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Fleetwings eliminate Gabelsville
Ryan Palos's 4-hitter and Jeremy
Arner's game-winning hit gives Woodlawn a 2-1 win.
SCHERERSVILLE -- Player/Manager Jeremy Arner blooped a RBI single down the
right-field "line" to score pinch-runner Matt Marcks in the bottom of the
seventh to lift the Fleetwings to a 2-1 win in Game 4 to clinch the Semifinals
series 3-1 over the defending champion Gabelsville Owls.
Got chalk?
That is the question the Owls' players were asking after the game because there
was much debate to whether Arner's flare down the right-field line was fair or
foul.
Why was there a debate?
Because there are no baselines at the Scherersville #1 field on the outfield
grass. From the "foul pole" at the fence all the way to the back of the infield
dirt, there is no chalk on both baselines. And the ironic thing is that I had a
conversation with Coplay owner John Arrington during the game about the lack of
baselines at both Scherersville fields this season. Arrington told me that the
county told him NOT to put the chalk baselines in the outfield this year. And lo
and behold, this piece of info relayed to me during the course of the game would
come into play at the end of the contest.
But what should not get lost at the end of the contest is how well the game was
played throughout.
Shawn Betz took the mound for the Owls on three days rest and put forth another
gritty effort. He retired the first two batters he faced, before the red-hot
Matt Godusky laced a line-drive to left that took one hop over the fence for a
ground-rule double. Big Ben Swatsky, who has also been scorching hot in the
postseason, then singled up the middle to score Godusky, and just like that, it
was 1-0 Fleetwings. A line-drive to right would end the inning.
Meanwhile, Ryan Palos was sharp and perfect through two innings before the Owls
finally got something going in the third. Mitch Schueck singled to left to start
the inning and Lyle Loeb followed with a sharp single to left, and on the play,
Schueck was hustling to take third base, but stumbled coming around second base
as he was making the decision on whether to take third and then got caught in a
run-down. Schueck smartly stayed in the run-down long enough to get Loeb to
second base, which was important, because Jon Kalejta then singled to left,
putting runners on the corners with one out. A.J. Bohn grounded into a fielder's
choice RBI after beating out the double-play attempt by the Fleetwings. So
arguably, had Schueck stayed at second base two plays earlier, Kalejta would
have sacrificed the runners to second and third and had the Fleetwings brought
their infield in, Bohn's ground-out may not have scored a run. But regardless of
whether the runner being erased on the base paths was a bad break or good break,
the game was now tied at 1-1 nonetheless.
And both pitchers went into cruise-control after the top of the third. Betz
faced the minimum number of batters from the second through the fifth innings,
allowing only a walk which was immediately erased from the base paths after a
line-drive double-play five pitches later.
Palos also faced the minimum number of batters from the fourth through the sixth
innings, allowing a lead-off single to Ryan Bosch in the fifth, but he was
erased on a 5-4-3 double-play two pitches later.
Woodlawn would put together a threat in the bottom of the sixth.
Scott Garger riipped a one-out single off the glove of a diving Schueck at
third, and the ball trickled into shallow left-field. Garger tried to stretch it
into a double, but shortstop Mike Ziemak hustled to the ball and made a perfect
throw to second to get Garger. Justin Godusky then ripped a double to deep left,
just inside the (imaginary) line. Betz pitched around Matt Godusky and ended up
plunking him to put two on with two out. But Betz got a ground-out to end the
inning and keep the game tied at 1-1 going into the seventh.
The Owls would make some noise in the seventh, without even getting a hit. Betz
took a 1-2 curveball off his hip to be awarded first base to start the inning.
The Owls shunned the sacrifice bunt in this spot, which may have surprised a few
people, but what was even a bigger surprise was to see Kyle Hoffman take a hack
on a 3-0 pitch. It almost produced instant dividends as Hoffman drilled a
screaming line-drive to deep right, but Tom Williams, who was thankfully playing
deep for Woodlawn, hauled it in for a loud first out of the frame. Betz then
advanced to second on Palos' next offering, a wild pitch and Player/Manager Matt
Danner worked a 6-pitch walk to put two on with one out. A fielder's choice put
runners on the corners with two outs for Schueck. After the count went to 1-2,
the Owls tried a double-steal as Bosch took off for second, but Palos stepped of
the rubber and faked a throw there and then nabbed Betz at the plate to end the
threat.
So the Fleetwings would have a chance to win the game in their half of the
seventh.
Veteran Dave Toth smacked the first pitch he saw just fair past a diving Hoffman
at first for a lead-off double. Marcks, not playing due to a tweaked hamstring,
was going to suck it up in this situation as he pinch-ran for Toth. And that is
when Arner stepped up and bypassed the sacrifice bunt to knock a well-placed
flare that was called fair, apparently just inside the imaginary right-field
line to give Woodlawn the 2-1 win to clinch their first playoffs series win over
Gabelsville in franchise history.
The Owls handled the tough break with class as Hoffman said in the parking lot
after the game, "There are no baselines so we cannot blame the umpires here
because it is not their fault".
The Fleetwings move on to play at either Coplay or Limeport on Saturday. That
series has their deciding Game 5 at 7:30 at Limeport on Thursday.
Nobody in this well-pitched game had two hits.
The Owls never did wake up their bats in the 2006 postseason, scoring just five
runs on 21 hits (19 singles) in the four-game series.
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