Kelowitz's 2-hit shutout lifts Brewers over Bulls

The Jim Thorpe grad strikes out seven in a 5-0 victory.


By Ted Meixell
Of The Morning Call

 

Finishing first in the Tri-County League's regular season does not a champion make; that title goes to the survivor of the league's seven-team playoffs.

There remains a major incentive to finish first, however: Only the regular-season winner receives a quarterfinal-round bye. The other six playoff qualifiers must play one another in three best-of- five series.

League-leading Lehigh Township (23-7) wants that bye. A couple of weeks ago, Jim Thorpe High 2000 grad Geoff Kelowitz, a junior-to-be at Towson University, made a decision that could well get the Brewers to that goal.

Kelowitz, a lanky lefty who was the Tigers' No. 1 reliever this spring, was playing in an all-college, wooden bat league in Maryland. But he decided that he wanted to spend the summer at home and that he wanted to pitch against more veteran players wielding aluminum weapons.

So he signed on to add depth to an already deep Brewers' staff, and last night he paid his first major dividend.

Kelowitz tossed a seven-strikeout two-hitter to blank fourth- place Limeport (18-9) and the Bulls' own classy veteran left- hander, Chad Arnold, 5-0.

"I threw 32 innings [at Towson] this year, all in relief," Kelowitz said. "But I expect to at least earn a spot in our regular weekend, league [starting] rotation next year. I wanted to be at home, and competing against these older players, using aluminum, will give me a bigger challenge."

Kelowitz's decision may cost him exposure to scouts this summer. But, he said, "My college coach was fully on board with it."

Expect Lehigh Township skipper Shawn Andrews to jump aboard, too.

"We started fast, winning 13 in a row," Andrews noted, "but then we went 2-7. We're hot again now -- we've won eight. And Geoff came on just about the same time we were in that down period."

With the 2002 season already past the three-quarters pole, four teams -- the Brewers, three-time defending champion Gabelsville, Tri- City and Limeport -- are still fighting hammer and tong for that top seed. All four played Monday night.

In last night's crackerjack clash of southpaws at picturesque Limeport Stadium, Lehigh Township and Limeport showed why they're likely to run neck-and-neck to the wire -- although, trailing now by 31/2 games with just nine to play (L.T. has just six more), the Bulls better get cracking.

The Brewers played a lot of "little ball' to grab a 2-0 lead after four, then took advantage of some loose Limeport defense to tally three unearned runs in the seventh and ease Kelowitz's path.

They nipped Arnold for single runs in the second and fourth innings. In the second, Jeremy Bartha fanned, but reached when the pitch in the dirt eluded JonMichael Vito.

Bartha moved up on a groundout and just beat a strong throw to the plate by Joe Pochron to score on Bulls' mainstay Bill Fatzinger.

In the fourth, Omar Torres singled and came around on Fatzinger's sacrifice, Matt Smull's single and Charlie Torres' chopper to third.

Two errors, Steve Unger's RBI double and Omar Torres' run- scoring single set the final score.


Lehigh Twp.       010 100 3 -- 5 9 0

Limeport            000 000 0 -- 0 2 2


Geoff Kelowitz and Bryn Lindenmuth; Chad Arnold and JonMichael Vito.

ted.meixell@mcall.com

610-820-6628

From The Morning Call -- July 9, 2002

Copyright © 2002, The Morning Call