Published Wednesday, April 02, 2008 10:39 AM
Updated Wednesday, April 02, 2008 10:41 AM

 

Gators end 15-year drought

3-1 win first over Stratford since 1993


The drought is over. The burden has been lifted. The Gators have beaten the Knights. Goose Creek catcher Josh Kubisz twice gave his team the lead with clutch hits, and helped end an improbable, 15-year losing streak to Stratford at SHS Monday night.

According to the Goose Creek coaching staff, the 3-1, extra-innings victory was only the fourth win against the Knights in school history. The last time Goose Creek defeated SHS was April 1, 1993.

"It's a big monkey off of our back," Kubisz said. "It's a huge win." Goose Creek Head Coach Scott Durham: "It's big. I don't know if we really believed we could beat them until tonight." Kubisz smacked a one-out double in the top of the eighth inning to drive in his second run of the game and give the Gators their second -- and final -- lead. Goose Creek improved to 15-2, and 3-0 in Region 7-AAAA play. The Knights -- who will get a rematch with their crosstown rivals April 11 -- fell to 11-3, and 2-1 in the region. The victory did not come easy. As a standing-room-only crowd looked on, Stratford's Tyler Hill and Gator southpaw Nick Jonason pitched gems, and both teams delivered early and often in pressure situations. No one, however, rose to the occasion like Kubisz. After three scoreless innings to start the game, Goose Creek left fielder Kenny Bryant got on board in the top of the fourth with a one-out infield hit, and stole second to get into scoring position. Kubisz, the right-handed senior, drilled a long single off of the left field wall to score Bryant and give GCHS a 1-0 lead. As the tension mounted -- the crowd was almost evenly split between Gator and Knight fans -- the lead held for two innings. In the bottom of the fifth, Stratford senior Aaron Preston reached base on a two-out error, and stole second. The stolen base would prove to be crucial: SHS senior first baseman Mecho Bohren launched a towering fly ball to shallow left moments later. As the crowd held its breath, the ball dropped just out of the reach of three Goose Creek defenders, and Preston scored to tie the game. Neither team scored in the seventh, and, fittingly, the contest went into extra innings.  Gator senior Brent Perry led off the top of the eighth with a single to left off of Hill, who had done everything possible to lead his team to victory for the first seven innings. Perry then took second when a pick off attempt got away from Bohren. As Kubisz stepped into the batter's box, a wild pitch advanced Perry to third, setting the stage for the Gator catcher's dramatic double. Kubisz, whose hit came on a slider, used the knowledge of a catcher to battle the SHS right hander. "There was only one series of pitches where (Hill) threw two consecutive fast balls," Kubisz said. "He also had to be careful with (Perry) on third." Following Kubisz's hit, Goose Creek led 2-1. After Jonason was intentionally walked, senior Mitchell Huskey hit a grounder to SHS shortstop Damon Ardis, who threw to second on the fielder's choice. With men on the corners and two outs, GCHS first baseman Anthony DeMeo hit a rocket ground ball to short. Although Ardis made a spectacular diving stop, there was no play to make and the Gators led 3-1. The Knights could not mount a threat in the bottom of the inning.

With two outs, designated hitter Clint Queen launched a high fly ball to shallow center. Gator senior Yamil Perez made a running catch, and the game was history. As a large contingent of Goose Creek fans greeted the Gators as they left the field, Durham praised both teams. "Their guy pitched well enough to win the game," Durham said. "It's too bad someone had to lose it." As for the Knights, Durham admitted the losing streak to Stratford was a burden his program had to shake. "It gets the monkey off our back," he said. "We've played them well ... we played them well last year. But we haven't been able to win." The game featured a little bit of everything, including a scary moment in the top of the third when Knight catcher Josh Crout had to leave the game after a collision with Goose Creek base runner Tony Bryan. Crout was replaced by Ryan Kilgallen. Stratford was poised to play their second in-county contest in as many games Wednesday night, when the Knights were scheduled to travel to Berkeley. Goose Creek was scheduled to play Wando the same night.

Monday's contest was played on a soggy field after a short rainfall in Goose Creek earlier in the day.