Bellefonte advances in Class AAA
By STEVE GREECHER — sports@lockhaven.comBELLEFONTE — The cold breeze and low temperatures made it an unusual May afternoon for a ballgame as Bellefonte secured a second-round playoff matchup with rival Indian Valley.
Freshman pitcher Robert Gummo had another solid outing and the Red Raiders got plenty of timely hitting, while powering past Forest Hills 14-2 Monday in Bellefonte.
The Red Raiders will be looking for a little redemption after going 0-2 against Indian Valley so far this season. Bellefonte played them tough the first time out losing 12-9 at home all the way back on April 2. The Warriors then roughed up Bellefonte 11-3 May 5.
“They are a very tough ballclub, they could be the best ballclub we play,” Bellefonte head coach Denny Leathers said. “They have a lot of depth at pitcher, they have some very patient hitters and are just a very good team. Hopefully, this game (today) gives our kids some confidence.”
The Red Raiders’ bats were consistent throughout Monday. Starting quickly in the bottom of the first with one on, second baseman Matt Fisher snuck his bat out across the plate and poked a shot opposite field over the right-field wall. Fisher’s eighth home run of the season gave Bellefonte the early, 2-0 lead.
“It was a curveball across the heart of the plate. I just put the bat out there and it was caught in the wind,” Fisher said.
In the second, A.J. Jabco led off with a double and Bryant James got the first of his three hits on a double that put him and Jabco in scoring position for No. 8 batter Nick Harter. He then singled, scoring two more runs. First baseman Ryan Poorman added a lead-off solo home run in the bottom of the third.
One thing that Bellefonte needs to show improvement on after this game would be better awareness on the base path. They showed a slight lack of focus on a few outs that will prove to be more costly if they commit them Thursday in Mifflin County.
Gummo certainly held his own on the mound as well. Forest Hills was held scoreless until Jon Kirby had an RBI single in the top of the fourth. Then, after Bellefonte had threatened to put the 10-run rule into effect, Forest Hills right fielder hit a late solo home run that was too little, too late.
Leathers has emphasized the importance of clutch hitting for his team this year. In the bottom of the fourth, they would be tested after they were handed three base runners by Forest Hills on three consecutive walks. Frank Parkes and Pooman struck out and there was only one out left to get the security runs across the plate.
Jabco then hit a looper to a hole just inside center field and reached on an error as the ball hung in the air. Forest Hills shortstop George Roberts was unable to get it, and the Red Raiders pushed two runs across the plate.
James followed with a triple that scored two more. After three more walks, Fisher hit a similar-looking pop up to Jabco’s into shallow center that scored three runs. Bellefonte finished the bottom of the fourth, scoring nine runs and held a 14-1 lead at that point.
The Bellefonte freshman Gummo got the win and showed a little poise.
“It’s an awful lot to ask a freshman to go out and pitch your opening playoff game, he just did it like it was any other game,” Leathers said.
The Red Raiders were opportunists getting the the big hits when they were needed Monday.
“Our concern was to bounce back from some of the bad efforts we had the last couple of games. We just wanted to come out and play good baseball,” Leathers said.
Bellefonte now has to do what it was unable to do in its first two attempts if the Raiders hope to keep their season alive.
Their trip to Indian Valley Thursday will certainly be a tough one.
“We know we can stick with them. It is going to be a good game,” James said.
The Red Raiders just have to take this offensive momentum to the next round.
“We figure they are going to throw (Devon) Pearson at us,” Fisher said. “We just have to go up there and swing the bats and try to avoid making any base-running errors like we did (today) and play solid defense.”
District VI Class AAA Baseball
Quarterfinals at Bellefonte
BELLEFONTE 14, FOREST HILLS 2
F 000 11—2 4 3
B 221 9x — 14 11 1
F: Shope, Hriba (3), Roberts (4), Malesky (4) and Gdala. B: Gummo and Wensel. WP — Gummo. LP — Shope. HR: F, Reighard. B, Fisher, Poorman. 3B: B, James. 2B:B, James. MH: F, Kirby 2. B, James 3, Fisher 2, Parkes 2, Harter 2.
