Lehigh Routs Northwest in District 20 Opener

	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Northwest	0	0	1	X	X	X	1	0	2
Lehigh	2	17	X	X	X	X	19	14	1

WP: Dotta LP: Ayre

Game Broadcast: Eastern PA Sports Network

Lehigh waited over two hours to get their first District 20 game played. They were more than ready, pounding out 17 runs in the second inning to blast by Northwest Bethlehem 19-1, advancing in the winner’s bracket on a rain splashed evening in Bethlehem.

Northwest, a team that has not won an all-star game in District 20 over the last three years, immediately mounted a first inning threat and was poised to take an early lead. Lucas Diaz and Iyan Hildalgo both worked full count walks off of Chase Dotta. Dotta’s counterpart Bennett Ayre then struck out, as did Rudy Guzley, ending the early threat.

Jackson Neeb kicked off a three-hit night by doubling down the left field line to the wall. He was quickly chased home by a single to right by Dallas Cruz. Cruz promptly stole second, initially appearing to be out, as the throw beat him to the bag. He went to third on a wild pitch. Joey DeNisi hit a ball deep into right center, where two fielders had a shot at it. It would be Guzley to record the out, but the sac fly drove in the second run of the night. After an inning, Lehigh led 2-0.

Anderson Ryzewski cameo n to pitch the second inning, striking out one and inducing two groundball outs on the infield.

And then the big rally began. The second turn at-bat for Lehigh resulted in 11 hits, eight walks, and 23 batters coming to the plate.

As many big rallies do, this one began with an innocent leadoff walk to Colin Cramer. Chase Dotta also worked a free pass, putting two on for Carter Kempinski. Kempinski ripped one through short, bringing in the first run of the inning. After a sac fly RBI from Luke White, Lehigh put together six consecutive hits, followed by three straight walks and three more hits. Neeb hit a flyball in front of the right fielder, giving him his second double of the night and 2RBI. Joey DeNisi singled in two more on a shallow flyball to right. Luke White’s single through the middle added two more to make the score 15-0.

Lehigh tacked on four more to close out the spectacular inning and provide some insurance for the three-inning 15-run mercy rule. Northwest did score a run in their half of the third on a throwing error from the mound to third base.

“I’m proud of our kids. We’ve been grinding now for 19 days straight, no days off,” said manager Cory Kempinski of his team’s explosive output, “We’re happy with our lineup. It’s a great bunch of ball players from top to bottom.”

When all was said and done, six Southern Lehigh players had multi-RBI nights, including three each from Lambros Dontas, Luke White, and Joey DeNisi. Anderson Ryzewski and Carter Kempinski joined Neeb with 2RBI efforts. On the mound, Dotta, Ryzewski and Cramer combined for the three-walk no-hitter, striking out Northwest batters six times.

Lehigh now takes on rival Southern Lehigh at Living Memorial Park on Friday night at 6:00. Last year’s meeting was a 2-0 thriller in seven innings, won by the future Spartans.

“We have a lot of respect for Southern Lehigh. It’s a great rivalry. They have some great ball players down there. We enjoy playing those guys and we know it’s going to be a fun one.”