The Gehlen Catholic baseball team advanced to their fifth-straight district final with an 8-1 win at Akron-Westfield in Tuesday night’s district semifinal.
After a four-game losing streak ended the regular season, not many were convinced that the Jays could make it back to this point of the postseason. Gehlen head coach Loi Kraft says the guys on his team were convinced, and they proved they belong on Tuesday night.
Gehlen proved they belong by playing sound and solid defense behind a complete game effort from Brayden Horkey. Coach Kraft says the Jays were reminded of their mistakes early in the year and fixed them in time for a one-and-done game.
On the other side, the Westerners committed four errors leading to some costly runs allowed. Akron-Westfield head coach Gordy Johnson says that combined with some tough at-bats made it a really tough night for his team.
The Gehlen offense was clicking right away after a home run from Mason Small in the top of the second inning started an 11-hit and eight-run onslaught. Coach Kraft says once the guys saw what Will Hartman had on the mound the first time, they were not as intimidated the next time up.
The Jays had great production from the bottom third of their order. The seven, eight, and nine hitters combined for six of Gehlen’s 11 hits in the win. Coach Kraft says he had confidence in that part of the order to make the plays necessary to drive in baserunners.
After Gehlen had scored five runs in the top of the seventh and taken an 8-0 lead, Akron-Westfield could have easily gone through the motions in the bottom of the seventh. They proceeded to score a run and load the bases in the bottom half making the Jays have to work through the final half inning. Coach Johnson says he was proud of his team for not giving up even when things looked bleak.
The season ends for Akron-Westfield with a record of 16-10. Coach Johnson says he is proud of his team and senior class even after a tough loss to end the season.
The Jays improve to 15-14 with the win and will play in their fifth-straight district title on Saturday night in Marcus against MMCRU. Coach Kraft says his guys need to play just like they did Tuesday night to put a good product on the field in Marcus.
First pitch of that game is at 7:00 PM on Saturday night. KLEM Radio will broadcast the game live with coverage beginning at 6:45 PM.
