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Liberty exacts revenge
Photo
Liberty’s Tyler Evans (18) slides under the tag of LaBrae’s Bobby Klein during a Division III sectional tournament baseball game Monday in Liberty. The Leopards defeated the Vikings, 4-2, to advance to today’s round against Girard.
By JIm Flick
LIBERTY
Revenge was sweet Monday for the Liberty High School baseball team.
The Leopards (11-9-1) scored four runs in the second inning while hitting safely only once and hung on to defeat LaBrae (7-13-1) in a Division III sectional tournament game.
Liberty now faces Girard at 4:30 p.m. today on the Indians’ field in the next round of the tournament.
The Leopards scored all their runs in the second inning. Liberty third baseman Tyler Evans, a junior, walked to start the inning and scored the game’s first run.
Lou Rivera, a senior, slapped an infield single and was credited with the Leopards’ only RBI.
“When I hit it, I knew I had to bust my butt to get to first base” ahead of the fielder’s throw, Rivera said.
Three other runs crossed the plate in that inning due to LaBrae errors. Rivera, first baseman D.J. Hight, a junior, and center fielder Jared Wiesen each scored a run.
Leading 4-0, starting pitcher Dom Gore (3-1) bore down. He pitched all seven innings for Liberty, striking out seven. He walked five and hit one batter.
“I felt like I had something to prove to everybody. You don’t give up, you play hard as hard as you can,” said Gore. “I felt I should put my team on my back, being that it’s my senior year.”
Gore added the loss to LaBrae earlier this season made it more important to win on Monday.
Liberty coach Gary Knittle said Gore “came to me and said he was in it to the end. He wanted to close the door on LaBrae. It was in his hands.”
Another key to the victory was Liberty’s infield play. Rivera, who played second base, admitted he missed a grounder hit to him in the first inning, but said, “that woke me up. I didn’t miss any after that. I just had to stay focused.”
The player who finally slammed the door shut on LaBrae was sophomore catcher Nick Byce, who recorded the final out by catching a pop fly behind home plate.
“He made a heck of a play. It was a tough catch,” said Knittle.
The victory was sweet for the Leopards because the Vikings have repeatedly stymied Liberty’s efforts on the diamond, said Knittle. LaBrae eliminated Liberty in the sectional 9-1 two years ago and defeated the Leopards again earlier this season.
“I’m happy for these guys,” said Knittle. “Liberty baseball has been down for the last 20 years. But this group has really come together. We’ve won a few more games every year.”
LaBrae coach Dan Chiaberta admitted Gore “kept us off-balance.”
He added, “We had some opportunities, but we didn’t get it done today.
“We made some mistakes in the field early on,” said Chiaberta. “In a game like this, you can’t afford to do that.”
Liberty, Chiaberta said, “Made some great plays in the infield. When they do that, combined with that pitcher, they’re hard to beat.”