Gabelsville shuts out Cetronia

The Tri-County League best-of-5 semifinal series is tied at two games each.


By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call

 

Tri-County League baseball teams know that beating Gabelsville at Gabelsville three times in eight years is hard to do.

In order to make the Tri-Co finals, Cetronia must win at Gabelsville for the third time in eight days.

That's the situation the Longhorns face after Gabelsville erupted for an 8-0 win Wednesday night at the Cedarbrook Complex.

Tim Bausher tossed a two-hitter, and Greg Miller blasted a three- run home run to help the Owls tie the best-of-5 semifinal series at two games apiece.

The fifth and deciding game will be played at 5:45 tonight at Gabelsville with the winner meeting South Whitehall on Saturday in Game 1 of the title series.

Last Thursday, Cetronia won at Gabelsville 7-5 in Game 1 of the series and then had a happy ride home on Route 100 Sunday night after posting a 16-2 Game 3 win.

"We're just going to have to go down there and win again," said Cetronia player/Manager George Horn. "We're 2-0 there, and Gabelsville is 2-0 here. I'm just disappointed we were very flat tonight. You shouldn't be flat at this time of year. They should have been ready to play and all fired up. Nothing I could do or say would change it."

Gabelsville (30-6) sent a message that it wasn't about to roll over in the first inning when it scored four runs. Two errors set the inning in motion with the big blow being Miller's three-run blast to left.

"It was important for us to come out strong," said Gabelsville Manager Mike "Doc" Moyer. "We've been playing from behind the whole series, so it was nice to see if they could play from behind for a change."

Buried in a deep early hole, Cetronia (22-17) never stirred.

Meanwhile, Gabelsville kept chipping away against Longhorn hurler Steve Graff.

Greg Gilbert ripped an RBI double in the second and an RBI single in the fifth. Jeff Evans powered a towering home run to left in the fifth.

Bausher, a 1997 Boyertown High grad who had some mechanical problems as a freshman last spring at Kutztown, was throwing hard and spotting his pitches well.

"When we first got here it didn't look like they were up for the game," said Bausher, whose brother, Andy, is pitching for the Pirates' Class A affiliate in Augusta, Ga. "It didn't seem like they were excited about playing, and then we came out and got four runs right away. That gave me confidence.

"I just wanted to establish my curveball. Once you get your curveball over, it makes your fastball look a lot better. I could sneak the fastball by them."

Bausher struck out nine and walked two. He allowed only a second- inning single to Hassan DeJesus and a sixth-inning double to Jeremy Warmkessel.

"Timmy came out and shut them down, totally," Moyer said. "For being my No. 4 pitcher, he did one heck of a job. I can't ask for anything more. Hopefully, we'll get another performance like that (tonight)."

Moyer said he will either start Bob Drumbore or Shawn Betz. Cetronia will counter with either Jon DiBonaventura or Mark Steckel.

"We're not ready for the season to end; I would have been very disappointed if we rolled over and played dead tonight," said Moyer, whose team has won eight titles since 1984, but none since 1995.

"If we get good pitching and defense like we did tonight, we'll be right there," Bausher said. "It's good to be going back home. Hopefully, we'll clinch it there and then get ready for South Whitehall."



keith.groller@mcall.com

From The Morning Call -- August 13, 1998

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