Gators, Commodores close out season
PERRYOPOLIS – It was a typical Frazier vs. Geibel Catholic encounter when the baseball teams from those schools met Wednesday in the last game of their seasons. So typical that it came down to the last out in the bottom of the seventh inning with the tying run on first base.
Brendan Costantino struck out the only batter he faced to earn a save and Eric Baluch pitched a strong 6 2/3 innings as gators held off Frazier, 9-8.
“Always,” Geibel Catholic coach Mark Riggin said. “Any sport, any time, any place, these two schools bring out the best in each other. These games always play right down to the last out.”
“We made a run at them,” Frazier coach John Phillips said. “But it’s always that way when these two teams play. You’ve just got to keep digging. This is the type of game we were winning earlier in the season, but we haven’t been able to come all the way back lately.”
Neither team made the playoff this season, but the Gators managed to finish 9-9 overall and 8-6 in Section 1-A. Frazier fell to 8-9 overall, 5-9 in section games.
Riggin noted that Wednesday’s game played like so many during this season for his team. “We’ve been in a lot of close games this year, so maybe that helped us hold on today.”
“We got everyone in and almost everyone got an at-bat,” Riggin said.
“It’s always good the end a season with a win. Overall, it was a good season.”
“We hit the ball well today, both teams hit the ball well,” Phillips said.
Joey Kulikoski was 3-for-3 with a double and triple to spearhead the 10-hit Commodores attack. Five players – Phil Mariani, Costantino, Tyler Charles, Mike Ciarochi and Baluch – had two hits each for the Gators, with Charles, Ciarochi and Baluch drove in two runs each. Justin Berklovich (including a double) and Patrick Russell had two hits each for Frazier.
“Eric did a great job,” Riggin said of Baluch. “He wanted this game badly and he gutted it out. He did a good job with the bat, too.”
Geibel Catholic took a 9-5 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but Kulikoski stroked a one-out double, Dave Genua drew a two-out walk before Russell stroked a two-run single Russell scored on Corey Martini’s RBI single before Riggin went to Costantino to end the game.