Geibel topples Cornell
SHALER TWP. – Nolan Zavora earned a complete game win and Geibel Catholic made the most of limited scoring opportunities in a 5-3 victory over Cornell in the first round of the WPIAL Class A baseball playoffs Saturday at Shaler High School. The Gators scored four runs on only two hits in the first inning, benefitting from a walk, an error and three wild pitches.
“We got on base and took advantage of some of their mistakes,” Geibel Catholic coach Mark Riggin said. “We were able to run once we got on base, too, which was a key for us. We took some bases and that was big because we didn’t hit the ball very well the rest of the way.”
For the game, the Gators stole nine bases and got four of them in the first inning. The Gators also coaxed three wild pitches from losing pitcher Danny Bosetti and scored two of their runs on them. Geibel Catholic also got RBI-singles from Brendan Costantino and Mick Betler.
Cornell came back with a pair in the second inning and a single tally in the third to make it 4-3. The Raiders (9-12) scored their first run on a double steal with runners on the corners. The second run came in when Zavora bobbled a swinging bunt for an error.
Ryan McCutcheon had an RBI on an infield hit in the third.
The Gators (13-5) added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Zavora walked, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Anthony Speeney’s single to left-center.
Speeney’s at-bat started with an 0-2 count, but he worked it full before fouling off eight pitches. His single came on the 14th pitch of the at-bat. The freshman also had several solid fielding plays throughout the game.
“He did a great job with two strikes on him in that last at-bat,” Riggin said. “That was a clutch situation, especially for a freshman, but he came through for us.”
So did Zavora, who was touched for eight hits, but kept the Raiders from getting any real momentum.
“We got a little sloppy in the field, but Nolan stayed in control,” Riggin said. “He settled down and made some key pitches when we needed them. It was also a big plus getting Brendan Costantino back on the field. He makes a difference for us on offense and on defense. He looked good swinging the bat after missing two weeks (with a broken thumb). It looked like he didn’t miss a beat.”
Geibel Catholic takes on No. 2 seed Serra Catholic Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. Cornell coach Nate Torboli was proud of his team making the playoffs for the second year in a row, even if he didn’t like how the season ended.
“This is not where we wanted it to end,” Torboli said. The first inning cost us, even though our kids settled down and played pretty well after that. Geibel is a good team. They didn’t do anything we didn’t expect, but they made plays when they had to. We just came up a little short.”