May 1, 2009 3 min read

MAPLETOWN – Geibel Catholic snapped a two-game losing streak with help from pitching ace Nolan Zavora in a 4-0 victory over Mapletown. Zavora pitched a complete game shutout and only allowed two hits while striking out seven. He had a streak of 10 consecutive outs and held the Maples hitless in the final four innings. “Nolan pitched very efficiently today,” Geibel coach Mark Riggin said. “I think he had two innings where he pitched only two pitches and got two outs. He threw a lot of strikes and didn’t get behind on the hitters. It was beneficial for him because the more he threw strikes, the longer he could pitch and stay in the game.”

“It was nice to see that we never gave up,” Mapletown coach Doug Rodgers said. “Earlier in the season we had some attitude problems, where the kids get down and start getting upset with each other.

“We played as a team defensively, and we threw strikes when we had to. That has been our strong point this season. Four runs in a single-A baseball game should be enough, and you should be able put up five runs for the win. However, hats off to them and their pitcher today.”

It was anyone’s game early on as both teams squandered plate runners in scoring position.

Geibel loaded the bases a second time in the game and drew first blood as Adam Duda took the free pass after falling behind 0-2 and got the easy RBI that scored Mick Betler.

“It’s always important to get that early lead on the road,” Riggin said. “It gives the team confidence and we made the best of our opportunities. We really only had one big inning, and I would have liked for us to score more, but give credit to Mapletown because they hung in the game and made it tough on us.”

In the fourth, Zavora was able to help his own cause with the bat as he smashed a bases-clearing double that scored Betler, Anthony Speeney and Ryan Craft for a 4-0 advantage.

“Nolan is a senior and knows what pitches to hit,” Riggin said. “I think the count was 2-0, and he picked out something good that he could drive and got that big hit for us.”

Zavora, Betler, Speeney and Colin Roble all had two hits each as the Gators racked up 12 hits.

That fourth inning was the last inning for Maples’ starter Jarrett Porterfield, who allowed four runs on eight hits with five walks and a strikeout. Chris Drew finished up.

Picking up the two hits for the Maples were Chris Jeffrey and Cory Minnick.

“We are still fighting, and we are going to continue to fight until we are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs,” Rodgers said. “We just need to work on putting the ball in play and doing the little things like that. We just need to keep on improving as the season goes on.”

“Everyday we have to make improvements,” Riggin said. “We have to start playing more consistently with our hitting and our defense. Our bats have to step up this upcoming week.”