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In the first four innings of play, Sheetz left 10 runners on base and managed just a 1-0 lead after four innings in its best-of-3 deciding semifinal game against Pro Fab Solutions in the Altoona Greater City Baseball League playoffs at Vets Field Monday night.
"I was getting a little frustrated because that is a lot of runners left on in a game deciding who gets in the finals," Sheetz coach Kyle DeGennaro said. "Luckily, we got a couple across eventually, and I was happy with the way our guys kept battling."
Sheetz scored one in the third, three in the fifth and then pulled away with five in the top of the seventh in a 9-0 victory, placing it in the best-of-five finals, which begin tonight at Vets at 6:30 against defending champ Lilly Conrad Chiropractic.
"They played well. They've got one hell of a team," Pro Fab coach Joe Fornwalt said. "They've got some good ballplayers there. We made some tough outs. They're fast."
Sheetz loaded the bases in the first inning on singles from Parker Gregg and Aidan Steinbugl, plus a walk to Caleb Sanders. However, starting pitcher Joey DeRubeis coaxed a flyball out to end the frame. Sheetz loaded the bases again in the second on a Joe Speece single, Connor Sanders getting hit by a pitch and a Pro Fab error. Again, DeRubeis recorded an out when he got Lucas Muffie to ground into a force at home to end that inning.
"He did everything I asked him to do tonight," Fornwalt said of DeRubeis, who gave up just one run in the first four frames before getting chased late.
Sheetz went up 1-0 in the third on a Caleb Detrick single. A former member of the Hollidaysburg Little League team that went to the World Series four years ago, he was on base three times with two hits and a walk, along with scoring a run.
"He has been a great addition to our team," DeGennaro said. "He's a young kid, but he goes out there and plays hard and has fun. Definitely glad to have him."
Pitcher Nate Empson got the complete-game victory, but he did it with only one 1-2-3 inning -- the third. He gave up just five hits, all singles, but each time he needed to get a third out, he got it. He struck out five and walked only one. Rich Ball singled and stole second in the second inning for Pro Fab, but Empson got Mason Mento to fly out to end that frame. Ball reached on an error in the fourth but was stranded at third when Empson got Ian Slate to fly out to end the inning.
"He pitched a nice game ... we beat him the last time we played them," Fornwalt said. "We had expectations this year, we had mostly everybody back. It's disappointing that we lost, but hats off to them."
Sheetz made it 4-0 with three in the fifth, one on an error, one on a wild pitch and a Parker Gregg RBI single. He finished with three hits, coming off a 5-for-5 game this past weekend. Sheetz made it 9-0 with five in the seventh when it chased DeRubeis. Caleb Sanders plated a run while Evan Sanders did so with a groundout.
Things got dicey in the bottom of the seventh. Empson gave up a walk to Lance Westover, a single to Mason Mento and he hit Jake Zavalanski to load the bases with no outs.
"He was able to bear down and pitched a great game for us," said DeGennaro, who admitted he was almost ready to pull Empson in the end. "We were fortunate to break it open in the seventh, but I was really proud of Nate."
Empson then got a strikeout, a flyout and a groundball out to end the game.
"The key for Nate was keeping the ball down and keeping them off balance. He doesn't throw hard, but he was effective. When he is on, he is on."
Game notes: Steinbugl also finished with two hits. ... Pro Fab catcher Luke Mento made a nice catch for an out on a pop-up in foul ground where he had to back up at the last second. He caught the ball as he tumbled to the ground and held on for an out.
SHEETZ (9): Gregg cf 513, Steinbugl ss 412, Muffie lf 510, Kravetz dh 321, Empson p 000, Ca. Sanders 3b 411, E. Sanders rf 400, Detrick 2b 312, Speece 1b 411, C. Sanders c 210. Totals -- 34-9-10.
PRO FAB SOLUTIONS (0): Cook cf 400, DeRubeis p-ss 400, Yahner dh 401, Hanlon 3b 000, Gearhart p 000, L. Mento c 301, Cherico cr 000, Ball ss-3b 301, Slate rf 300, Westover 200, M. Mento lf 201, Zavalanski 1b 201. Totals -- 27-0-5.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Sheetz 001 030 5 -- 9 10 1
Pro Fab 000 000 0 -- 0 5 5
E--Hanlon 2, Ball 2, M. Mento, Ca. Sanders. RBI--Gregg, Ca. Sanders, E. Sanders, Detrick. WP--Empson. LP--DeRubeis. SO--Empson 5, DeRubeis 5. BB--Empson 1, DeRubeis 6, Gearhart 2.