Ed Gebauer got cocky before his start Wednesday. Warming up in the bullpen, he noticed his curve breakingsharply. Gebauer hasn’t thrown an effective curve all season.

He talked with Pensacola Pelicans catcher Casey Clark. They agreed to give it a chance. Gebauer threw it three times in the first. Twice it bounced in the dirt. The right-hander junked the curve. It was the smartest move he made all night.

In the season’s biggest contest to date, Gebauer pitched eight shutout innings to lead Pensacola to a 3-0 win against the Selma Cloverleafs before 684 spectators in the first round of the Southeastern League’s Tournament of Champions.

The Cloverleafs didn’t register a hit off Gebauer until the seventh inning. Joe Whitmer’s slow roller between first and second barely slipped past Pensacola second baseman Manabu Kuramochi. It was only the second time the visitors had reached the outfield.