Gateway snaps skid but falls short of playoff berth

By: Michael Love
Sunday, May 7, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The Gateway baseball team hoped for positive results as it closed out the Section 1-5A slate with series against Penn-Trafford and Penn Hills.

The Gators came into the week seeking to build off a 15-0 victory over Woodland Hills on April 28 which snapped a slide that reached nine games after a two-game sweep at the hands of Section 1 rival Plum.

Mother Nature wrecked havoc with teams’ baseball schedules last week, and Gateway’s series with Penn-Trafford was among those delayed.

The teams were to meet for a doubleheader Thursday (May 4) at Gateway.

The Gators also were to close out the section slate against Penn Hills on Monday evening at home before visiting the Indians on Tuesday.

Gateway’s two losses against Plum, which put it at 1-7 in section play, were contributing factors in its elimination from the section’s WPIAL-playoff race.

Franklin Regional, Fox Chapel and Plum all entered play on Thursday with 6-2 records. Armstrong was 6-4, and Penn-Trafford was alive at 5-3.

Only the top four teams in each Class 5A section qualify for the postseason.

Gateway entered the series with Penn-Trafford hoping to play the role of spoiler.

Against Plum, the Gators grabbed an early 1-0 lead with a first-inning solo home run from junior Taili Thompson.

But the Gateway offense was limited from there, and Plum scored a run in a third, two in the fifth and one more in the seventh for a 4-1 victory.

The Gators finished with five hits. In addition to Thompson’s round-tripper, senior Brody Clemens finished 2 for 3 with a double and a single. Senior Nolan Boehm and junior Noah Colberg each collected singles.

Boehm got the start and went six innings. He scattered three Plum hits, struck out eight and walked two.

Thompson came on to work the seventh and gave up an earned run on two hits while striking out two.

Only one of the Mustangs’ four runs was earned. Gateway committed a trio of errors in the contest.

The second game of the series was close into the fifth before Plum pulled away for a 14-7 victory.

Gateway scored a run in the top of the first before the Mustangs answered with two in the bottom of the frame.

Plum extended its lead to 8-3 after three innings.

But the Gators didn’t back down and rallied to within one at 8-7 with four runs in the top of the fifth.

The Mustangs scored two in the bottom of the fifth and four more in the bottom of the sixth to put the game on ice.

Gateway put up 14 hits on the board and five of them were for extra bases: two doubles from Thompson and two-base hits from Boehm, freshman Grady Dunsmore and junior Ahmad Harris.

Senior Brandon Bell and freshman John Deluca each drove in a pair of runs, while Clemens, Harris and Thompson also recorded RBIs.

Of the Plum runs, eight were earned. The Gateway defense was tagged for four errors.

Harris started, worked three innings, and picked up the loss.

Gateway senior Nate Demchak has been out of the lineup with injury since a loss to Seneca Valley on April 14.

Bell led the team in batting average through 15 games at .373 (19 of 51). He tied for the team lead in doubles with Thompson (seven) and recorded 10 RBIs.

Thompson batted .354 (17 of 48) and tied Colberg with a team-high 12 RBIs.

Boehm was the workhorse on the mound with a 1.75 earned-run average and 47 strikeouts over 32 innings pitched. Opponents batted .167 (20 for 120) against him.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway