Tim Gilmore Stymies Indians

By Ted Waddell
FALLSBURG — May 16, 2000 -- Tim Gilmore, the Fallsburg shortstop/pitcher who was recently featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd,” added another feather to his cap as the home team Comets defeated the Liberty Indians 4-1 in Thursday’s Orange County league (OCL) National Conference Division II game.
Gilmore held his opponents scoreless until the top of the seventh, when Liberty racked up its only run of the game. He pitched a five-hitter and struck out ten. Gilmore helped out his own cause by going 2-for-3 at the plate, including an RBI and a pilfered base.
“Tim came out and threw a great game today,” said Fallsburg co-coach Brett Cancredi. “He pitched a beautiful game, and we played defense behind him, which is something we haven’t done for him in the last couple of games he’s pitched.”
In the top of the first inning, Liberty loaded the bases with two out, but Gilmore then slammed the door on a mega scoring opportunity.
In the bottom of the opening frame, Darren Kenney led off with a triple and scored on a base hit by Jeff O’Neill. Liberty starter Jason Melchick got out of the jam as he left Comet runners stranded on second and third.
In the second, Corey Buckner led off with a double but Melchick retired the next trio of batters.
Fallsburg left O’Neill stranded on third in the third after he led off with a double and was advanced on a sacrifice by Gilmore.
After a scoreless fourth frame, Kenney singled in the bottom of the fifth for the Comets and scored on a base hit by Gilmore after stealing second to give the home team a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Rafi Fine led off with a base hit, and advanced on a bunt by Mike Roycroft. Fine scored on a single by Shawn Hindes, who moved over to second on a Corey Huber bunt. A Buckner double sent Eddie Inzauto (pinch running for Hindes) across the plate, but Buckner was tagged out at third while attempting to stretch it into a triple.
The inning ended with Fallsburg in the lead, 4-0.
Liberty finally got on board in the seventh. Brian Gatta reached first on an infield hit and later scored when a chopper by Todd Davis bounced over the shortstop’s head.
“I thought it was a good game for both teams,” said Indians coach Jim O’Connor. “Fallsburg has a really good squad. I thought we hung in there with them, but we just didn’t get the job done. They got the bat on the ball a couple more times than us.
“Both pitchers had really good games,” he added.
According to Cancredi, the Comets needed the win.
“It was a big day for us,” he said. “The guys sucked it up and played some good defense, and we got the hits when we had to.”
“Today was pretty quick,” reflected Gilmore after the win. “They couldn’t really get around on the fast ball, so that’s what I stuck with and it got me outs.”
“This year, we’re definitely put together,” said Gilmore of the millennium edition of the Comets varsity baseball team. “We’ll be in there at the end.”
On April 12, Gilmore lead his teammates to a 18-1 victory over Chester, going 5-for-5, including four homers (a solo shot, two- and three-run smashes, and to top it off, a grand slam).
A few days after the win over Chester, the Fallsburg athletic department sent a letter to Sports Illustrated, citing his torching performance and noting that their star shortstop/pitcher was then batting .575 with seven homers and 26 RBI.
With the victory over Liberty, Gilmore is now 3-3. Last week, his ERA stood at 2.09. In April, he hurled a no-hitter with 15 whiffs against the Eldred Yellow Jackets.
A couple of days later, SI called and a photographer snapped some shots. And bingo, Tim Gilmore was one of six amateur athletes featured in SI’s “Faces in the Crowd” in the May 8 edition.
According to the 18-year-old Fallsburg Central School senior, who also excels on the soccer field and basketball court, he’s taking getting his mug featured in SI pretty much in stride.
“I’m excited about it, but I have to stay focused,” he said.