Limeport drubs Gabelsville, 9-1, in Tri-Co title opener

Bulls' Steve Unger hits a 3-run triple and homer. Owls plagued by errors.


By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call

 

Steve Unger had the right stuff Sunday night.

The Limeport left fielder went to right field for both a three- run triple in the first inning and a solo home run in the third to spark the host Bulls to a 9-1 rout of mistake-riddled Gabelsville in Game 1 of the Tri-County League Championship Series.

Game 2 in the best-of-5 series will be at 5:45 tonight at Gabelsville. Game 3 will be Tuesday night back in Limeport.

Chances are none of the upcoming games will be as one-sided as the series opener.

Unger's four RBIs were only part of Gabelsville's woes.

The Owls made an uncharacteristic five errors and were limited to two hits by Limeport star lefty Chad Arnold and reliever Chris Parsell.

The Bulls (31-4) had 10 hits, two of them RBI singles by Glenn Bubser, but the lasting image of this one was of Owl drops and other messes.

"Let's get this one out of our system," Gabelsville skipper Mike "Doc" Moyer told team members as they packed up their gear.

The packing could have begun in the bottom of the first.

This one was over quickly as Unger's three-run triple followed an RBI single by Bubser and highlighted a five-run Bull charge in the bottom of the first.

With Arnold, owner of a 7-1 record and 2.02 ERA, on the mound, a 5- 0 lead might as well be 50-0.

Gabelsville, which had won five straight playoff games coming in, never gave itself a chance at a rally, making three miscues in Limeport's two-run fourth that put the game out of reach.

"We were bad," said Moyer. "You can't give these guys extra outs like that. It was just horrible defense. I have no explanation for it other than it was just one of those nights. You can't play that way, especially when you're facing someone of Chad Arnold's quality.

"We actually hit the ball hard a few times off Chad, but they made the plays," he said. "We, obviously, didn't."

Shawn Betz, Gabelsville's ace pitcher, has numbers similar to Arnold. In fact, his only loss came against Limeport in the regular- season finale. He wasn't at his best Sunday, but he still deserved a better fate.

Betz did what the book told him to do against Unger, which is to work the right-handed hitter outside.

"I was just looking outside because that's where he has been throwing me," Unger said. "I haven't had any success against him. In fact, Lehigh Township pitched me outside the whole (semifinal ) series, and I was in a big slump.

"But tonight, instead of trying to pull the ball, I just took the pitch the other way," he said. "Glenn Kushma has been showing me how to take the outside pitch to right field. It worked tonight."

Unger had 10 home runs this season, but none to right field. He was stunned when he hooked a Betz curveball over the right-field wall in the third to make it 6-1. He even put his hand up as he rounded first, a gesture he took heat for from the Gabelsville bench.

But an inning later, the Owls might have thrown up their arms in disgust as their sloppiness made them look like a 5-31 team rather than a 31-5 club.

"That was surprising," Arnold said. "They're not known for that. Maybe they were a little nervous. Betz pitched a pretty good game, I thought. He had some tough breaks.

"I'm just glad we got this one because it puts some pressure on them," he said. "We held serve here, and now if we can go down there and go up 2-0, it's going to be tough for them to win three straight."

Arnold, who had a pair of two-hit shutouts in the Lehigh Township series, allowed two hits over six innings Sunday. The one run he allowed was unearned.

"I didn't think I had much pop again," Arnold said. "I just tried to throw strikes, move it in and out. My arm's a little sore. I just battled through. I even put ice on my arm a few times between innings. If I need to come back, I will. I have all winter to rest."

Gabelsville wants no more rest the rest of the way. League officials have listed Wednesday as an off day in the series with Games 4 and 5 scheduled for Thursday and Friday if needed.

But unless his proud, defending champs can turn it around and play better, Wednesday won't be just an off day for Moyer and Co. -- it will be the start of the offseason.

"We've got to bounce back," Moyer said. "We're coming back with Lew Chillot, and they'll go with (unbeaten ) Pat Toner (tonight ). Toner beat us here in the last game of the regular season. We've got to play better than we did tonight to have a chance. I know we have it in us."


Gabelsville   001 000 0 -- 1  2  5

Limeport      501 201 x -- 9 10 2


Betz, Giusseppe (6) and Nace; Arnold, Parsell (7) and Vito. HR L: Unger (3rd, 0 on).



keith.groller@mcall.com

610-820-6740

From The Morning Call -- August 14, 2000

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