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Gabelsville rides
strong pitching to Tri-Co title
Betz pitches another gem for Owls'
13th league crown.
By Bradley A. Huebner
Special to The Morning Call
For most of the regular season, Gabelsville did not execute well enough to
consider itself the elite team in the Tri-County baseball league.
The Owls also didn't have the power production of a year ago, when they
reached the league finals.
The 2008 championship outlook appeared bleak when Gabelsville, the fourth
seed, entered a series against the Northern Yankees, a team that had beaten
Gabelsville all four times this year, including a no-hitter on the last day
of the regular season.
''We haven't been getting hits with two outs and people in scoring
position,'' said Shawn Betz, the ace of the Owls' pitching staff. ''Lately
we've been finding unconventional ways to get guys in.''
Saturday at Mecherly Field in Boyertown, Betz pitched just well enough and
the team found a way to score four runs in the third inning on just three
hits to down Northern 4-1.
Gabelsville won its 13th Tri-Co title, winning the best-of-five series in
four games. Northern finished at 30-11-3.
The Owls had to beat lefty junkballer Jake Argue. The former Mount Union
College hurler had beaten Gabelsville twice during the regular season,
including that no-hitter.
''I don't know what it is, but the entire Boyertown community has always had
a problem with off-speed left-handed pitching,'' manager/catcher Matt Danner
said. ''I don't know what it is. We've tried to come up with answers for
that for years.''
Obviously the town's 53-1 legion squad has seemed to overcome that. Saturday
the adult team rode a key two-out, two-run single by Ryan Mark, an Upper
Perkiomen and Alvernia College import in his rookie season with the club.
The Owls (32-9-2) tarnished Argue in an unconventional manner.
Danner walked and A.J. Bohn got plunked to start the fourth. Leadoff batter
Tom DeAngelis bunted to move them up, but he beat the throw to first for a
single to load the bases.
Jared Trout's sacrifice fly scored Danner. Jon Kalejta walked to reload the
bases. Brian Ernst plated Bohn with a solid single to center. After Betz
grounded out for the second out, Mark blooped a full-count single to left
for two more runs.
''I was just waiting for a good pitch to hit,'' said Mark, who is so new
that his picture is not among the player profiles on their Web site. ''I
missed a good pitch that I should have swung at. With two strikes I got
another one and it fell in for a hit.''
In the four-game series, Mark also chipped in with a pinch-hit double and a
pinch single.
Betz handled matters on the mound for Gabelsville. Other than Adam Sandt's
single, double and walk, Betz limited the rest of the Yankees lineup to five
hits.
Gabelsville's defense shut the door with a huge double play in the sixth.
Northern's Ryan Birkenstock reached on an error, and then moved up on
pinch-hitter Marshall Garger's double to left-center with one out.
Mike Figner than swatted a ball down the third-base line. Gabelsville third
baseman Jared Trout, hugging the line, took away a potential double by
scooping a short hop, tagging Birkenstock retreating to the bag, then fired
to first for a double play.
What potentially could have been a two-run double became a two-out,
inning-ending rally killer. Making matters worse, Landon Parker singled to
lead off the next inning, which potentially could have tied the game.
Northern 010 000 0 -- 1 7 0
Gabelsville 004 000 x -- 4 6 1
Argue and Faust. Betz and Danner. W-Betz (8-1). L-Argue (3-3). 2B: Sandt,
Garger. DP: N-2. G-1.
Bradley A. Huebner is a freelance writer.
From The Morning Call --
August 17, 2008
Copyright
© 2008,
The Morning Call
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