Bald Eagle Area pitcher Tayten Yoder threw 6.2 innings of three-run baseball, and center fielder Cam Watkins slashed three hits and scored three runs as the Bald Eagles swept past North Star, 11-3, on Monday, June 10, and into the PIAA 2A state baseball final.
Yoder did give up nine hits to the Cougars, but he struck out six and didn’t walk a batter in what was his most important outing of the season.
He also helped himself with a couple of hits and two RBIs as his team collected 11 hits and took full advantage of five free passes and seven North Star errors.
North Star led off the game with a run in the first inning to take a very short-lived lead that BEA took care of immediately in the top of the second inning.
In that inning, Kaden Burns led off with a double, which was followed by two walks, two errors, a fielder’s choice, a sacrifice fly by Carson Nagle and a big, two-out RBI single by Brayden Dubbs.
When the dust cleared, BEA had a 5-1 lead and would never look back.
In the third inning, Westin McClain singled, Connor Perry walked and Watkins came up with a two-run hit that made it 7-1 going into the fourth inning.
Both teams scored a run in the fifth — BEA’s on an RBI hit by Gavin Burns — and then the Eagles put the game away with three more runs in the top of the seventh.
The big hits in the seventh were an RBI double by Gavin Burns and an RBI single by Yoder.
On the mound, Yoder was not dominating, but he got the big outs when he needed them and took full advantage of the Eagles’ run support.
In the North Star seventh, North Star connected for two two-out hits and Dubbs was brought in to relieve Yoder.
Facing North Star’s cleanup hitter with two on, Dubbs came through with a 10-pitch strikeout that ended the game.
The Eagles will be heading to Penn State to defend their PIAA title against District 11 champion Tri-Valley, out of Hegins.
The Bulldogs are 21-4 for the season so far and will come into the state final on a nine-game winning streak. The team last suffered a loss back on Friday, May 3, at Panther Valley.
After winning the District 11, 2A championship, the Bulldogs have wins over South Williamsport, 10-9, DeLone Catholic, 7-3, and Wyalusing Valley, 14-0, in the PIAA playoffs.
Against South Williamsport in the first round on Monday, June 3, Tri-Valley rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a thrilling 10-9 victory.
With a 10-3 overall record, Tri-Valley finished third in the Schuylkill County 2 Conference behind Schuylkill Haven and Panther Valley.
Tri-Valley lives off its offense and scored in double figures in 12 games this season and in four of its last five games.
Against Wyalusing Valley in the semifinal, it was no contest. Tri-Valley scored 13 runs in the first three innings on 13 hits and closed out the 14-0 win in five innings.
Meanwhile, pitcher Lucas Scheib pitched a two-hitter and helped himself with two hits and three RBIs.
With the way the Bulldogs and Eagles both hit the ball, don’t count anyone out at the 10:30 a.m. game on Thursday, June 13, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. And don’t expect a 1-0 pitcher’s duel.
Though you can expect one of the most exciting matchups of the day at Medlar Park.
