Gibbons Moves Into 2nd in 4A-13 With Win Over Pine Crest

From day to day, nobody knows what is going to happen in wild and crazy 4A-13, but one thing is becoming clearer as the season moves along. Cardinal Gibbons is playing better with each passing week, and with a win over Pine Crest on Thursday afternoon has put themselves in sole possession of second place in the district.

Tyler Norris was handed the ball and given the task of slowing down a potent Panthers offense. Norris responded in grand fashion, throwing 5.1 inning of three-run baseball en route to the 7-3 victory. Norris also was one of the hitting stars for the Chiefs, going 3-for-4 with a double.

“I knew right from the first inning when they went 1-2-3 that all my stuff was working,” said Norris. “When our offense scored in the first, it took a lot of pressure off, that allowed me to settle in. We knew this was a big game for both teams, and we’ve been playing well, and that carried over into today.”

Gibbons had its hands full as well, with Panthers ace Chris Koppenhaver taking the hill. The Chiefs were able to get to Koppenhaver early when their first two batters, Chris Williams and David Pedraza both reached on singles. Williams later scored in the inning on an RBI groundout by Grant Trower.

Gibbons extended the lead in the second. A lead-off double by Norris, a stolen base by courtesy runner Justin Lara, and a sacrifice fly from Pedraza made it 2-0.

In the third, the Chiefs were at it again. Connor Durking led off with a walk, Norris singled, and Dalton Jugovic walked, loading the bases. Austin Marrow doubled in two runs, and courtesy runner Ryan Bowman later scored on an error. Suddenly, a tight game had been stretched to a 6-0 Gibbons lead.

On the day, six of the seven runs scored by the Chiefs (6-5) came courtesy of their six through nine hitters. It is the type of production from the bottom of the order that would make any coach proud.

“Huge. They were huge today,” said Chiefs Manager Frank Pisani. “I let them know before the game, ‘you’re down in the order, expect some fastballs’, and they listened and capitalized.”

The Panthers (8-5, 4-4 in 4A-13) tried to claw their way back into the game in the fourth. Zack Kone, Alex Perez, Steven Goldberg, and Griffin Conine all had singles in the inning. Goldberg’s base hit drove in Kone and Perez, cutting the lead to 6-2.

Gibbons immediately responded with a run of their own in the fifth. After a Marrow single, Bowman stole second and scored his second run of the game on a Williams single.

The Panthers did not threaten again, and after Chris Williams threw two innings of shutout relief, Gibbons had moved into sole possession of second place in the district at 5-3. Although tightening up their grasp on second was a big step, Pisani has even higher expectations.

“We still want the one-seed,” he said. “In our district, the one-seed is the only team that gets a bye, so everyone is shooting for that.”

The Chiefs have a shot at catching University if they continue to play as they have over the past few weeks. After starting the season 2-4, Gibbons is 4-1 in their last five games, leaving their manager pleased with the turnaround.

“I’m very happy with this team,” said Pisani. We’re starting to come together as a team. We’re starting to believe in each other. The guys are playing well. I give a lot of credit to my assistant coaches. They do a great job of preparing the players for each game.”

On the other side, Pine Crest Manager Glen Pierson was left to ponder how one got away at home. The Panthers fell into fourth place in a district where turnover in the standings seems to happen on a daily basis.

“Today, you have to give them credit,” said Pierson. “They played a really strong game. We will regroup. We really believe strongly in this group, and we’re not going to go into any panic mode. This is all typical of our district where we all beat up on each other. We’ll keep getting better, and be ready to play our next game.”

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