LL States: Days 1-3 Recap

Newville has seen some amazing games in the first two days of the state tournament. From big-time pitching, to extra innings, to amazing defensive plays and home runs, we’ve seen a little bit of everything in mostly tightly-contested ballgames. Let’s take a look at how things have gone so far. Eastern PA Sports Network will be broadcasting Saturday’s games at the links below!

Saturday

Winners Bracket Final: Council Rock Newtown v Back Mountain National – 4:00 – LISTEN

Elimination Bracket Semifinal: Northern Lebanon v Greencastle – 7:00 – LISTEN

Day 1

Tri-Town 4, West Point 3(7) (LISTEN to the replay)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
West Point	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	6	3
Tri-Town	0	0	1	0	0	2	1	4	9	1

WP: Mechbach LP: Braden

The first game of the morning and tournament set a tone. After just six combined baserunners through the first two and a half innings, Beaux Richmond, from the 10 spot in the lineup, led off his team’s third inning with a single up the middle. Brayden Swartz bunted him over and Cameron Kriner grounded into a fielders choice to score Richmond. That run would hold up until West Point broke through in the fifth. Jackson Woitkowiak hit an RBI single into center field and scored Gavin Braden. Sebastian “Bash” Shine bashed home two runs on a hit and West Point was in line for a 3-1 lead. Or so it seemed.

In the sixth inning, Kriner led off, striking out at the hand of Santino Facciani. Jameson Smith doubled to the wall in center, but then Kaden Caster popped out. Lyle Huggler, son of the manager who shares his name, stepped into the box and on a first pitch fastball, swung for the fences. It was a no-doubter and the game was suddenly tied at 3.

West Point got two on in the top of the 7th, but couldn’t push across a run. The bottom of the inning was led off by a Kameron Caster triple deep into left. Smith then worked a walk and West Point intentionally loaded the bases to try and get an out at any bag. Cash Jumper came up money. On a full count, he took ball four and Tri-Town won it on a walk-off walk.

Back Mountain National 8, Coventry 0(LISTEN to the replay)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Coventry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
Back Mountain National	0	0	6	0	2	X	8	9	0

WP: Samanas LP: Vermillion

It seemed the second game on Wednesday would be another low scoring nail-biter. Carter Samanas and Trent Vermillion were dealing early. Samanas struck out three and only allowed two baserunners in the first three innings. Vermillion fanned four and only surrednered a single and a walk with two outs in the bottom of the third. A hit by pitch quickly snowballed in the third inning, however. The 11 batter, Mitch Ronczka wore one and went down to first. In the 12 spot, Liam Dieffenbacher worked a full count walk to prolong the inning and turn the lineup over. Vermillion exited the game, giving way to Kaiden Kirby. He was greeted by RBI singles from Kellan DeFalco and Samanas and then walked Ben Nulton. With the bases loaded and still two outs, Nick Federici delivered his 5th home run of the postseason, a grand slam off the scoreboard, bringing the Back Mountain lead to 6-0.

DeFalco added a deep shot to right in the fifth, notching his sixth home run of All-Star play and his team’s 23rd bomb of the postseason. Samanas, Nulton, Vanvalkenburgh and Medrano combined to throw a two-hit shutout and struck out seven, putting Back Mountain into the winners bracket semifinals.

Northern Lebanon 3, St. Mary’s 0(7)(LISTEN to the replay)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
St. Mary’s	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2
Northern Lebanon	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	7	0

WP: Nolan Anspach LP: Cael Stauffer

Defensive gems defined game #3 of opening day. Not one, not two, but three double plays were turned in this one, highlighting a scoreless game through six innings.

Nolan Anspach grounded into the first one, turned in the bottom of the first inning, as Kade Caskey fielded the ball at his shortstop position, stepped on second and fired on to first.

Not to be outdone, Parker Wright snagged a comebacker off the bat of Carson Dellaquia, turned and fired to second. Jacob Anspach tossed it to Taven Zang to complete the play.

There were no more baserunners in this one until the final double play was turned in the bottom of the third. Nate Marley hit a grounder down to Doc Chapman at third who stepped on the bag and fired across to record the second out. St. Mary’s would load the bases in the fourth on a walk and two hit by pitch, but Easton Straub flew out to right to end the best threat his team had on the day. Leo Simbeck pulled a Houdini act in the fifth, striking out the side with two on to get out of a jam. Nolan Anspach struck out the side in the top of the sixth.

As the teams remained scoreless into the extra inning, it seemed we were destined for an eighth inning. However, with two out, Nolan Anspach doubled and Isaac Good walked on four pitches. Greyson McQuaide stepped in and on the second pitch, he belted one out to center to walk it off for Northern Lebanon, propelling them to the winners bracket semifinals.

Council Rock Newtown 9, Greencastle 4(LISTEN to the replay)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Council Rock Newtown	3	0	3	2	1	0	9	11	1
Greencastle	2	0	0	2	0	0	4	6	0

WP: Longo LP: Gordon

Greencastle entered the state tournament outscoring their opponents 121-13, putting up crooked numbers wherever they went. According to manager Brad Hamilton, on the other hand, Council Rock Newtown entered states not having played their best baseball in their section 6 victories over Franklin Township and Southern Lehigh.

