SELINSGROVE -- There used to be a Nike television advertising campaign with Dennis Hopper ranting about "Weird things, man, weird things."
That's sort of how the Selinsgrove American Legion baseball team feels about the playoffs. During the high school season, its first-round home playoff was delayed by rain and ace Nick Gaugler cruising. Selinsgrove lost the game the next day.
Fast forward a few months and this time there was Gaugler cruising again at home, this time after giving up a run to Berwick in the first round of the Susquehanna Valley American Legion League playoffs. With the clouds rolling in and the rain starting to fall, the game was nearing a completed contest.
But Brad Billings singled to tie the game in the rain in the fourth and Selinsgrove added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to notch a 3-2 win over Berwick.
"The playoffs and Selinsgrove baseball haven't been a real good match," Gaugler said. "This win will be good for our confidence."
"I was thinking earlier (Thursday) how huge it would be for these kids to win this game," Selinsgrove manager Bryan Mohr said. "It hasn't been in the cards for them to have success in high school in the playoffs."
Selinsgrove (12-7) will host Bloomsburg, a 5-3 winner over Danville at 5:30 p.m. today in the winners' bracket final. Berwick (10-6) will travel to Danville with the loser's season ending.
Gaugler struggled with his control early and it led to a Berwick run. Alex Sobleski was hit by a pitch and was sacrificed to second. On a 3-1 pitch, Brandon Michael doubled to left field to give Berwick a 1-0 lead. Gaugler settled down to retire 15 of the next 16 hitters, allowing only a double to Mike Pyles with two outs in the fifth inning.
"I just needed to find it," Gaugler said. "I just had to work out some kinks."
With the score still 1-0 in the fourth, Paul Eyster walked on four consecutive pitches. Derek Moyer sacrificed him to second before Berwick pitcher Scott Berkes struck out the next hitter for the second out. Billings followed with an RBI single to the right field fence to tie the game at 1-1.
Selinsgrove got the game-winning runs in the bottom of the sixth. Derek Moyer reached on the only error of the game. Gaugler sacrificed him to second. That brought Billings to the plate. He was 2-for-2 at that point. After a conference at the mound and an inside pitch that pushed Billings off the plate, he lined the next pitch off the fence in left field for a double and a 2-1 Selinsgrove lead.
"I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just something I could drive," Billings said. "The good Lord just blessed me. I was able to get my hands around and drive it."
Berkes got the next hitter to strike out, before Kevin Robinson added a needed insurance run with an RBI single to score pinch runner Sean Melewski for a 3-1 lead.
Berwick didn't go away quietly. With one out, Michael Corbacio singled and Brandon Michael doubled to put runners on second and third. That brought Mohr to the mound.
"I was running out of juice, but I wasn't coming out," Gaugler said.
"We had somebody loose in the bullpen, but Nick said he wanted to finish," Mohr said.
The next hitter hit a sacrifice fly for the second out of the inning to cut the Selinsgrove lead to 3-2, but Gaugler got Pyles to fly out to Robinson in short left field to end the game. Gaugler finished the game, allowing two earned runs on four hits. He struck out five, walked one and hit a batter.
Berkes took the complete-game loss. He allowed seven hits, striking out four and walking one.
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American Legion baseball: Selinsgrove rallies in the rain to advance
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