Limeport extends series with dramatic comeback

Jeff Cavanaugh's 3- run HR ties it in the 7th, Bulls win it in the 9th.

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call

 

Down 9-6 with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday night, the Limeport Bulls appeared to most people to be on the verge of having their Tri-County League season finished.

But not Jeff Cavanaugh.

Just a few hours earlier, he was a part of a Limeport Dodgers team that rallied from a 7-0 deficit to win 13-7 in its Blue Mountain Championship Series opener with Bethleon.

Comeback No. 2 for Cavanaugh and Limeport's family of amateur baseball teams was a bit more dramatic.

His three-run home run with two down in the seventh tied it at nine and the hometown Bulls scored a run in the last of the ninth to beat visiting Gabelsville 10-9 and knot the Tri-Co semifinal series at two games apiece.

The series' fifth and deciding game will be played at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday in Gabelsville.

Because the BML Limeport Dodgers also play Tuesday night, Cavanaugh will not make the trip on Route 100.

But if Limeport (25-14) prevails and reaches the Tri-Co finals, Cavanaugh will know he helped put them there.

It was a long day at the old ballpark for the Phillipsburg High grad, but one he may never forget.

"I love playing," he said. "I just had a few hot dogs after the first game and got ready for the next one."

Besides the hot dogs, Cavanaugh feasted on Owl pitching. He was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a walk in his first three plate appearances.

His two-run single helped Limeport get off to a fast start. But no leads were safe Sunday inside Limeport Stadium.

The Bulls squandered advantages of 3-0 and 6-3 with a solo home run by Pete Colon and a three-run shot by Greg Gilbert among the big Gabelsville blows.

When Al Fitch homered to cap a three-run Owl rally in the sixth to make it 9-6, it looked as if Gabelsville was on its way back to the finals for the fourth time in five years.

Especially since reliever Jeremy Cabot was doing a pretty fair John Smoltz imitation. Cabot came on in the third inning and allowed no runs and just one hit over 32/3 innings and took the three-run cushion into the seventh.

Pat Lane walked to start the bottom of the seventh, but Cabot got the next two outs before walking Tony D'Amico. That brought Cavanaugh up.

"I just didn't want to make the last out of the season," Cavanaugh said. "I wasn't surprised he [Cabot] pitched to me. He was throwing hard."

But not hard enough. After the three-run shot, Gabelsville skipper Mike "Doc" Moyer, who saw his team blow a 5-0 lead in Game 3 Saturday, took Cabot out.

"Jeremy was throwing fine, but made a bad pitch and Cavanaugh made him pay," Moyer said. "We've let them back into the series by not doing the things we need to do. We let them off the hook."

Gabelsville (29-10) had two on and no one out in the top of the ninth, but a double play ended that rally.

In the bottom of the ninth, Kevin Kershner doubled with one out, went to third on an error and scored the winner when D'Amico beat the throw to first on a fielder's choice.

"It was quite a day," Cavanaugh said.


Gabelsville   020 303 000 --   9  8  3

Limeport      303 000 301 -- 10  7  4


Colon, Cabot (3), Konnick (7) and Danner; Toner, Rodriguez (3), Schultz (6) and Krauss. W: Schultz. L: Konnick. HRs, G, Colon (2nd, none on), Gilbert (4th, 2 on); Fitch (6th, none on). L, Cavanaugh (7th, 2 on).



keith.groller@mcall.com

610-820-6740

From The Morning Call -- August 11, 2003

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