Owls obliterate Bulls, 19-4

Al Fitch leads the way by going 3-for-3 with 4 RBI as Gabelsville takes a 2-0 series lead.

By Josh Goodin

    LIMEPORT -- Gabelsville took a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five series with a 19-4 thumping of the Limeport Bulls Thursday night. In a battle of two Tri-County juggernauts, the Bulls looked anything but, suffering their worst defeat since a 1998 playoff loss to the South Whitehall Serpents. They walked 11 batters for the game and committed three errors in succession at one point.

    The Owls jumped ahead early. A.J. Bohn drew a leadoff walk, and he and Jason Irey scored when Al Fitch lined a single off Jeff Krauss into centerfield. After a Matt Danner walk, veteran Bob Graber ripped a double to center, scoring two more runs. Krauss struck out Mitch Schueck to end the inning, but was relieved by Matt Schultz to start the second inning.

    The Bulls got back in the game with a two-run outburst in the second. Chris Bensing singled to right off of Jon Eidle and took second on a passed ball. After moving to third on a fielder's choice, Bensing scored on a Steve Raysley single. Mike Krauss followed with a towering fly ball to left, but Irey lost the ball in the hazey night and Krauss was aboard with a single. Raysley was thrown out at third, however. That proved costly because after Joe Pochron drove in a run with a single, Pat Lane flied out to end the inning.

   After being held in check by Schultz for two innings, Gabelsville exploded for four fourth inning runs. Steve Gabel got it started with a walk. A.J. Bohn's hard bunt was fielded by Schultz, but Raysley and Lane both raced to the bag too late and Bohn was aboard safely. Greg Gilbert attempted to bunt as well, but Krauss made a beautiful diving catch in foul territory for the out. No matter though, as Irey grounded down the first base line for an RBI double. Pete Colon's sac fly brought in Bohn, and Matt Danner hit a two-run double over Tony D'Amico's head in left field.

   Five Owls runs came across in the fifth inning off reliever Pat Lane. Again, Gabel was the catalyst, this time with a ground ball single up the middle. Bohn hit a grounder to Raysley, but his throw to second was offline and the runners each moved up a base. Gilbert followed with another ground ball, this time to third base. Kevin Kershner dropped the ball, then recovered, but the throw to first was too late and Gabel scored. Bohn scored on Bensing's error at second on the next play. After Gilbert scored on a wild pitch, Irey scored on an RBI single by Colon. Fitch singed to right to score Colon, then Danner hit into a double play around the horn to end the inning.

   Limeport struck back in the bottom half of the inning. Lane lined a leadoff single to right, followed by Glenn Kushma's bad hop single over Fitch at third. Eidle walked D'Amico to load the bases, then Bensing to bring in a run. Jeff Cavanaugh hit a sac fly to left. Kushma scored to cut the deficit to 13-4. Eidle got Raysley to fly out to get out of the inning.

   Sticking with the numbers theme, Gabelsville scored six sixth inning runs. Graber blooped a single into shallow center to lead off. Gabel and Bohn walked to load the bases. Doc Moyer, pinch hitting for Gilbert, walked to bring home Graber. Lane was lifted for Bensing, who promptly walked in another run and served up a two-run double to Colon. Fitch lofted a sac fly to right, scoring Todd Stapleton, who had previously walked. Danner drove in the game's final run with a bloop single to right. Justin Konnick hit for Graber, striking out to end the nightmare inning for Limeport.

   After Bensing retired the Owls in order in the seventh, Konnick relieved Eidle in the bottom half of the inning. Eidle finished the night with four earned runs in six innings of work. He allowed nine hits and struck out two, walking three. Konnick issued back-to-back walks to Sean Donchez and Kushma to start the inning, but sandwiched strikeouts of R.J. Sides and Cavanaugh around a Bensing pop-up to end the game as a steady rain moved in.

   Gabelsville can sweep the series with a home win on Saturday at 2:30. Al Fitch led the way in Game 2, going 3-3 with three RBI's and two runs. Bob Graber was 2-3 with a run scored and two more batted in. A.J. Bohn, Pete Colon, and Matt Danner all went 2-4. Bohn also scored four runs. Colon scored twice and drove in four, while Danner plated three runs and scored once.

   For Limeport, Mike Krauss, Joe Pochron, and Steve Raysley each had two hits.