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Gabelsville beats Limeport,
reaches finals
A.J. Bohns' two-run double in the eighth leads to
a 13-10 win.
By Jeff Schuler
Of The Morning Call
Gabelsville had been down this road before.
Two years ago, the Owls needed three outs in Game 4 of their Tri-County League
semifinal series with Limeport to put the Bulls away and advance to the finals.
But Limeport rallied to tie the game, then forced game five with an extra-inning
victory.
Gabelsville ultimately won that series but lost the championship to Lehigh
Township, in part because its pitching staff had been depleted.
Tuesday night at Fegely Stadium the Owls again needed three outs to clinch a
semifinal series with the Bulls in four games. But again Limeport rallied to
force extra innings.
''We always seem to see these guys in the playoffs,'' Limeport manager Chris
Parsell said.
This time, however, there will be no Game 5.
A.J. Bohn's two-run double put Gabelsville in front in the eighth inning, and
the Owls held off the Bulls for a wild 13-10 victory that kept them in the hunt
for their first Tri-Co championship since 2001.
''We wanted to avoid a Game 5 at all costs,'' Bohn said. ''This time of year,
when guys are running on fumes, you save your pitching as much as you can.''
That's what happened two years ago. Limeport's fourth-game victory forced
Gabelsville to use ace Nick Allen in the decisive fifth game, won by the Owls
11-4.
But that meant the Owls could use Allen just once in the finals. He won Game 3
to put his team on the verge of the title but was unavailable in the final two
games, when Lehigh Township rallied to take the crown.
But instead of digging deeper into his staff, Gabelsville manager Doc Moyer can
rest everyone for a few days while waiting for either Silver Creek or Tri-City
to win the other semifinal series.
''Nothing against either Silver Creek or Tri-City, but I think [the Owls] are
the best team in the league,'' Parsell said. ''And with rest, they're going to
be even tougher.''
For most of the game it appeared Gabelsville would coast to the finals. Behind a
monster day from Kyle Hoffman (four hits and seven RBIs, four on a third-inning
grand slam), the Owls bolted to a 9-1 lead after 4 1/2 innings, and carried a
10-5 bulge into the bottom of the ninth.
But the Bulls wouldn't go quietly. Five hits, including Christian Bensing's
two-run single and Jim Ernst's pinch-hit RBI single, helped get them within a
run with one out and the bases loaded. Then, the tying run trotted home when a
Shawn Betz pitch nicked Mike Gill.
''We fought all year long, especially when our backs were to the wall,'' Parsell
said.
But Betz avoided a total meltdown when he got Jeff Pochron to bounce into a
force at home, and Pat Lane flied out.
Then, after a 15-minute discussion over the Limeport lineup (which resulted in
the umpires incorrectly forcing the Bulls to remove Pochron when they put their
designated hitter in the field), the Owls jumped on Parsell in the eighth,
beginning with Matt Danner's leadoff single.
After a sacrifice and a hit-batter, Bohn drove a pitch up the alley in right
center, chasing home both runners. He later scored on a Betz single.
''I didn't think we'd have to pull it out in the eighth, that's for sure,'' Bohn
said. ''But I had a feeling these guys wouldn't go away.''
''Give them a ton of credit,'' Moyer said. ''They made it a big hassle.''
Gabelsville 105 211 03 — 13 18 2
Limeport 001 031 50 — 10 13 0
Justin Konnick, Todd Stapleton (6), Shawn Betz (7) and Matt Dierolf, Bill Kropp
(6); Pat Toner, Chad Arnold (4), Chris Parsell (6) and Mike Krauss. W-Betz. L-Parsell.
HR-G: Kyle Hoffman (3rd, 3 on), Matt Dieroff (5th, 0 on).
jeff.schuler@mcall.com
610-820-6781
From The Morning Call --
August 10, 2005
Copyright
© 2005,
The Morning Call
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