Gabelsville in finals with win over Volpe's

Limeport and Northern Yankees play deciding game today for other series slot.

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call

 

Tough as it was for him to admit, Jeremy Arner conceded the better team won the Tri-County League semifinal series between Gabelsville and his Volpe's Fleetwings.

''Man for man, they're just better,'' Arner, the Fleetwings' player-manager, said Friday night after his club was on the short end of a 9-2 loss at Gabelsville in the fifth and deciding game of the series.

Chuck Nicholas and Justin Konnick combined for a five-hitter and Jon Kalejta's two-run double in the third opened up a 3-0 lead the Owls wouldn't relinquish.

Gabelsville will begin its bid for a second straight Tri-Co title and sixth championship in the last 11 years on Monday night when the league title series begins.

The Owls received a few extra days off because later Friday night at Limeport, the Northern Yankees extended the Tri-Co's other semifinal series to a fifth game by beating the Bulls 3-0 on a two-hitter by Tim Kay.

The fifth game in that series is set for 1 p.m. today at Scherersville No. 5.

The Owls (29-7-1) will be looking for a more consistent offensive effort in the finals than they had against Volpe's (27-10-3).

They tallied 24 runs in their three victories, but managed just a total of one run in their two losses.

''It's hard to explain,'' Gabelsville manager Matt Danner said. ''In the games we lost, the Fleetwings had just excellent pitching. In the three we won, they weren't as sharp. And in this one, they also had some trouble throwing and catching the ball.''

That was evident in the fourth inning when, with two out, the Fleetwings committed four errors leading to four runs.

''Their team speed forces you into mistakes and if you give them extra outs, they're going to kill you,'' Arner said. ''They're all good contact hitters and so fast all the way through the lineup. They came out and did what they had to do. We knew we had to make every play, and we didn't.''

Kalejta's double off the fence in left highlighted the three-run second.

''It was good to get off to a good start,'' Kalejta said. ''We were dead in the dugout the last game we lost up there, so the hits early picked us up. We've been real streaky here in the playoffs, and hopefully, we can get on a hot streak over the next week.''

Gabelsville stayed hot in this one. The Owls tacked on two in the third when Cody Kulp homered, and singles by Shane Houck and Matt Cotellese led to another run.

Volpe's had chipped away for runs in the first and third, but were blanked over the final four innings by Nicholas and Konnick.

The Fleetwings had runners in every inning but the second, but stranded eight.

''We really battled and if we kept it close for five innings we would have had a shot,'' Arner said. ''We had to keep it close because we haven't scored more than four runs against them all year.''

Danner said his team has tremendous depth and he hopes that will make a difference in the finals.

The Owls were 3-1 against Limeport and 2-2 against the Yankees during the regular season. Gabelsville beat the Yankees three games to one in last year's finals.

''For some reason we have trouble matching up with the Yankees,'' Danner said.

On Friday night, Limeport had trouble scoring against the Yankees.

First-year player Tim Kay, a 22-year-old Georgia native out of Bluffton (Ohio) University, made his first start of the season a memorable one for Northern (29-7).

He allowed only a questionable infield single by Jake DeBoer in the third and a bloop double down the line in right by Ricky Rivera in the sixth.

''They were hitting the ball hard, but the guys behind me were making all the plays and that's all you can ask for,'' said Kay, who worked around three hit batters and four walks and struck out just two.

Few knew who Northern manager Brian Polaha would give the ball to with his team's season on the line, but he said he couldn't go wrong by giving it to Kay.

''He's such a gamer,'' Polaha said. ''He shows up all the time, ready to play. I knew he'd give me everything he had. You want to win or lose with the guys who really care. You knew it meant something to Tim and that's why I ran him out there.''

Polaha said that Kay is not overpowering, but sneaky quick.

''He throws a big, almost an Eephus curveball,'' Polaha said. ''He threw an inning in relief and he struck out a couple of batters. When he gets guys looking for that slow curve, it makes his fastball seem quicker.''

Both teams must prepare for a quick turnaround for today's series decider.

The Yankees will also look to spruce up their offense. They got just enough to even the series as Mike Venarchick and Landon Parker had two hits apiece.

Parker knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly and Caleb Calarco singled in a run. Another crossed on a balk.

''It's not a surprise we're going to a fifth game,'' Polaha said. ''We'll be ready. I said all along that we're evenly matched. This is why you play baseball. It's going to be fun.''

Volpe's Fleetwings 101 000 0 -- 2  5  5

Gabelsville              032 400 x -- 9 10 1

Wiltrout, Nigito (3) and Arner; Nicholas, Konnick (5) and Bealer. HR: G: Kulp (3rd, none on). W: Nicholas. L: Wiltrout.
 

Northern Yankees 000 110 1 -- 3 8 1

Limeport Bulls       000 000 0 -- 0 2 0

Kay and Venarchick, Faust (4); Walter, Heilman (7) and Shortall.

keith.groller@mcall.com

610-820-6740

From The Morning Call -- August 8, 2009

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