May 28—FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Abby Kuzio’s two-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in Shaina DeAngelo with the winning run as North Schuylkill defeated Pine Grove 8-7 on Thursday in a District 11 Class 3A semifinal at Dot Seidel Field.
The second-seeded Spartans (19-5) advance to the championship game against No. 1 seed Palmerton, a 7-3 winner over No. 4 Notre Dame-Green Pond in the other semifinal. The final will be Tuesday at a site and time to be announced.
In addition, since District 11 gets two entries into the the PIAA Tournament bracket, North Schuylkill and Northwestern are assured of playing in the first round of states on June 7.
North Schuylkill jumped out to a 7-1 lead after three innings as Morgan Koutch singled, doubled and drove in two runs. Violet Ryan doubled and had an RBI; DeAngelo scored three runs, and Kuzio finished with two singles and two RBIs.
Pine Grove rallied with two runs in the fourth and four in the fifth to tie the game 7-7. Lilly Barra had a three-run double in the fifth-inning rally.
Bailley Dorson finished with two singles and two RBIs for the Cardinals.
North Schuylkill finished 4-0 against Pine Grove this season, winning twice in division games and again in the Schuylkill League final before Thursday’s victory.
District 11 Class 3A Semifinal
PG (16-8);100;240;0;—;7;7;1
NS (19-5);124;000;1;—;8;11;2
Two outs when winning run scored.
M. Wolfe and Dorson; Dinger and Taylor. W — Dinger (18-4). L — M. Wolfe (16-7).
Hits: Pine Grove — Barra, Dorson 2, Daubert, Dorsey 2, Donmoyer. North Schuylkill — Ryan 2, Stitzer, Hall, Slotcavage, Taylor, DeAngelo, Kuzio 2, M. Koutch 2.
2B — Barra, Ryan, M. Koutch.
Tri-Valley 7
Marian 0
HEGINS — Sydney Schley pitched a six-hitter and struck out six as top-seeded Tri-Valley shut out No. 4 Marian in a District 11 Class A semifinal.
The Dawgs (20-2) advanced to meet No. 2 seed Nativity, a 5-4 winner over Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg i the other semifinal. The championship game will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Blue Mountain’s Patton Field. Tri-Valley is seeking its first district championship since 2002.
Leading 2-0, Tri-Valley doubled its advantage to 4-0 when Emma Maurer slugged a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
In the fifth, Faith Colahan had an RBI double and Brittany Rice added an RBI single to extend the lead to 7-0. Colahan and Rice finished with two hits apiece for the Dawgs.
Mia Nemeth hit a pair of singles for Marian.
District 11 Class A Semifinal
Mar (11-7);000;000;0;—;0;6;1
TV (20-2);011;230;x;—;7;7;2
Kelly and Grabosky; Schley and L. Snyder. W — Schley (11-0). L — Kelly (11-7).
Hits: Marian — Matenkoski, Nemeth 2, Heisey, Arnold, Gallagher. Tri-Valley — F. Colahan 2, L. Snyder, Rice 2, Maurer, Huhn.
2B — F. Colahan. 3B — Rice. HR — Maurer.
Williams Valley 15
Mahanoy Area 0
TOWER CITY — Emma Crisswell pitched a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts and one walk over four innings as Williams Valley advanced to Tuesday’s District 11 Class AA championship game.
The Vikings, who qualified for their 15th consecutive district championship game, will face Schuylkill Haven, which stunned Minersville 1-0 in the other semifinal, for their first bid at a Class AA title after advancing in Class A in the past 14 times. Game time is 6:30 p.m. at Blue Mountain’s Patton Field.
Lainie Shoop had three runs, a triple and a single for the Vikings. Mackenzie Carl, who doubled and tripled, and Tori Rabuck, who homered, each had two runs scored and two hits. Crisswell and Gracie Ruch, who joined Carl with three RBIs each, each had two hits.
Rabuck hit a two-run home run in the first inning to get the Vikings started.
Also for the Vikings, Jade Groff had a two-run double in the second inning. Ruch smacked a two-run double and Carl mashed a three-run triple in the six-run fourth inning.
“It was a great team performance,” Williams Valley coach Ryan Underkoffler said. “Everyone that batted had at least one hit, and Emma was dominant in the circle. We are looking forward to playing in the district final for the 15th consecutive (time).”
Autumn Moss had Mahanoy Area’s lone hit, a single.
