Geibel's zone
CALLERY — Tim Geibel limped around the mound, stretching his cramping calf.
The Mars II right-hander grimaced with each labored offering.
But there was no concern from the Mars II dugout. There was no instinct to remove Geibel from the game in the top of the seventh inning of Game 4 of the Eagle County League Championship Series.
Not with Geibel in “the zone.”
The faith in the ace paid off as Geibel wrapped up a game in which he struck out 12 on the mound and hit two solo home runs to lift Mars II to a 3-1 win over rival Mars at Callery Friday night.
“I'm getting too old for this,” Geibel quipped with a straight face.
The win sets up a decisive Game 5 Saturday at Callery. First pitch is 2 p.m.
Mars II has gotten to the winner-take-all game on the back of Geibel, who struck out 10 and hit a two-run home run last Saturday in a 3-1, Game 2 win.
“Oh my gosh, we played the other day and I said Tim played the game of his life,” said Mars II manager Eric King. “Well, he just topped it this game. I can't say enough about the kid. He's the definition of a gamer.”
Geibel was in constant trouble on the mound but was able to get out of jam after jam.
Mars left at least two runners stranded on base in every inning — including the bases loaded in the sixth — and left 15 on in the game.
Mars hitters were 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
“Mediocre (at-bats) would be kind,” said Mars manager Brendan Malone. “All you can do is get guys on and get those chances. We'll be alright. Tomorrow is another day.”
Geibel's solo shot over the short right-field fence in the second inning gave Mars II a 1-0 lead.An error allowed a run to score for Mars II in the fifth inning before Mars slashed the lead to 2-1 in the top of the sixth with a RBI single by Shane Heim.Mars, though, couldn't do any more damage despite having runners on second and third and no one out after the Heim RBI.Geibel hunkered down to get a groundout in front of an intentional walk to Malone that loaded the bases. He then struck out Dan Penberthy and Bob Spithaler to get out of the jam.“I was just trying to focus on the glove and keep the ball at the knees,” Geibel said. “I was just trying to pound the slider low.”That slider was working well for Geibel all game. It was his out-pitch and he needed it quite often.“It's been my best pitch since high school all the way through college,” said Geibel, a Butler High and Wheeling Jesuit University graduate. “I've lived on it. I know where it is going to go most of the time. If I don't, it's a bad day.”There haven't been any bad days for Geibel in this series. His hot streak has even surprised him.Geibel said he has been hot before, but “not like this. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me.”This may also be the last hurrah for Geibel and Mars II.Many members of the team are scattering to the four winds after this season, pursuing jobs and other life changes.That has added to the urgency this postseason.“I'm just trying my best to get these guys a win,” Geibel said. “A lot of these guys might not be playing next year. We're all getting older. We don't know how many more games we're going to have. I'm just trying to keep these guys alive.“I don't know where I'm going to be next year,” Geibel added. “For me, it's just putting everything out there because I don't know if I'll ever pitch again.”Despite being pushed to Game 5, Mars and its manager have remained confident.“We're going to be ready to go,” Malone said. “We know (Saturday) is the last game of the year, no matter what, so it's pretty simple. We're going to get it done.”Mars 000 001 0 — 1 7 2Mars II 010 011 x — 3 5 2W: Tim Geibel 7IP (12K, 4BB). L: Matt DeSalvo 6IP (9K, 1BB).Mars: Shane Heim 1B RBI, Dan Penberthy 2-1B, Brian Slavicek 1B, John Popert 2-1B, Matt Johnson 1BMars II: Geibel 2-HR 2B 2-RBI, Alex Ziegler 1B, Nick Rossmiller 1BSaturday: Mars II at Mars, Game 5 of best-of-five championship series, 2 p.m.
