Home Sports Gehlen Catholic Baseball Advances to District Semifinals Behind Late Big Inning

Gehlen Catholic Baseball Advances to District Semifinals Behind Late Big Inning

Gehlen Catholic baseball opened their postseason run with a 12-1 win in six innings over George-Little Rock to advance to the district semifinals.

The Mustangs scored the games first run of the game to put the pressure on Gehlen Catholic early. The Jays responded with three runs total in the second and third innings to lead 3-1 after three innings. Despite the slow start, Gehlen Catholic head coach Kirk Kronaizl liked the contact his team was making. He says that contact, unfortunately, seemed to always be hit at a fielder.

Part of the slow start came from the starting pitching for the Jays. David Begnoche allowed a run on a pair of well-hit balls to start the ball game. Coach Kronaizl says his start wasn’t great due to his pregame routine. After the first inning, things started to work better for Begnoche.

The game really broke open in the fifth and sixth innings. Gehlen Catholic added two in the fifth to lead 5-1 and finished with seven in the sixth to win 12-1. Sophomore Gabe Wiltgen finished off the run-rule win with a grand slam to bring his RBI total to five for the game. Coach Kronaizl says it’s good to have hitters like Wiltgen that can fill voids whenever needed.

The win meant that Gehlen Catholic has some work to do before they play tonight in the district semifinals. However, the holiday threw a bit of a wrench into a regular routine. Coach Kronaizl says that’s ok because it’s important for his team to have a couple days off at this time in the season.

The Jays matchup with Akron-Westfield at 7:00 tonight in the district semifinals in Akron. You can listen to the game on KLEM starting with pregame coverage at around 6:50.