As high school baseball moves into its final regular-season weeks, the two local defending state champions, Bellefonte and Bald Eagle Area, are a combined 28-3 and give every indication that they are both ready for deep playoff runs. Philipsburg-Osceola is not far behind with an 11-4 mark, and for State College, things are looking up.
Here is a closer look at the teams and their upcoming schedules.
Bellefonte takes its seventh straight win
The Bellefonte Raiders beat Penns Valley, 8-0, on Wednesday, May 1, and Hollidaysburg, 9-3, on Friday, May 3.
Against Penns Valley, pitchers Parker Capparelle and Ethan Tomasacci combined for a three-hit shutout, while the team scored all eight of its runs in the final three innings.
Capparelle pitched six scoreless innings, but the game was still 0-0 heading into the fifth inning. Bellefonte broke the ice with a run on an RBI single by Levi Purnell, and then the Raiders added two more in the sixth on three hit batters and a two-run, two-out error.
The Raiders finally put the game away with a four-hit seventh inning, including RBIs by Tomasacci, Peyton Vancas and Trevor Johnson.
Tomasacci came in to pitch a perfect seventh inning and wrap up the win.
On Friday, May 3, at home against Hollidaysburg, Bellefonte jumped to a quick 6-0 lead, gave up three third-inning runs, and then pushed across another three runs in the fifth.
Braddyn Kormanic got two hits and three RBIs in the game, Josh Brown had three hits and Vancas had two hits and two RBIs.
Kormanic got the win on the mound with three innings pitched with three runs and three hits. Vancas and Johnson finished the game with four innings of shutout ball.
The win was the seventh in a row for the Raiders, who are now 14-1 for the season.
Bald Eagle Area beats Central and Guilfoyle to go 14-2
The Eagles came away with a 13-1 win over Central on Wednesday, May 1, at home.
Bald Eagle Area scored the runs on just seven hits, including RBI hits by Westin McClain and Cam Watkins, while McClain was throwing a one-run five-hitter.
The Eagles took advantage of four Central errors and nine bases on balls.
It was much the same against Bishop Guilfoyle on Friday, May 3.
Bald Eagle Area scored 12 runs in the first two innings, four more in the fourth, and swept to another five-inning win, this time by a score of 16-1.
The Eagles knocked out 13 hits that included doubles by Kahale Burns, Connor Perry, Kaden Burns and McClain and a home run by Watkins.
Brayden Dubbs got the win, pitching four innings and giving up one run on three hits with two strikeouts.
The Eagles are now at 14-2 for the season.
P-O takes LHAC wins over Bedford and Huntingdon
In a game against Bedford on Friday, May 3, the Mounties nabbed a 6-4 win.
The big hit for Philipsburg-Osceola was an RBI double by Fisher White that gave the Mounties a 5-3 lead. That was followed by an RBI fielder’s choice and a 6-3 lead with two Bedford at bats to follow.
Relievers Zach Yoder and Haydn Kephart, however, held Bedford to just another run and the Mounties had their 10th win of the season.
Then on Monday, May 6, at Huntingdon, P-O brought out its bats in a five-inning, 12-0 win.
Philipsburg smashed 12 hits, including doubles by Connor Matier, Justin Ivicic and Lucas Peterson, and scored seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to wrap up the win.
On the mound, Peterson pitched a five-inning four-hitter with no runs and five strikeouts. Peterson retired six of the final eight batters he faced as he led Philipsburg-Osceola to its 11th win.
State College rebounds against Red Land
The State College Little Lions had a difficult time in a double header at Cedar Cliff on Tuesday, April 30.
The Little Lions fell 9-0 in the opener. In the second game, the two teams battled in a 2-2 tie into the seventh inning, when rain caused the game to be suspended. No make-up date has been announced.
On Thursday, April 2, the Lions made up for the loss with a solid 7-3 Mid Penn win over Red Land at home.
State College scored four runs in the first inning and, after Red Land crept to within 4-3, added another three runs in the fifth inning to take home its eighth win of the season.
Samuel Janik took the win for the Lions. He gave up three runs on five hits and struck out 10. Sebastian Rhoades had two hits and two RBIs for State College, including a first-inning, two-run double that gave his team an early 2-0 lead.
The Lions collected nine hits in all, with Jake Hall and Jack Coleman each adding two hits.
The win put State College at 8-6 for the season.
Penns Valley upsets Tyrone, 5-4, on Tuesday, May 6
The Penns Valley Rams had a much needed victory on Monday, May 6, at Tyrone.
The Rams opened the game with a 4-0 lead after two innings, scored another in the fifth and then held on through a Tyrone rally for their third win of the year, 5-4.
Jon Meyer had two hits and two RBIs, including a home run, and Jackson Romig had two RBIs as Penns Valley knocked out 11 hits in one of its best offensive shows of the season.
Romig gave the Rams a 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the first inning, and then Meyer upped the lead to 4-0 with a two-run homer in the second.
The win was just the third of the season for Penns Valley.
Saint Joseph’s now 6-11 after a 1-2 week
The Saint Joseph’s Academy WolfPack came away with a big 3-1 win at Newport on Tuesday, April 30, but they subsequently took two losses, to Halifax and Warrior Run, in the first week of May.
Against Newport, Luke Duckworth took the win on the mound and also chipped in with a two-run double that gave SJCA the early 2-0 lead.
From there, he kept Newport at bay and the WolfPack had its sixth win of the season.
The good fortune would not last, however, as that was followed by a 16-0 loss to Halifax on Thursday, May 2, and a close, 5-2 loss at Warrior Run on Saturday, May 4.
