Goretti leaps past Frogs

May 24, 1998|By JACK HILL III

St. Maria Goretti junior left-hander Anthony Sowers mowed down Maret for six innings.

But when the Frogs started jumping in the seventh, George Everly came to the rescue.

Everly retired the final two batters with the tying run on base to put an end to Maret and save the Gaels' 5-4 victory Saturday in a Maryland B Private Schools State Tournament baseball semifinal game at Municipal Stadium.

It will be the second straight year that Goretti plays in the championship game, which will be at 3 p.m. today at Municipal Stadium. The Gaels (15-10) face The Bullis School, which defeated Washington Waldorf 9-3 in the other semifinal.

Sowers gave up two earned runs and five hits while fanning six batters in 6 1/3 innings to get the win.

"I just wanted to get ahead in the count," Sowers said. "I wanted to keep the hitters off balance and not rely on one pitch all day."

Goretti held a 5-1 lead going into the top of the seventh. With one out, Maret got a run on a two-base throwing error. Shooter Starr then delivered a two-run single to center, cutting the lead to 5-4.

That was enough for Gaels coach Mike Montedoro, who brought in Everly, who retired the final two batters on flyouts for his the save of the postseason.

"We are real happy that we are playing for the state championship again this year," St. Maria Goretti coach Mike Montedoro said. "We told Anthony Sowers and George Everly that they would determine how far that we would go in the tournament. Right now, George has got two saves and Anthony has got a win."

Everly also contributed on offense as he reached base all four times with two triples and two walks.

"We have just got one more step to go," Everly said. "Our goal all season has been to win the state championship."

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