BLANCHARD — After a back-and-forth dance all summer with Howard, the Blanchard Bees caught fire down the stretch and pulled out the Centre County League regular season championship.
With just over a week to play, the Bees fell behind Howard after a 10-0 loss to the Hawks, but they picked themselves up and put together a season-ending, four-game winning streak.
Victories over Pleasant Gap (4-3 on July 7) and Lemont (11-8 on July 9) started the streak, and then a double-header sweep of Spring Mills on the season’s final day, July 12, ran it to four games.
Howard also won on the final day, 9-3 over Pleasant Gap, but a loss at Lemont on July 7 opened the door for the Bees.
In Blanchard on July 12, the Bees started quickly and did not let up all day. First baseman Bryce Hanley led a third-inning rally in the first game with a 3-run double and the Bees ran off with a 10-0 victory.
In Game 2, Blanchard kept it up with a 6-1 win and a sweep of the Braves.
“Sunday was a big day for us,” Blanchard player-coach Bryce Hanley said. “We played two very solid games which helped us win the regular season and clinch the No. 1 seed and a firstround bye.
“This was the first time we won the regular season since coming back into the league in 2018. The bye will be nice to get some rest and be able to get some practice in and fine tune everything,” Hanley continued. “It’s great knowing we have time to rest and have home field advantage.”
Howard’s win over Pleasant Gap was the only other game on July 12.
In the final standings, Blanchard finished 1.5 games ahead of the No. 2 Hawks, followed by Lemont at No. 3, Spring Mills at No. 4, and Pleasant Gap at No. 5.
The 2020 playoffs are now set to begin on Sunday at the Shaner Complex with the first-round matchup between No. 4 Spring Mills and No. 5 Pleasant Gap.
Game time is 1 p.m. It will be a three-game series and the winner will advance to the semifinals to face No. 1 Blanchard.
In the other semifinal, No. 2 Howard will face No. 3 Lemont.
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