Howard tops Philipsburg; punches ticket to finals

PHILIPSBURG — The Howard Hawks may have given up every bit of momentum and their seeming vice-grip on the County League semifinals when Philipsburg won the fourth game of the series, but all was not lost.

The Hawks still had Brian Pelka.

After the defending champion Pirates tied the series at two games each on July 23, perhaps the easiest decision the Howard coaches made was giving the ball to Pelka to pitch the series-deciding fifth game at Philipsburg on July 25.

Pelka did not disappoint.

Propelled by a three-run first inning and three RBIs by Dan Cole, the 44-year-old veteran right-hander pitched Howard to a 7-2 victory that clinched the series and sent the Hawks into the finals against Clarence.

Pelka, not quite as sharp as he was in Game 1, still gave up just two runs on eight hits, struck out six, and walked just two. He was helped by an error-free and opportunistic defense—two Pirate runners were thrown out at third base — and the three runs Howard put up in the first inning were ultimately all that he needed.

Howard scored another run in the third to take a 4-1 lead, and then essentially wrapped things up with another three-run rally in the fifth.

“First inning, I was a little too predictable,” Pelka said, “but then I settled down. The last inning I was definitely running out of gas, but I was able to make a couple good pitches and let them get the bat on the ball.

“It was a good offensive day, and a good defensive day. Put us in the finals.”

Howard didn’t waste any time asserting itself against Philipsburg starter Parker Watson. The first four Hawk hitters reached base, and three consecutive singles by Scott Zubeck, Ty Womer, and Cole gave Howard the early lead. Cole’s hit drove in the first two runs, and one-out sacrifice fly by DH Dylan Womer accounted for the third.

“That (hit) got us ahead,” Cole said. “It was a big one because we’d been missing that the last couple games. Getting ahead early was huge today.”

Spike Island countered with three hits and a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Watson. However, a runner thrown out at third gave Pelka some breathing room, and he was able to cut the rally short.

That run was the only one Philipsburg scored until the last inning.

Howard, in the meantime, added a run in the third on an RBI hit by Dylan Womer to make it 4-1.

Then, in the fifth, the Hawks sent eight hitters to the plate and scored three more on RBIs by Cole, Clay Smith and Ryan Dyke. The runs gave Howard—and Pelka—a commanding 7-1 lead.

“This is a game of emotions,” Howard coach Jim Gardner said, “and we grabbed an early lead. What was good about it was we kept the pressure on the whole time, kept the life up and didn’t let them get very much.”