MA (6-15);000;0;—;0;1;3
WV (17-4);450;6;—;15;15;0
Mayberry and Lewandowski; Crisswell and Bogle. W — Crisswell (12-4). L — Mayberry (2-10).
Hits: Mahanoy Area — Moss. Williams Valley — Carl 2, Bogle, McEntee, Crisswell 2, Rabuck 2, Shoop 2, Groff, Ruch 2, Perhach, Savage.
2B — Carl, Groff, Ruch. 3B — Shoop, Carl. HR — Rabuck.
Schuylkill Haven 1
Minersville 0
MINERSVILLE — Pitcher Carissa Yeager scattered six hits and had 14 strikeouts, including two in a row to escape a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, as Schuylkill Haven defeated Minersville in a District 11 Class AA semifinal.
The Hurricanes will oppose Williams Valley, a 15-0 winner over Mahanoy Area, for the district title at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Blue Mountain’s Patton Field. Schuylkill Haven advanced to the Class AA final for the fourth straight time.
Kate Donne had two hits for the Hurricanes, including a two-out, RBI triple that scored Madison Bensinger with the game’s lone run in the fifth inning.
Shea Hossler had three hits for the Battlin’ Miners, who also left two runners on base in the seventh inning.
SH (10-11);000;010;0;—;1;4;0
Min (12-9);000;000;0;—;0;6;3
Yeager and Minnig; Raczka and Hossler. W — Yeager (6-3). L — Raczka (0-1).
Hits: Schuylkill Haven — Donne 2, Wank, Book. Minersville — Frie-Karkanica, Horoschak, Levonas, Hossler 3.
3B — Donne.
Bethlehem Catholic 15
Blue Mountain 5
BETHLEHEM — Bryn Russian went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and two stolen bases for Blue Mountain, but Bethlehem Catholic had too much offense in a District 11 Class 4A semifinal victory.
Jaden Spigner went 3-for-4 with three doubles and five RBIs for Becahi, which scored seven runs in the fifth inning and six more in the sixth.
Anna Laughlin homered for the second straight game for the Eagles, who led 4-1 in the third inning. Marla Freiwald added a single and a double for Blue Mountain.
BM (13-7);211;010;—;5;9;4
BC (12-8);101;076—;15;12;1
Freiwald, Grogam (5) and Bergan; Bond and Boyle. W — Bond. L — Freiwald (8-3).
Hits: Blue Mountain — Russian 2, Laughlin, Dayson, Handwerk, Freiwald 2, Bergan, Brennan. Bethlehem Catholic — Merklin 2, Spigner 3, Judd 2, Truss, Torres 2, Boyle, Oberholzer.
2B — Bergan, Russian 2, Freiwald, Oberholzer, Boyle, Signer 3. 3B — Name. HR — Laughlin.
Hamburg 11
Northern Lebanon 3
HAMBURG — Haley Gravish pitched a three-hitter and struck out 13 to lead Hamburg past Northern Lebanon in a District 3 Class 4A quarterfinal atop Hawk Hill.
Gravish helped herself at the plate with two singles and four RBIs.
The third-seeded Hawks advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals against the winner of the Kennard-Dale/Eastern York game at 4:30 p.m. at a site to be announced.
Katie Behler went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs to power the Hawks’ offense. Kylah Reading added two singles and two runs scored; Morgan Kleckner had two singles and an RBI; and Avrie Schiffert scored three runs.
District 3 Class 4A Quarterfinal
NL (14-4);100;020;0;—;3;3;4
Ham (19-3);141;140;x;—;11;13;3
Leaman and Palkovic; Gravish and Gassert. W — Gravish (15-3). L — Leaman.
Hits: Northern Lebanon — Bohr, Boehmer, Beamesderfer. Hamburg — Reading 2, Gravish 2, Behler 3, Kleckner 2, Strunk, Gassert, Kramer, Edwards.
2B — Behler, Gassert. 3B — Reading.
Upper Dauphin 8
Delone Catholic 7
McSHERRYTOWN — Maddin Grow pitched a complete game, struck out eight and helped herself with two hits as third-seeded Upper Dauphin outlasted No. 2 Delone Catholic in a District 3 Class AA semifinal.
The Trojans (13-8) advanced to Tuesday’s championship game against the Brandywine Heights/Fairfield winner at a site and time to be announced.
Eileen Nestor and Fayth Anderson had two hits and two RBIs apiece for UDA. Ava Gibson added two hits and one RBI, while Haleigh Burget knocked in a run. Abby Koons and Shelby Klinger had one hit apiece for the Trojans.