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Limeport wins Tri-Co
title
Team earns first-round playoff bye
with 3-2 victory over Gabelsville.
By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call
Fireworks were shot off in center field at Limeport Stadium on Thursday
night after the hometown Bulls beat Gabelsville 3-2 for the Tri-County
League's regular-season title and a bye in the first round of the upcoming
playoffs.
If the
game was any indication of what's to come in the next three weeks, Tri-Co
baseball fans won't need fireworks to draw the oohs and aahs.
In the
perfect game to whet the appetite for the postseason, reliever Chad Arnold
got Neil Fox on a liner to right for the final out as Limeport edged the
Owls in the game and in the standings. The Bulls finished the season 27-3,
one game ahead of the defending champion Owls.
While
the Bulls get the bye, Gabelsville gets Stahley's in the first round. That
best-of-3 series begins at 5 p.m. Saturday in Berks County.
Other
series starters Saturday -- also at 5 p.m. -- include Cetronia at Tri-City
and Lehigh Township at ICC.
When the
dust settles, many expect it to be a Gabelsville- Limeport title series
rematch.
Based on
Thursday night's action, it would be a dandy series.
"We
always have fun playing these guys," said Owls skipper Mike "Doc" Moyer.
"They're a good team and we always play good games just like this one.."
"It
could be us two again in the finals," said Limeport Manager Scott
Heppenheimer. "What was nice about winning this one is that if we do get to
the finals and see them, we get the fifth game here."
The bye,
home-field edge and regular-season title are nice, but perhaps the most
important thing Limeport did Thursday was beat Gabelsville ace Shawn Betz
(6-1 with a 1.90 ERA at game's start).
Limeport
built confidence for future Betz battles with 11 hits.
"Betz is
a good pitcher," said third baseman Kevin Kershner, who had four Limeport
hits. "He has pretty much owned us in the past. He throws a lot of changeups
away and then comes in with a fastball. We just sat on the changeups."
Consecutive singles by Kershner, Glenn Kushma and Glenn Bubser scored
Limeport's first run. Pete Remaly's sacrifice fly plated the second run.
What
proved to be the game-winning run crossed in the fourth when John Vito and
Kershner singled ahead of Kushma's RBI double down the left-field line.
Winning
pitcher Pat Toner gave up a first-inning run and then was in command until
the seventh when an error and Dave Pence's long triple made it 3-2.
Toner
was pulled in favor of Arnold (5-1, 2.76 ERA), a hard- throwing lefty.
"I was
just trying to stay ahead in the count all night, throw strikes and let my
defense make the plays," said Toner. "But I was ready to come out after
Pence's hit, especially with a left-handed hitter up and Chad ready to go
for us."
Fox
nearly was out on a foul popup down the left-field line, but the ball was
dropped, giving him a second chance. He nearly made the most of it with a
shot to right, but Joe Pochron was there for the game-ending grab.
"We just
have to keep doing the things we've been doing," said Heppenheimer, whose
Bulls won't play until next Thursday. "We pitch, hit, field and get along.
We haven't had an argument all year long. It's a good group of guys."
Gabelsville 100 000 1 -- 2 5 3
Limeport 002 100 x -- 3 11 2
Betz and
Fox; Toner, Arnold (7) and Vito. W - Toner.
keith.groller@mcall.com
From The Morning Call --
July 28, 2000
Copyright
© 2000,
The Morning Call
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