Gators whip Mikes, tighten section race
CONNELLSVILLE – The dogfight for playoff berths in Section 1-A continued Wednesday afternoon when Geibel Catholic shook of a few years of frustration and beat Carmichaels 9-1, to tighten up the standings. The Gators (5-3, 7-5) got another strong performance from winning pitcher Jeff Baluch. The Gator hurler scattered five hits and struck out 12, walking only one.
“Jeff has lost some tough games this year,” Geibel coach Mark Riggin said. “The kids really came out and hit and scored some runs for him today. I’m glad he finally got a win in a big game.”
Baluch helped his cause, collecting two hits, one of those a triple. He also drove in a run, and scored a run. He got a lot offensive support as the Gators banged out 13 hits.
Nick Molchan had two hits, including a homer in the seventh. Brian Noonan and Tyler Charles had two hits each. Brendan Constantino added three hits for the Gators.
“It’s been a long time since we beat Carmichaels. The kids have been waiting for this a long time, especially the seniors,” Riggin said. “To finally have a performance like this against the top Class-A team the past three years is something to be proud of.”
The Gators picked up two runs in the bottom of the first. Molchan led off with a single. He moved to third on an error and scored on a balk. Later in the inning, Baluch tripled and scored on a hit by Noonan.
Carmichaels (5-2, 10-2) pulled to within a run in the third inning. Aaron Thompson got his first of two hits, and scored on a single by Joby Lapkowicz who also had two hits.
“Jeff Baluch was really on top of us today and swung at a lot of bad pitches and took too many called third strikes,” Carmichaels coach Dave Bates said. “Defensive mistakes really hurt us today. We’d make a good play and drop two.”
The Gators broke the game open in the fourth inning, scoring six runs. Noonan led off with a single. He attempted to steal second, and the ball was thrown into center field. The fielder then overran the errant throw, allowing Noonan to score.
Mario Fragello and Constantino followed with hits, and both scored on a base hit by Charles. He moved to second on a throw to the plate. Ryan Graft was hit by a pitch, putting two on. Both advanced on a past ball, and on an attempt to pick off Charles at third, the ball was thrown out of play, allowing the runner to score and moving Graft to third. Graft scored on a ground ball by Molchan.
With two out, Dean Lewandoski was safe on an error, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on a single by Baluch, giving the Gators an 8-1 lead. Geibel scored its final run on the day when Molchan hit a solo homer to right.
“This was one our better performances. We swung the bats well, ran the bases well and made the plays defensively,” Riggin said. ” It was a great effort by the kids today, we really needed this win today.”