Panthers make enough plays to defeat Marauders

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Northern Bedford reliever Eion Snider celebrates his team’s eighth inning double play to get out of the inning.

By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic’s high school baseball team hasn’t had much go its way this season, and that trend continued Thursday morning in the first round of the annual Altoona Curve Classic at PNG Field against Northern Bedford.

The Marauders had two key plays go against them in a 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Black Panthers.

In the top of the fourth inning, Hamilton Gates appeared to steal home safely but the run didn’t count as the BG batter was called out on a third strike for the final out of the inning prior to Gates crossing the plate. A few innings later after the Marauders tied the game and still had the bases loaded and one out, Lex Dixon smashed a ball that seemed destined for the corner and a likely bases-clearing extra-base hit. But Northern Bedford’s Aaron Bowers leapt into the air, snagged it, and ran to first for a double play that eventually sent the game to extra innings.

“That’s just baseball for you,” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Tommy Williams said. “Lex usually puts the ball in play with line drives. We were going to bunt there and try to squeeze that run in, but Lex is a contact hitter. He hasn’t struck out all year, and he hits line drives. It was just a bad break for us.”

Bowers, who led off the bottom of the first inning by drawing a walk, stealing second and third and scoring the game’s first run, finished 1-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. But no play was bigger than his defensive snag.

“What a great play to end the inning,” Northern Bedford coach Ryan Cherry said. “Then we got a run and got out of here with a win. It was a phenomenal play.”

Wesley Horsh reached on an error to start the bottom of the eighth inning, and Northern Bedford loaded the bases with back-to-back singles by Reece Musselman and Eion Snider before Rece Dibert drew a walk-off walk. Northern Bedford will play Central in the semifinals today, and BG will take on Northern Cambria in a consolation game.

Musselman started on the mound and pitched into the seventh inning before reaching his pitch limit.

“I felt pretty good,” Musselman said. “We executed at the end, and it was good to win. I was so happy to see Aaron jump up and make that play. I didn’t think he could jump that high.”

The Marauders, who trailed 3-1 going into the seventh, got a one-out single from Jesse Georgiana followed by four walks that tied the game before Bowers’ play.

“The bottom of your order had to step up sometimes and get a guy on, and we did,” Williams said. “We had a couple walks and some balls in play.”

The game could have been 3-2 going into that inning if Gates’ steal of home wouldn’t have been canceled out.

“We were trying to get him to do that on the second pitch,” Williams said. “We wanted to see if their pitcher was going to be out of the windup and time it right. We should have done it on the second pitch. We must have missed that. He did it on the third pitch, but sometimes 0-2, you’re looking for a breaking ball and that’s a perfect situation for us, but it just didn’t work out.”

Kade Sell, who drove in a pair of runs for BG, had a strong performance on the mound with nine strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs.

“When he’s on, he can shut down anybody,” Williams said. “We played Bellefonte last week, and he held them scoreless for five innings. He threw against Penns Valley, and they had one hit in six innings. When he’s on, he’s tough.”

Sell’s counterpart is among the best pitchers in the area and made the Mirror’s all-star team as a freshman.

“When (Musselman) is on the mound and he’s on and locked in, he’s very good,” Cherry said. “He got settled in. Credit to their pitcher too. He settled in after we got on him early in the game. He threw a good game, but Reece is incredible. He’s a hard worker, and that translates when he gets out here on the mound. We can throw him against anybody. When we put runs on the board, we’re probably going to win a lot of games.”

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (3): Williams ss 301, Hagg rf 311, Sell p-2b 301, Dixon 3b 400, Wyandt c 402, Robertson cr 000, Gates cf 300, Hofer 1b 401, Foor 2b-p 000, Gartman cr 000, Georgiana dh 411, Cacciotti lf 210. Totals — 30-3-7.

NORTHERN BEDFORD (4): Bowers 1b 321, Horsh 2b 411, Musselman p-cf 401, E. Snider ss-p 401, Dibert rf 111, Gable 3b 302, N. Kochara lf 300, Kagarise c 300, A. Kochara cf-ss 300. Totals — 28-4-7.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Bishop Guilfoyle 001 000 20–3 7 4

Northern Bedford 111 000 01–4 7 2

E–Williams, Wyandt, Cacciotti, Sell, E. Snider, Musselman. 2B–Hagg, Dibert, Gable. RBI–Hagg, Sell 2, Dibert, N. Kochara, Horsh.

PITCHING

Bishop Guilfoyle: Sell–5 2/3IP, 4H, 3BB, 9K, 3R, 2ER, 102 pitches; Foor (L)–1 1/3IP, 3H, 1BB, 1K, 1R, 0ER, 31 pitches.

Northern Bedford: Musselman–6 1/3IP, 6H, 1BB, 10K, 3R, 3ER, 100 pitches; E. Snider (W)–1 2/3IP, 1H, 3BB, 1K, 0R, 0ER, 33 pitches.

Umpires: Jim Klausman (HP); Bill Wolf (bases).

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (1-7); Northern Bedford (5-3).