The Gehlen Catholic baseball team won a high-scoring district semifinal on Tuesday night in Le Mars defeating Woodbury Central by the score of 14-7.
While the score proved to be lopsided in Gehlen’s favor, the game did not initially lean that way. The Jays were down 2-0 going into the bottom of the third inning after not playing to their standards. Gehlen Catholic head coach TJ Britton says he needed to see a big response from the guys, and they delivered.
Gehlen went on to score five runs in the third inning and six runs in the fourth to build their lead and run away with the win. The Jays ended up putting 14 runs on the board recording only four hits as they were walked 12 times and hit by four pitches throughout the game. Coach Britton says the guys had to adjust heading into the second time through the order, and it paid off.
Gehlen’s defense also had a hand in the win even if Woodbury Central scored seven runs. The Jays were able to turn two big double plays throughout the game that shut down some Wildcat scoring chances. Coach Britton says those were huge momentum plays for his team.
With the win, Gehlen returns to the district final for the sixth year in a row with a 23-7 record. They will host Kingsley-Pierson who they lost to in disappointing fashion with three errors in the bottom of the seventh in Granville. Coach Britton says his team knows the situation, and they will need to play much better to keep their season going.
Gehlen Catholic and Kingsley-Pierson play their district final on Saturday night at 7:00 PM in Le Mars at the Riverview Baseball Complex.
