Cabot's four sharp innings of relief help Gabelsville tie series 1-1

The pitcher shuts down Lehigh Twp. in the 7-2 victory.

By Tim Shoemaker
Special to The Morning Call

 

Gabelsville pitcher Jeremy Cabot woke up with a sore arm Sunday morning. Try telling that to the Lehigh Township hitters who faced him Sunday afternoon.

Cabot faced only one batter over the minimum in four hitless relief innings to claim the win in the Owls' 7-2 victory over the Brewers in Game 2 of the best-of-five Tri-County League championship series at Lehigh Township's Bryfogle Park.

The series is tied 1-1. Game 3 is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at Gabelsville. Game 4 will be at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday at Bryfogle.

Cabot was supposed to be the starter Sunday but had not completely recovered from his previous start. Owls manager Doc Moyer used Jon Eidle to start the game to see how much he could get from Eidle before turning to Cabot.

Gabelsville (31-11) handed Eidle a 6-2 lead, but Eidle walked the first two batters in the bottom of the fourth. Cabot retired six straight -- four by strikeout -- in his first two innings. One of his two walks was erased on a double play.

"My arm was a little sore, so we were pretty much going to use me in relief or have me not throw at all," said Cabot, an Owen J. Roberts High product who reached 91 on a radar gun at Siena University this year.

Lehigh Township (24-17) had threats in the first three innings against Eidle but came away with only two runs. Steve Unger doubled in Jeremy Bartha in the first, and Omar Torres -- who is 4-for-5 in the series -- singled in Bartha in the third.

The Brewers had runners at first and third in the second with one out but could not get another run against Eidle.

"[Cabot] throws hard," Lehigh Township manager Shawn Andrews said. "Coming in after Eidle, it's a big difference. When you've seen one guy for so long, it made him seem that much faster."

"Jeremy wasn't sure how he felt," Moyer said. "He said his arm was a little tender. I figured I wasn't going to get seven innings out of him, so I started Johnny to see what I could get out of him. He got himself in trouble with some walks, but he did pretty good. I was going to go to Jeremy eventually. It was just a matter of what I could get out of Jon. I have a tendency to leave my pitchers in a little too long. At this point in the season, I didn't want to take a chance."

Gabelsville first baseman Kyle Hoffman is the hottest hitter in the series. He went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI single in the first game and 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored Sunday.

The Owls not only hit and pitched better than they did in Game 1, they also played error-free after making three errors in the first game.

"We were pathetic the other night," Moyer said. "I don't know if we played a worse game in three years. I was anxious to get it behind us. I know we're a much better team than we showed the other night."

Gabelsville is trying for its fourth championship in five years. Lehigh Township, which lost in the finals last year, has never won a Tri-County title.

"[Gabelsville] played a good game," Andrews said. "They didn't make any mistakes, and we made a few mistakes. That was the difference. That made the difference in Game 1."


Gabelsville            202 210 0 -- 7 9 0

Lehigh Township  101 000 0 -- 2 6 2

Eidle, Cabot (4) and Danner; Leslie, Hillman (6) and Andrews, Borden (6). WP: Cabot. LP: Leslie. HR: G: K. Hoffman (3rd, 1 on).

Tim Shoemaker is a freelance writer.

From The Morning Call -- August 18, 2003

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