The Gehlen Catholic baseball team came up short in the quest for a state tournament berth dropping a 3-0 substate final to top-ranked Remsen St. Mary’s in Cherokee on Tuesday night.
The outcome is disappointing for a Gehlen Catholic team that made a tremendous run to the substate final as the third seed in their district. Gehlen Catholic head coach Loi Kraft says while the outcome is disappointing, he is proud of his team for the way they competed with the best team around.
Gehlen Catholic had their chances to score runs against Remsen St. Mary’s, but none of those chances were fulfilled. Multiple leadoff baserunners were brushed away by Collin Homan and the RSM defense. Coach Kraft says great defense combined with some timidity at the plate did not allow for his team to get the big hit.
Brayden Horkey will get tabbed with the loss on the mound, but he pitched exceptionally well for a losing pitcher. In six innings, he allowed five hits, three runs, and struck out 11 batters. Coach Kraft says Horkey made adjustments after getting hit around by the Hawks in the regular season.
The Jays entered the seventh inning down 3-0 and wanted to make sure they would not go down without a fight. Before the final out was recorded, Gehlen loaded the bases and put the tying run on at first base. Coach Kraft says that fight was great to see.
Gehlen ends their season at 16-15 which is not a typical record for a team that finishes a win away from the state tournament. The Jays had lost four games in a row heading into the postseason and were in a rough spot after the season-finale loss to Akron-Westfield. Coach Kraft says the guys had a quick meeting and let him know that they would rebound in a big way from that tough finish to the season.
The Jays graduate three seniors off this year’s team in Dylan Poeckes, Alex Peters, and Jake Bogen. Remsen St. Mary’s improves to 23-1 and will start their state tournament run on Monday, July 21 against Hillcrest Academy.