Coach Hamilton was much more pleased as his team broke out for nine runs and eleven hits, scoring early and often to keep the pressure on the champions of Section 7. His son, Dean, led off with a walk and was quickly singled over by Brayden Peiffer. Tyler Neeld singled to load the bases with no outs right out of the gate. Sav Longo got his first RBI of states with a sac fly and Gavin Caudill and Rocco DaBronzo both tacked on with RBI singles.

Greencastle responded in the bottom of the inning with a Noah Ambrose RBI triple to the fence in center, followed up by Bryce King’s RBI single up the middle. Longo, who got the start on the mound, quickly recovered, striking out two to end the inning and then striking out the side in the seocnd.

While his time on the mound would be cut short due to pitch count rules, Longo’s night was far from done. After a Peiffer leadoff walk in the third and a Neeld single, Longo bombed one to center for a three run home run, putting Newtown ahead 6-2. They loaded the bases again in the fourth and Tyler Wexler hit a sac fly to right, scoring Ryan Uhl. Peiffer got it done again with an RBI hit up the middle.

Noah Ambrose gave Greencastle hope with a two run homer in the fourth, cutting the CR Newtown lead to 8-4, but Sav Longo had other ideas once again. With two on in the bottom of the fifth and Greencastle threatening, Jacob Stephens hit one into center, where Longo was waiting. He made a diving catch, quickly recovered and threw to second base to double off the runner, ending what could have been a huge comeback inning for Greencastle. Tyler Wexler closed the game out, getting Greencastle in order in the sixth to secure the 9-4 victory.

Day 2

Back Mountain 4, Tri-Town 1(LISTEN to the replay)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Back Mountain National	0	1	0	0	0	3	4	7	1
Tri-Town	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	0

WP: Nulton LP: Huggler

The power lineup of Back Mountain National didn’t need a lot of power in their winners bracket semifinal against Tri-Town, showcasing instead their pitching and small-ball abilities.

Lyle Huggler drew blood early for Tri-Town, with an RBI single into center to score Kaden Caster. However, that’d be their only run of the morning, as Ben Nulton quickly recovered for two strikeouts to end the first inning. Mattie Lapidus tied the game on an RBI single in the second.

Kaden Caster pitched a phenomenal game for Tri-Town, striking out seven and working five innings of one-run ball. However, everything changed in the sixth inning as Jordan Medrano led off with a triple to left. Logan Vanvalkenburgh greeted Lyle Huggler with an RBI single on his second pitch, giving Back Mountain the 2-1 lead. Vanvalkenburgh would score on a wild pitch and Kellan DeFalco added another run with a double up the middle, scoring Sam Greblunas.

Tri-Town wasn’t done, however. Leadoff walks to Cash Jumper and Brayden Swartz, along with a single by Jameson Smith loaded the bases around a Cameron Kriner strikeout. Ben Nulton ended the game with a big catch in center, firing back into second base for a game-ending double play, sending Back Mountain National to the winners bracket final.

Council Rock Newtown 10, Northern Lebanon 0(LISTEN to the replay)

	1	2	3	4	5	R	H	E
Northern Lebanon	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Council Rock Newtown	1	0	0	4	5	10	13	0

WP: Neeld LP: Zang

Council Rock Newtown stayed red-hot on offense against Northern Lebanon. Despite a double play turned in the first inning, Sav Longo remained productive and perfect on the tournament, doubling to the wall in center and scoring Dean Hamilton for the early 1-0 lead. On the bump, Tyler Neeld was firing hard, striking out six in two and two thirds innings.

With the score still 1-0 in the fourth, Sav Longo earned himself, rightfully so, an intentional walk. That decision quickly burned Northern Lebanon, however, as Greyson Gage doubled him home. Gavin Caudill followed up with an RBI hit up the middle and two-out RBI hits by Ryan Uhl and Wes Esteves inflated the lead to 5-0.

Newtown loaded the bases in the next inning and the hit parade continued, with RBI singles by Neeld and Longo. Longo is now 4/4 in states with 7RBI. Rocco DaBronzo stepped in with his team up 8-0 and ripped a double into left, scoring Neeld and Longo to end the game in five innings in the mercy rule.

West Point 2, Coventry 1(LISTEN to the replay)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Coventry	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	0
West Point	2	0	0	0	0	X	2	0	2

WP: Hisman LP: Raab

How many times have you seen a baseball team win a game without a hit? Well you have now. West Point found themselves in another tight game in the first elimination contest of the tournament.

In the first inning, Bash Shine wore a pitch from Mason Raab. Santino Facciani and Gavin Braden then walked on 3-1 pitches to load the bases. Coventry quickly went to the bullpen, bringing in Aaron Duff. With a full count against him, Nick Hisman took an RBI walk and then Croix Lattanzio hit into a fielders choice at first base, scoring Facciaini and putting West Point up 2-0. Duff struck out Max Siemon to strand two more in scoring position.

