PERRYOPOLIS - It's been said that slow and steady wins the race. But an offensive outburst doesn't hurt, either, and both came into play on Friday as the Geibel baseball team withstood a late-game rally from host Frazier to post an 11-5 Section 7-A win. The victory ensured the Gators (6-1, 9-5) of at least a share of the section title.
Geibel held a 7-0 lead until the Commodores (0-6, 2-9) got back in the game with a five-run sixth inning, but Dan Chorba sealed the Gators' win with a grand slam in the top of the seventh.
"We were playing so well, and then all of a sudden, in the sixth inning, we couldn't get anything. We had all those errors - it was a nightmare," Geibel coach John Leonard said. "But that big hit from Chorba kind of finished it off. It was nice."
Geibel started off slow and steady, chalking up one run in each of the first three innings. Earl Gilbert, Jordan White and Rob Ramsey got the Gators the lead while starting pitcher Jeff Baluch concentrated on retiring Frazier's hitters.
Baluch tallied nine strikeouts on the day and gave up just one hit through five innings, a single to Steve Erdley in the first. Meanwhile, the Gators looked to break the game open in the fifth.
Ramsey led off with a double to center, and Gilbert brought him in with a two-base hit down the third-base line. Zack Leonard took a walk to load the bases, and Andrew Stroh's single sent Gilbert across the plate. White and Dean Lewandowski each got aboard on errors, sending in Zack Leonard and Stroh for a seven-run advantage.
But the Commodores hit back. Pat Black opened the bottom of the sixth with a base hit, and Grant Gatalica drew a base on balls. Erdley's one-out single drove Black home, and John Paull reached on an error to pack the bags. A couple more errors allowed Rob Lerda to go all the way to third, scoring Gatalica, Erdley and Paull. Tim Hela's base hit brought Lerda home before Geibel sent Gilbert to the mound to pick up the last two outs of the frame.
"Baluch pitched a great game. He got in a little trouble there that wasn't his fault," John Leonard said of the pitching change. "Gilbert came through."
Gilbert shut the door on Frazier, but the Commodores couldn't do the same, as Zack Leonard singled in the seventh. Stroh walked, and White was hit to load the bases. Chorba's blast over the center-field fence, followed by three straight outs in the bottom of the inning, wrapped up the win.
"We put the ball in play, and defensively, they made some mistakes," Frazier coach Ray Smitley said of the Commodores' rally. "We got ourselves back in the ballgame. We just couldn't finish it and go the rest of the way."
