Gehlen Catholic advanced to the District final last night with a 6-1 victory against Trinity Christian at home.
Trinity Christian got on the board first with an RBI base hit from Darren Brummel with two outs in the top of the second inning. That would be all the Tigers could come up with offensively the rest of the way.
The Jays responded later on in the bottom of inning three. Derek Von Arb led off the bottom half by depositing a 2-2 pitch deep over the left field wall to tie the game at one.
That home run was Von Arb’s sixth of the season which leads the War Eagle Conference. The Jays weren’t done in that inning. Dylan Lehmann followed up the home run by reaching on a walk. A stolen base and an error allowed Lehmann to score and give Gehlen their first and only lead. Gehlen Catholic Head Coach Kirk Kronaizl sensed a momentum swing right away when Von Arb’s home run left the yard.
Gehlen Catholic kept their offense rolling in the bottom of the fourth inning by plating four runs in that frame. Derek Von Arb came up again this time with the bases loaded and drove in two on a base hit. Dylan Lehmann added a sacrifice fly and Zayne Weiland drove in another on a base hit to give the Jays a 6-1 lead. Trinity Christian had one batter reach base in the final four innings against Gehlen Catholic pitchers as the Jays went on to take the game 6-1.
Derek Von Arb finished the game going 3-3 with two runs scored, three RBIs, and a home run. Coach Kronaizl says that the key for Von Arb at the plate simply comes from the power he exerts.
The Jays offense wasn’t the only thing shining last night. Ryan Livermore got the win going five innings allowing two hits, one run, and striking out eight. Zach Kraft struck out three in the sixth and Von Arb struck out the side in the seventh to record a total of 14 strikeouts from the Gehlen pitching staff. Coach Kronaizl was pleased with the way his staff came out and kept throwing strikes.
The Jays now advance to take on Remsen St. Mary’s in the District Final on Saturday at 7:00 PM. Coach Kronaizl wants to keep things simple with his team before they matchup with the Hawks.
The Gehlen Catholic record now sits at 18-12 heading into the district final against Remsen St. Mary’s. Trinity Christian ends the year with a 5-15 record.
Tuesday Scores:
Softball:
Class 4A Region 1:
#5 Boone 12 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 0
CLass 5A Region 1:
#2 Fort Dodge 16 Sioux City East 4
Baseball:
Class 1A District 1:
#3 Remsen St. Mary’s 10 George-Little Rock 0
Class 1A District 2:
Newell-Fonda 11 West Bend-Mallard 1
Bishop Garrigan 6 Fort Dodge St. Edmond 0
Class 1A District 15:
#10 Tri-Center 6 West Harrison 0
Logan-Magnolia 4 Audubon 3
Class 1A District 16:
#5 Kingsley-Pierson 10 Lawton-Bronson 0
Woodbury Central 1 Akron-Westfield 0
Class 2A District 1:
Unity Christian 7 Central Lyon 6
West Lyon 7 Western Christian 0 (Pitch Count Violation – Western forfeit)
Class 2A District 2:
#7 Estherville Lincoln Central 6 Sibley-Ocheyedan 0
Spirit Lake 3 Emmetsburg 2
