By PAUL GOTHAM
PENFIELD, N.Y. — Troy Liebert allowed one run on five hits over eight innings of work, and the Monarchs claimed the 2022 Interstate Collegiate Baseball League (ICBL) Championship with a 4-1 victory over the Ducks, Tuesday night at Penfield’s Bachman Field.
Liebert retired the first 13 batters he faced and allowed four balls out of the infield during the first four innings before surrendering a one-out single in the fifth. The right-hander retired five of the next six Ducks who came to the plate.
“It was a great way to end the summer,” the former Brockport Blue Devil standout said of the win. “I was throwing my two-seam (fastball). I wanted to get first-pitch strikes every time.”
Liebert struck out nine while issuing one walk and improved to 5-1 on the season.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM DENNIS JOYCE HERE.
He found himself locked in a duel with Ducks’ starter Nick Franceschi. Both hurlers put zeroes on the scoreboard through the first four innings.
“When it’s zero-to-zero, you have to stay in it the whole time,” Liebert noted. “If you make one mistake, you never know what could happen. You could be down by five just like that. You got to stay locked.”
Brian Oddi, Jr. snapped the scoreless tie with a two-out, two-run pinch hit double in the fifth. Jacob Parker and Dan Hooper scored on the play.
Troy Liebert strands a runner on second. Right-hander has allowed two hits and struck out nine. Heading to the bottom of the seventh: Monarchs 4 Ducks 0 pic.twitter.com/LgFl2EshZR
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) August 2, 2022
“That felt great off the bat,” Oddi said of the hit. “I was sitting fastball. With guys on second and third, I knew I had to get a hit and pull through for the team. It ended up doing exactly that, so it was great. It was a great feeling.”
Parker reached on a two-out walk, and Hooper singled. Both moved 90 feet on a passed ball to set up Oddi.
“He was throwing a lot of fastballs early in the count, so I figured I’d sit on that,” Oddi added. “I got one right where I wanted it.”
Parker and Anthony Anzalone connected on back-to-back RBI singles in the sixth to extend the lead to four. Liebert had all the offense he needed.
Jacob Parker fights off a two-out fastball for an RBI single. Nick Ianniello scores on the play. Heading to the 7th: Monarchs 4 Ducks 0 pic.twitter.com/GG65HqKqDm
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) August 2, 2022
A week ago, Liebert struck out seven and hurled a seven-inning no-hitter against the Ducks. On Tuesday, he made sure revenge did not factor into the game’s outcome.
“It was the championship game, so I had a little bit more adrenaline in me,” he said. “It helped me push through. Last week, I was throwing a lot of curve balls, consistently. Like three pitches to every batter I was throwing curve balls. This week I focused on more fastballs just trying to mix it up.”
Liebert allowed two runs over his final five appearances of the season – a stretch of 28 innings pitched. Since giving up five runs over three innings in an outing on June 22nd, he lowered his ERA from 5.04 to 1.69 to end the season.
“It was focusing on not giving up walks,” he said matter-of-factly. “Once you get the first-pitch strike from there you’re in control of the count. You can throw whatever you want and mix it up. Once I focused on not walking anybody and then getting outs consistently from there it worked perfectly.”
Devin Cannon retired all three batters in the ninth to seal the win.
Dan Tirabassi and Trevor Gineau both went 2-for-4 with a double in the win. Devin Georgetti doubled, walked and scored a run. Nick Nealon chipped in a double. Jourdan Plaisted had a single.
Devin Georgetti doubles off the third base bag to get aboard with two outs in the sixth. Monarchs holding a 2-0 lead over Ducks in the 2022 @interstateCBL championship. pic.twitter.com/eIC6jbPUcf
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) August 2, 2022
Aiden Coykendall drove in Shane Pray with an eighth-inning single for the lone Ducks run. Jake Dockum, Mateo Santos, Zack Mock and Alan Michael LeFrois each had a single.
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