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Betz baffles Fleetwings
Shawn Betz twirls a 6-hit shutout as
Gabelsville beats Woodlawn 2-0 in Game 1.
GABELSVILLE
-- It seems like Shawn Betz has been winning games in the Tri-County League for
10 years. Well, except for the three years he spent out of the area from 2002
through 2004 (and oh-by-the-way, all three of those years were non-championship
seasons for Gabelsville), he has been doing just that: Winning lots of games.
Betz was at it again on Saturday, throwing a masterful six-hit shutout to lift
Gabelsville to a 2-0 win over the Fleetwings for a 1-0 series lead in the
best-of-5 Semifinals.
Betz is the Greg Maddux of the Tri-County League, because although he does not
have overwhelming stuff, he has pinpoint control and generally stays away from
the middle of the plate. He knows how to set up batters. He is smart and knows
how to pitch.
The Owls needed a strong performance from Betz, because their bats came out flat
after not playing for 10 days thanks to the first-round bye they earned. Gabelsville did not even hit a ball out of the infield until the sixth inning.
Betz even tried "waking up the bats" himself after the top of the fifth when he
came off the mound and scattered all of the bats on the on-deck circle, creating
a loud ruckus.
But credit must also go to Fleetwings' starter Dan Hemberger, who basically
matched Betz pitch for pitch, tossing a three-hitter. Two of those hits were
infield hits and the other one was a blooper into shallow left-field. The
southpaw threw every bit as good as Betz in defeat, as the Owls only hit two or
three balls hard during the entire game.
Betz, who rarely walks anybody, uncharacteristically started the game by walking
leadoff man Scott Garger. After a fly-out, Betz induced a 6-4-3 double-play to
end the opening frame.
Jon Kalejta led off for the Owls and hit a roller to first and was safe when the
throw skipped off Hemberger's glove for an error. Matt Cotellese hit a liner
that went off the third baseman's glove for a debatable infield single. Betz
laid down a sacrifice bunt advancing both runners 90 feet. Kyle Hoffman worked a
10-pitch walk, and during the at-bat, a wild pitch scored Kalejta, giving
Gabelsville a 1-0 lead. Hemberger got out of the inning without any further
damage.
Big Ben Swataky led off the Woodlawn second with a sharp single to left. After a
strikeout, the Gabelsville version of Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance, Kalejta-to-(Mike)
Ziemak-to-Hoffman turned their second double-play in as many innings to end the
frame.
It was All Quiet on the Western Front until the fourth. Betz retired the first
two batters in the inning, but with this Fleetwings lineup, any time can be
rally time. Justin Godusky singled to left and Swatsky followed by crushing the
first pitch he saw to deep left-center for extra bases and it appeared as though
the game would be tied, but the ball took one bounce over the fence for a
ground-rule double and Godusky had to stop at third. Betz buckled down and got a
fly-out to end the threat.
The Owls managed a threat of their own in the home half of the fourth. Hoffman
was able to draw a walk on five pitches this time and Ryan Bosch got an infield
hit to deep short. But Hemberger got a strikeout and a ground-out to end the
inning.
With the score still 1-0 in the sixth, Woodlawn's Matt Marcks got a one-out
single to right and Justin Godusky followed with a sharp single to left. But
Betz buckled down once again, getting a key strikeout and ground-out while
facing the heart of the Fleetwings' order to end another threat and maintain the
slim 1-0 Owls' lead.
Gabelsville needed an insurance run. And they would get one in the bottom of the
sixth.
After a strikeout, Betz walked and went to second on a wild pitch. After a
fly-out to shallow center was the first ball that any Gabelsville batter had hit
out of the infield, Bosch followed with a blooper to short left that went for a
RBI single after it glanced off
the glove of shortstop Scott Garger, who just missed making a great catch. But
Betz scored on the hit and the Owls took what
seemed to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead into the seventh.
Betz had no problem making that lead stand up, retiring the side in order, on
just nine pitches to give Gabelsville the 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 will be played at Scherersville #1 at 5:00 on Sunday.
Justin Godusky and Swatsky both went 2-for-3 for the Fleetwings, while Ryan
Bosch went 2-for-3 for Gabelsville.
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