Reds-hot: Coplay puts Pirates on ice

Reds sweep series with 3-0 win, advance to play Limeport.

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call

 

The Coplay Reds beat the ICC Pirates 3-0 Monday night, and, in so doing, beat the heat.

The Reds' Tri-County League playoff sweep of ICC means the team can relax by the pool or choose whatever method of staying cool they prefer rather than play in the searing 100-degree heat that is expected in the next few days.

No. 3 seed Coplay (27-10-1) won't open its best-of-five semifinal series against No. 2 Limeport until Friday night.

The Reds earned the extra rest behind Paul Giovannoli's six-hitter and timely hitting.

On Sunday night, Coplay needed Jesse Borden's three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to pull out a 6-5 win. It was the team's first over-the-fence home run this season.

Monday's series-ender required no late dramatics, just the standard, fundamentally sound effort expected from the Reds.

''I have a good feeling about this team,'' said Coplay manager Shawn Andrews, who guided Lehigh Township to back-to-back Tri-Co titles in 2003 and 2004.

''It's a young team, so we make young mistakes. But the talent is here. If we put it all together, we can definitely do some damage.''

Andrews said finishing the series as quickly as possible was imperative.

''It's like getting a bye so our arms and bodies can rest,'' Andrews said. ''We played a lot of games down the stretch because of all the rain.''

Coplay lost to Limeport 4-3 in nine innings on Saturday in a game that determined the playoff seeds.

Still, the Reds are anxious to see the Bulls (27-9-1) again.

''We love playing against them and take it to the next level whenever we see them,'' Giovannoli said. ''You could say we have a good rivalry with them. It will be a battle.''

Giovannoli, who will turn 21 on Friday, kept the Pirates grounded by keeping the ball low in the strike zone and mixing in an effective curve.

All but one of the 21 ICC outs came either via the ground or strikeout.

''The past two times it has been blazing hot, I've thrown well,'' the King's College player said. ''I was able to spot my pitches well. I know I've got good guys behind me.''

Coplay didn't have an error until two were out in the seventh inning.

The Reds turned two double plays and helped Giovannoli out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fourth inning by getting a forceout at the plate on Dave O'Leary's grounder to third. Giovannoli finished the escape with two strikeouts.

''It takes a lot of guts in an adult baseball league to have bases loaded and no one out and still shut them down like he did,'' Andrews said. ''That's been the key to our success all season, pitching and defense.''

ICC pitcher Bill Hezel gave his team a chance, stranding nine runners.

The Reds got an unearned run in the first. Kyle Rhoades reached on an error and scored on Caleb Calarco's two-out single.

Coplay made it 2-0 on Mike Bortz's two-out, RBI single in the fifth and capped the scoring on No. 9 hitter John Curren's RBI single in the sixth.

Giovannoli, known as Paul Bankit early in his high school career at Stroudsburg, never allowed a clutch hit and finished ICC at 15-23.

''We just didn't make it happen tonight, but I can't say anything bad about my guys,'' said ICC manager Brian Ruff. ''We have a lot of young kids getting their feet wet in this league. We were picked to win just eight games [on the league Web site], so we did all right.''


Coplay 100 011 0 — 3 8 1

ICC      000 000 0 — 0 6 3


Giovannoli and Graver; Hezel and K. Ruff.



keith.groller@mcall.com

610-820-6740

From The Morning Call -- August 1, 2006

Copyright © 2006, The Morning Call