Gabelsville, Coplay
will open championship series tonight
By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call
Boyertown and Coplay have
long been strong baseball areas with rich traditions in the American Legion
ranks.
But the two regions have carved out their niche in the amateur Tri-County League
as well over the past 25 years.
Boyertown Legion products have formed the nucleus of 12 championship
Gilbertsville and Gabelsville teams in the Tri-Co. The Coplay franchise has won
three Tri-Co titles.
One will be able to add to its legacy in the coming week as the two will meet in
the Tri-County League Championship Series.
The best-of-five set begins at 7 p.m. today at Limeport (RCN will televise the
game on a tape-delay basis) with Game 2 set for Gabelsville at 5 p.m. Saturday.
The two posted the best league marks in the regular season with Coplay (29-4-1)
claiming the top seed.
The defending champion Reds then swept their semifinal series over Limeport.
The Owls (27-7-2) eliminated the Woodlawn Fleetings in four games in the other
semifinal series.
Coplay won the season series, two games to one, and all three games were decided
by three runs or less.
The series is expected to be competitive and will showcase some of the Tri-Co's
top stars.
Gabelsville's Jeremy Cabot was voted the league's pitcher of the year. Coplay's
Caleb Calarco was the ERA champ (0.60).
The Reds' Jeremy Faust led the league with a .456 batting average and was named
rookie of the year.
The franchises are meeting for the fifth time in the league finals, but for the
first time since 1989. They met four times for the title between 1984-89 and
Gabelsville, then known as Gilbertsville, won three times.
Gabelsville is usually golden at this time of year. The Owls have been to eight
Tri-Co finals since 1991 and have won seven times.
keith.groller@mcall.com
610-820-6740
From The Morning Call --
August 10, 2007
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The Morning Call
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