Coventry countered in the second inning on a Matt Mungin double to left, scoring Coltun Wadsworth.

Hisman came on to pitch in the third inning and Coventry quickly loaded the bases. However, he struck out Gray Brilla to end the inning and leave them all.

Duff and Jake Wallace combined to set West Point batters down in order for the final four turns at bat. Hisman struck out two with two on in the sixth inning to secure West Point’s hitless 2-1 victory.

Greencastle 2, St. Mary’s 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
St. Mary’s	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	7	1
Greencastle	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	6	0

WP: Horst LP: Caskey

Leo Simbeck used 89 pitched to get through 4.2 innings of four-hit, one-run ball with nine strikeouts. However, it wasn’t enough as Greencastle squeaked by the team from St. Mary’s.

St. Mary’s took a 1-0 lead in the third when Richy Hurd hit into a 4-6 fielders choice, scoring Carson Dellaquia. Hurd would then be thrown at home on a hit by Blake Stauffer, ending an inning that could’ve seen the team pad their lead.

Bryce King tied the game in the fourth on an RBI double to left, scoring Kolston Piper. Simbeck struck out the next two to recover and end the inning.

Asher Horst then came up enormous in this tournament. After Doc Chapman and Cael Stauffer led off the fifth with singles, Dellaquia walked to load the bases with nobody out. Horst struck out the side on the next ten pitches, ending the threat and leaving the bases juiced.

Greer Barkdoll led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to right and Ryan Emlet sacrificed him over to third. Chase Cordell chased him home on a hit to right and Greencastle walked off the victory, eliminating St. Mary’s from title contention.

Day 3

Northern Lebanon 10, West Point 6(8)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	R	H	E
Northern Lebanon	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	5	10	11	1
West Point	0	1	2	0	0	2	0	1	6	10	2

WP: Fry LP: Siemon

West Point, like their first two games, faced adversity late and would need to respond to stay alive in the tournament. They fought back once but pitching depth was their undoing in an eighth inning.

They built a 3-0 lead after three innings, on a lead off second inning solo shot by Nick Hisman and a two-run shot by Gavin Braden to right.

Not to be outdone, Grayson McQuaide launched a two-run bomb to left in the next half inning, cutting the lead to 3-2. He would tie the game in the sixth, singling up the middle and scoring Luke Copenhaver, who had walked earlier in the inning. Taven Zang then walked and with two outs, Jacob Anspach gave Northern Lebanon a 4-3 lead on a line drive to center, scoring Isaac Good. McQuaide then scored a huge insurance run on a passed ball.

Trailing 5-3 and with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, West Point came through. Braden doubled and Hisman knocked the improbable two-run shot to deep center to tie the game, sending it to extra innings.

Neither team scored in the seventh. International rules begin in the eighth inning, with a runner placed at second base to start the turn at bat. Nolan Anspach led off with an RBI single, scoring the ghost runner Copenhaver. Good was then hit by the pitch and McQuaide struck again for his third home run of the tournament, sending this one screaming out to center for the 9-5 lead. A bases loaded hit by pitch capped the scoring in the inning.

The dram wasn’t over. In the bottom of the eighth inning, West Point loaded the bases on singles by Santino Facciani and a walk to Braden. Northern Lebanon chose to intentionally walk in a run with Hisman up and the bases full. Croix Lattanzio lined back to pitcher Isaac Good to leave the bases loaded and send Northern Lebanon to the elimination bracket semifinals.

Greencastl 2, Tri-Town 0(8)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	R	H	E
Greencastle	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4	1
Tri-Town	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1

WP: Cordell LP: Smith

The final game of the night was another elimination contest. A pitchers duel between Kolston Piper and Roman Mechbach characterized the first half of this game, as Chase Cordell then took over for Greencastle. Mechbach allowed two hits and was able to pitch into the seventh inning before running up against the 85 pitch limit. Cordell and Piper ended up combining to give up three hits.

Kameron Caster led off the bottom of the second with a double into left. Mechbach pushed him to third, hitting into a fielders choice. Piper was able to get out of the situation by striking out Jameson Smith and getting Beaux Richmond to fly out to left. The biggest threat for Greencastle was in the top of the fifth, when Bryce King and Ethan Allen both walked with one out. However, Mechbach struck out Reed Sholes and Mayze Gordner flew out.

Mechbach pitched strong into the seventh inning, striking out Greer Barkdoll before being lifted. Smith entered and struck out Ryan Emlet and got Cordell to fly out to right. With only a walk in the bottom of the inning, the teams moved on to the eighth, where international rules placed the ghost runner on second base.

Noah Anspach, with one out, singled to right, scoring Cordell. Bryce King then hit one to second base and Mechbach fired home, but too late and the second run of the inning and game scored. Further damage was limited, though, as Greencastle loaded the bases but Asher Horst struck out for the third out. Kaden Caster led off the bottom half getting hit by a pitch, but Tri-Town went in order from there to advance Greencastle in the elimination bracket.