Cardinal Gibbons Advances To Regionals Behind Nowatnick

Photo Gallery

The last time the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs advanced to regional play, Jason Hamilton was the manager. After several years without Hamilton, the former Chiefs coach accepted the head position again last summer, and on Tuesday night, Hamilton’s team made his first season back at the helm a success with a 6-0 shutout win over American Heritage in a 5A-16 semifinal game.

“We held a practice the day after I accepted the job last summer, and the tone was set right from there,” said Hamilton. “These guys work hard, and they have done what we asked them to do. They have followed the lead of the coaching staff since day one.”

Mark Nowatnick, who has been around for the lean years at Gibbons, was again at the center of the teams success on Tuesday afternoon. The Chiefs senior went the distance on the mound for the second consecutive time against American Heritage, yielding only five hits, while striking out seven. He also gave some insight into the teams success this season.

“Coach Hamilton knows how to coach,” said Nowatnick. “He knows the game. On top of that, we have all bonded this season. We do a lot of team meals and other things together, and our defense has been great. That has all contributed to getting us where we are right now.”

Where they are is headed towards a district championship showdown with top-seeded Archbishop McCarthy on Thursday. As for Tuesday, the expected tight battle with Heritage never materialized, as the Chiefs took control right from the start.

Justin Lara and Colin Durkin were both hit by pitches with one out in the first inning. After a strikeout, Lara scored on an error. Drew hanke, who had two hits on the day for the Chiefs, followed with an RBI single, giving Gibbons an early 2-0 lead.

“Those were big runs early,” said Nowatnick. “They allowed me to just settle in and get ahead of hitters with first pitch strikes.”

In the second, the Chiefs broke the game by sneding nine batters to the plate and scoring four runs. Dalton Jugovic, Chris Williams, Durkin, Nate Pawelczyk, and Hanke all had singles in the inning. By the time the inning was over, the Patriots suddenly faced a 6-0 deficit.

“There was just something missing,” said Heritage Manager Bruce Aven. “We have some very talented players, but sometimes good players have off years, and that is what happened to a lot of our guys this year. This game comes down to one thing, execution, and when you don’t execute, you come away with an outcome like today, and like many of our games this year.”

Being staked to a 6-0 lead is not something that Nowatnick has experienced a lot in 2014. His catcher, Hanke, knew that with that type of lead, there wasn’t going to be much Heritage could do to come back.

“Mark has been great all year,” said Hanke. “You can’t give him that many runs and expect the other team to come back. Once we got the lead, he just relaxed, hit his spots, and let his defense work. It was a great team win.”

In the fifth and sixth innings, Heritage attempted to battle back. Brandon Vicens reached on a walk and Chase Reyes followed with a base hit in the fifth, but Nowatnick was able to reach down and get two flyouts and a strikeout to end the inning.

In the sixth, the Patriots loaded the bases with singles from Dallas Perez, David Villar, and Justin Hernandez. Again, Nowatnick was able to escape the jam by inducing a pop-out to short, and a fielder’s choice.

“His ability to work out of jams was impressive today,” said Hamilton. “He was great. He has been great all year, and he was great again today. These guys have worked hard, and it’s good to see them being rewarded for their efforts.”

Shortly after the win, Gibbons started looking ahead to the title game.

“We know we are going to have to play our best game on Thursday, but we’ll be ready,” said Hanke. “Going to regionals is nice, but we want to win the district title.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!