Jersey Shore appeared to have all the stars aligned in its favor.
The Bulldog baseball team was crowned co-champs of the Heartland Conference with Selinsgrove, had solid hitting up and down the lineup and possessed two quality pitchers. All the ingredients were there.
Shikellamy (Sunbury), though, had other plans.
The No. 7 seed Braves, who needed four wins at the end of the season just to qualify for the postseason, pulled the stunner in the opening weekend of the District 4 Class AAA playoffs, scoring four runs in the seventh inning to bust open a 2-1 game and pulling the upset of Shore, 6-1.
Darren Adams held the Bulldogs to just five hits in the game.
"Jersey Shore is a really good hitting team. Even though Darren Adams was throwing his tail off, 6-1 feels a heck of a lot safer in the bottom of the seventh than 2-1. We needed those add-ons," Shikellamy manager Rich Aurand said. "He worked his fastball and his curveball at the corners and at the knees. When he does that, he is pretty unhittable."
It was a total stunner for the Bulldogs. Jersey Shore handled Shikellamy in the regular season, which included a win over Adams.
But the Lycoming County club just couldn’t put the bat on the ball in the postseason. The only run Shore pushed across was on a RBI single by Jake Rogers in the fifth that sent teammate Tyler Campbell home.
Shikellamy roughed up Shore starter Taylor English for 11 hits – a combined five by Brandon Fisher and Colin Patton.
"We did everything we had to. We gave ourselves a chance, but they battled back," Weaver said. "They are a tough, scrappy team. They had to battle their way to get into the playoffs, and you knew when they got there, they were going to battle. They did that. I thought we matched their intensity. It wasn't a situation where we didn't do that. It's baseball. It is a funny game sometimes. We hit too many fly balls today. We just didn't put pressure on them. We made it too easy on them. They had some hits go in. Again, that's baseball. That's the way it goes. We are not going to make excuses. They beat us. They were the better team today, no doubt about it."
Shikellamy bowed out in the district semifinals to Selinsgrove, which will face No. 1 seed Montoursville in the championship.
2. BEA, P-O set for rematch: It’s the rematch all of the District 6 softball world has been waiting for. Defending Double-A state champ Bald Eagle Area (Wingate) and state powerhouse Philipsburg-Osceola will tangle this week for the District 6 Class AA title and the right to advance into the PIAA bracket. BEA took care of business at home, shutting out Central Martinsburg before slipping by Richland, 3-1, in the semifinals.
BEA scored all three of its runs in the first off a fielder’s choice by Jasa Mitchell and two-run dinger by Kelly Chambers. Philipsburg was equally as impressive, eliminating Centre County rival Penns Valley in the quarters before dispatching a gritty Mount Union squad in the semifinals. BEA and P-O split the season series with each team winning on the opponent’s home field. The championship will be played at Hollidaysburg’s Legion Field.
3. Scranton avoids upset by Millionaires: The Scranton Knights survived their District 2-4 Class AAAA playoff with Williamsport – but barely. The Lackawanna County ballclub broke a 6-all tie with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Max Mueller picked up a win in relief, striking out the final batters with runners on as the Knights won 8-6, the Williamsport Sun-Gazette reported.
Joe McCarthy was 3 for 4, missing the cycle by a home run, while Connor Miller added two hits. Jared Fagnano and Drae Lewis each had two hits for the Millionaires.
4. Hughesville makes run in D4 Double-A: Hughesville made its mark in a come-from-behind victory over Jersey Shore. Yes, the Spartans were going to have a low seed heading into the District 4 Class AA baseball tournament, probably around No. 8 or No. 9, but Nick Grove’s team was plenty able of pulling off an upset. Wyalusing found that out as Hughesville rallied from a 7-3 deficit in the seventh inning for an 11-7 victory in the quarterfinals.
According to the Sun-Gazette, Hughesville scored all eight runs before a single out was recorded in the frame. "It’s not about how you start, but about how you finish," Grove told the newspaper. "Who cares if you’re down 7-3? Go out and win the game. It was great leadership, timely hits and everybody coming together. It was awesome." The Spartans will face another Northern Tier team, Wellsboro, in the semifinals. The winner of that game will square off with either No. 11 seed Mount Carmel Area or No. 2 seed Loyalsock in the finals.
5. State College survives scare: Bill Tussey knew it wasn’t going to be easy for his State College Little Lion baseball team. If his team didn’t believe him, they certainly do now. After leading Central Mountain the entire game in a District 6 Class AAAA semifinal, the Wildcats rallied in the seventh as a bases-clearing double by Jordan Miller gave the upset-minded Clinton County boys a 5-3 lead.
But four consecutive hits – capped off by a two-run triple by Trey Nicosia – gave State three runs in its half of the inning and a come-from-behind, 6-5 victory. State College built a 2-0 lead on an inside-the-park home run by Austin Mock, and grew its lead until another home run, this one by Central Mountain’s Colten Stover, cut the deficit to 3-1 heading into the seventh. State College plays Hollidaysburg in the district final at Blair County Ballpark, home of the Eastern League’s Altoona Curve.
Tom Fox is sports editor at The Lock Haven (Pa.) Express and covers Central and Northeastern Pa. for MaxPreps. He can be reached at tfox@lockhaven.com.
