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#1
Gabelsville vs. #5 ICC Pirates
Semifinals Preview: Owls look to set league
record for consecutive crowns this year.
Once again, the road to the
Tri-County League Championship leads through Gabelsville. Although the Owls
won the regular-season championship and were picked by most to win out in
the playoffs, this year's team didn't always look quite as sharp as in years
past. Their nine losses this season are more than in the two previous
seasons (26-4 in 2000, 28-4 in '01).
Two
of those nine losses came at the hands of the ICC Pirates. If anyone can unseat
the defending champions, it's the Pirates. They eliminated the Limeport Bulls
in a hard-fought three game series. And the Bulls are the other team that has
two wins over Gabelsville.
ICC and Gabelsville match up well on paper. Both have a balanced
offensive attack, though the Owls have more power in their lineup. A.J. Bohn
(.349) is one of the league's best leadoff hitters, but he is coming off a thumb
injury and his status is questionable for this series. Rodney Miller will probably take his place in
the leadoff spot. Al Fitch hit .473 behind in the 2-hole, while veterans Greg
Gilbert (.341) and Jeff Evans are still extremely dangerous RBI men in the
3-and-4 spots. Kyle Hoffman hit .353 with seven home runs, and his brother Drew
hits well, not to mention his cannon behind the dish.
The Pirates
banged out 32 hits in three games against Limeport. Chad Waelchli and Cory
Schneck hit .556, Josh Mohlmann .417, and Dave Stauffer .400. A.J. Peracchia
batted .364, Kyle Ruff .300 with a homerun, and Chad Stecker hit .308 out of
the leadoff spot. ICC also played crisp defense to back up solid pitching.
As far as
pitching goes, ICC has a slight edge. Ryan Lindley and Dan Smith did a great
job keeping the high-scoring Bulls off the board. Smith beat Gabelsville 5-2,
allowing four hits over six innings. Scott Stewart, the team's big winner, was
roughed up by Limeport, but also beat Gabelsville. Look for him as a possible
Game One starter.
The Owls'
pitching staff isn't as dominant as in past years, but still gets the job done.
All-Star Matt Melcher (4-1, 1 save) is the team's leading pitcher, with 46
strikeouts in 39 innings. However, he does give up quite a few hits. Ryan
Willauer (2-0, 3.33), Matt Fidler (3-0, 1.40), Kyle Brobst (3-1, 4.01 ERA), Jon
Eidle (3-3, 4.16), and Justin Konnick (3-2, 6.54) round out the starting crew.
Prediction: Two exciting teams that play
near-flawless baseball will make this a must-see series. Neither team makes
many mistakes, so the team making the early mistakes will likely find
themselves in a hole. Gabelsville also does a great job of capitalizing on the
mistakes of others. Expect another excellent playoff series, and also expect
Gabelsville to come out ahead in four games.
Josh's
choice: Gabelsville in 4
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