Perkiomen Valley, St. Joseph's Prep and others on tap in PIAA baseball state tournament
The state tournament continues Thursday with a handful of local teams vying for state gold
In an all-District 1 affair, Perkiomen Valley and Pennsbury will meet in a PIAA Class 6A baseball quarterfinal at 4 p.m. Thursday at Neumann University.
Perkiomen Valley advanced with a 2-0 win Monday over Williamsport. Pennsbury, which claimed its first district title since 1993, moved on with a 2-1, 11-inning triumph over Parkland.
The Vikings, who placed fourth in districts, and Falcons are among eight area teams in three classifications that will continue their bid for state gold Thursday.
Perkiomen Valley rode Tyler Strechay's six-hitter in eliminating Williamsport. Pennsbury nipped Parkland, which stranded 10 runners through nine innings, on Ryan McCarty's sacrifice fly.
The Vikings have been spurred at the plate by Anthony D'Abbene, Matt Szczesny, Dylan Boyd, and D.J. Jamp.
The offensive catalysts for the Falcons are McCarty, Justin Massielo, Billy Bethel, and Dave Murphy.
Here is a look at Thursday's other quarterfinals.
Class 6A
Frankford vs. Liberty, at Spring-Ford, 4 p.m.
Frankford (19-3) topped Neshaminy, 5-2, on Monday to reach the final eight for the first time since 2008.
The Pioneers' top hitters are Richard Lugo, Dioanny Mejia, Nick Herrera, Josh Pagan, and Craig Lugo.
Herrera, a senior righthander, is slated to start against Liberty. He is 6-1 with a 2.24 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 402/3 innings.
St. Joseph's Prep vs. Dallastown, at Muhlenberg High, 6:30 p.m.
The Hawks (14-9) rebounded from a District 12 final loss to Frankford with a 3-1 over North Penn in the first round of states.
Senior righthander J.T. Gosweiler, an Iona recruit who is 3-3 with a 3.71 ERA and 46 whiffs in 391/3 innings, is expected to take the ball against Dallastown.
Class 5A
Marple Newtown vs. Wallenpaupack, at Parkland, 6:30 p.m.
Mark Jordan's Tigers (18-7) have been on a big-time roll down the stretch. They began states with a 6-4 victory over District 3's Red Land.
Marple Newtown's spark plugs are Corey Woodcock, Scott Hahn, Cameron Mathes, Luke Cantwell, Luke Zimmerman, and Alden Mathes.
The Tigers will send Hahn, a senior righthander who is 6-1 with a 1.97 ERA, to the mound against District 2 titlist Wallenpaupack.
Upper Moreland vs. Whitehall, at Spring-Ford, 6:30 p.m.
With a stellar pitching effort from Brandon Kohn, Upper Moreland (16-7) surprised Catholic League runner-up Archbishop Wood in the first round.
Kohn gave up only four hits over 62/3 innings in a 2-0 blanking of the Vikings on Monday.
The Golden Bears' offensive leaders include Kohn, Randy Meehl, Jon Searles, and Kevin Walder.
Springfield Delco vs. Cedar Cliff, at Muhlenberg High, 4 p.m.
Springfield (18-7) has a solid one-two pitching punch in Jared Morris and Michael Smith.
The Cougars, who pinned a 15-0 defeat on Franklin Towne Charter in the first round, are led on offense by Andrew Paulus, Tom Quinn, Dave Bingaman, and Greg Tamacio.
Class 2A
Neumann-Goretti vs. Old Forge, at Easton Area High, 4:30 p.m.
First-year coach Mike Zolk and the Saints (20-4) have won eight straight games and 20 of their last 21.
N-G's offensive headliners are R.J. McGettigan, Jared Healey, Colin Eiser, and Aidan Baur. Senior righthander George Masciulli, who is 7-0 with a 1.11 ERA and 33 K's in 44 innings, will start against the District 2 champs.
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