hey, let's bat around this inning," he said as he jogged out to coach third base.

Meanwhile, on the bench, Kevin Mackey, Jeff Chillot and Chris Ludy turned their caps inside out. It was, after all, the sixth inning. With Gilbertsville down 4-1 to the Allentown Angels, it was time for the "rally caps."

Moyer and Chillot each singled in two runs that inning as Gilbertsville beat Allentown, 7-4, to grab the lead in the best-of-three Tri-County League semifinal last evening.

Because of darkness, the teams played only six innings.

Eleven Gilbertsville players batted in the six-run inning, but no one thought Moyer's prediction had anything to do with it.

"I wish it was that easy," Moyer said, laughing.

"We were worried this game," manager and shortstop Ryan Fox said. "We weren't live, we were reaching. But we came through when it counted; we knew we could hit."

Actually, hits had little to do with the big inning. Allentown pitchers issued four consecutive walks and made one error. Gilbertsville scored the six runs on three singles.

Tom Troutman dropped down a bunt single to start the rally and end the day for Allentown starter Mike Witkowski, who pulled a back muscle trying to field it. Witkowski walked the next batter, then left the game.

"I didn't want to foul things up," said Witkowski, who gave up only three hits.

Bobby Kern relieved him and walked each of the three batters he faced. He left the game after giving up one run and loading the bases. Third baseman Dave Lutte took the mound because Allentown had no pitchers remaining except today's starter.

"I was the only one who thought I could pitch," Lutte said.

Moyer singled up the middle to drive in two runs and give Gilbertsville the lead, 5-4.

"The last thing I wanted to do was strike out," Moyer said. "I took a pitch to get used to him (Lutte). It was over the top and didn't have any movement. The next one was a curve that didn't break much, so I knew I could hit him. I hit the next one up the middle."

Then Pete Kurtz bunted and pitcher Lutte bobbled the ball, loading the bases again. This time Chillot smacked a single up the middle for two more runs.

"I got peppered," Lutte said.

Some of the Angels blamed the umpire as much as the pitching for Kern's walks. The umpire warned the players who had been heckling him for missing balls and strikes in the bottom of the sixth inning. Lutte said that although the umpire called a "fair game," close pitches were strikes for Witkowski and him but balls for Kern.

"That was the game, right there," Lutte said.

Lutte gave the Angels a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run home run to right-center. In the second, designated hitter Chad Miller hit a two- run homer, this one just barely making it over the left field fence.

Pitcher Ludy then settled down and struck out three of the four batters he faced in the final inning.

"He thought he could blow them by us at the start but after we started hitting he mixed up his pitches better," Miller said.

"Chris gets stronger as the game goes on," Fox said. "He's gotten hit in the first few innings a lot, but he keeps us close and we can hit the ball." The second game of the series will be played at 6 tonight at Gilbertsville.



  

From The Morning Call -- August 16, 1989

Copyright © 1989, The Morning Call