Big fifth helps send Sheetz into finals | News, Sports, Jobs

Sheetz proved the old adage that a walk is indeed as good as a hit on Wednesday night.

Sheetz scored eight runs on only two hits in a big fifth inning, while drawing six walks in the inning and capitalizing on two Re/Max Realty errors, then held on down the stretch to record an 8-7 victory at Vets Field in the decisive Game 3 of the George B. Kelley Federation semifinal playoff series between the two teams.

Sheetz, which entered the playoffs as the top seed, will face second-seeded Barton’s Plumbing in the best-of-three games league championship series that begins Saturday at 7 pm at Vets Field.

Sheetz manager Jeremy Chaplin said that his team looked over pitches carefully in the fifth inning, when it put eight runs on the board against four Re/Max pitchers to take an 8-1 lead.

“It was a matter of staying disciplined,” Chaplin said. “We wanted to hit the ball in that inning, but at the end of the day, a walk is as good as a hit.”

It was on Wednesday, as Sheetz avenged his ouster at the hands of Re/Max in last year’s league semifinals.

A run-scoring single by Brayden Harbaugh and a two-run single by Jake Detwiler were the hits in the big inning for Sheetz, while Aaron Chaplin, and Brady Shehan drew bases-loaded walks to force in two runs, Dalton Gochnour chipped in a sacrifice fly to knock in another run, and two errors — one to start the inning and another that prolonged it — also factored in the Sheetz rally.

“It was a pitcher’s duel at the start of the game,” Jeremy Chaplin said. “Then it came down to which team could string more together.”

Even so, fifth-seeded Re/Max hung in there and battled to the end, nearly overcoming the big deficit.

Left-handed starting pitcher Braxton Zitsch threw a solid game for Sheetz, working 5• innings for the win while allowing four runs, only three hits, striking out three, and walking just two.

Successive singles by Garrett Rossman and Marcus Lucas — who had three hits, scored two runs, an drove in two — started a three-run Re/Max rally in the sixth inning.

Designated hitter Jacob Hammel walked, and Zitsch left the game after reaching his 100-pitch limit.

Devin Jenkins walked against reliever Jaxson Ferguson to load the bases, and Sean Bettwy’s bases-loaded walk, following Sam Carmel’s run-producing sacrifice fly, pulled Re/Max to within 8-4 entering the seventh.

Successive singles by Nic Folcarelli, Rossman, and Lucas produced a run in the seventh to pull ReMax to within 8-5, and Alex Yost was brought in to pitch for Sheetz.

After Hammel’s RBI single made it 8-6, Yost struck out Jenkins before walking Carmel to load the bases with one out. Blake Nicolini’s groundout pushed across a seventh run for Re/Max, but Yost induced Bettwy to ground out to preserve the victory for Sheetz.

“We kept battling,” ReMax manager Erik Wardrop said. “We never gave up. We had some timely hitting. We just came up a run short.”

RE/MAX REALTY (7): Carmel ss-p-ss 200, Nicolini 2b-p 401, Bettwy cp 400, H. Rossman 1b-2b-ss 300, Folcarelli p-3b 411, G. Rossman 3b-p-1b 422, Lucas lf 433, Wilson cf 000, Hammel 311, Jenkins rf 100. Totals – 29-7-8.

SHEETZ (8): Zitsch p-cf 411, Harbaugh lf 411, Wilson ss 310, Detwiler 1b 311, Yost cf-2b-p 100, Gochnour 3b 210, Lindsey c 200, Shehan eh 110, Diehl 2b 211, Ferguson p- 2b 000, Chaplin rf 110. Totals – 23-8-4.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Re/Max Realty 000 013 3 — 7 8 3

Sheetz 000 080 X — 8 4 3

E-Nicolini, Folcarelli, Lucas, Yost, Gochnour, Chaplin. RBI – Lucas 2, Nicolini 2, Carmel, Bettwy, Hammel, Detwiler 2, Harbaugh, Gochnour, Chaplin. SF-Carmel, Gochnour. SB Nicolini, Yost, Diehl. LOB – ReMax Realty 11, Sheetz 7.

PITCHING

RE/MAX REALTY: Folcarelli (L) 4.1IP, 2H, 4R, 3ER, 4BB, 1SO; G. Rossman 3 batters, 1H, 3R, 1ER, 1BB, 0SO; Nicolini 1/3IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 0SO; Caramel 1/3IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1SO; Bettwy 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 2SO.

SHEETZ: Zitsch (W) 5.1 IP, 3H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 3SO; Ferguson 2/3IP, 4H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 0S0; Yost (SV) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1SO.

Series: Sheetz wins 2-1.

Umpires: Brett Stoner (plate); Gary Stitt (bases).

Time of game: 2:16.

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