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DAVIDSVILLE, Pa. – Windber captured its biggest win of the season by a 5-2 margin over previously undefeated Conemaugh Township Friday to advance to the District 5 Class 2A baseball championship game.
The fifth-seeded Ramblers collected five hits, stole as many bases and pitcher Ike Serenko tossed a complete game with six strikeouts.
“I would put this up in the biggest wins in the history of this program,” Windber coach Cameron Banjak said. “These guys really battled and did something special.”
Windber awaits the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Chestnut Ridge and Everett.
Even though the game was moved from a 4:30 p.m. start to 11 a.m. due to predicted inclement weather, the visitors were the first to score.
In the second frame, Cole Heinrich drove a shot to left field that landed under the glove of the diving fielder, resulting in an RBI double.
Top-seeded and 19-1 Conemaugh Township earned the run back an inning later when base hits from Kaden Valentine, Greyson Studer and Colin Dinyar loaded the bags. Gabriel Valentine scored the tying run on a fielder’s choice.
A walk loaded the bases again, but Conemaugh Township left the runners stranded.
The game shifted to Windber’s advantage dramatically in the fourth. An errant throw on a dropped third strike allowed Dalton Strick to reach second base safely. Another error on an infield groundball scored Strick as Nathan Betcher reached first.
Heinrich moved Betcher to second on a base hit to left field, and both runners advanced to scoring position after a sacrifice bunt by Colton Woodruff. A sacrifice fly from Dylan Woodruff made it a 3-1 lead, and another costly error on a double-play attempt later in the inning made it 4-1.
“Today, the mistakes hurt us pretty bad,” Conemaugh Township coach Tim Doyle said.
“Practice was great, and then you get in a game situation where there’s a lot on the line, and then you tend to try to do things a little too perfectly instead of just playing baseball and doing what you know how to do. That’s when mistakes happen.”
Serenko bounced back after allowing the run in the third. He struck out two in the bottom of the fourth, then another in the fifth before retiring Conemaugh Township in order in the sixth.
“I was working a lot of off-speed,” Serenko said.
“I tried to get ahead early and work ahead.”
“Ike’s been a bulldog for us all year,” Banjak said. “The kid’s a gamer. He’s one of the best guys on the field every time you get out there.”
The game remained 4-1 until the final inning.
Logan Serenko found a base hit in left, and Ike Serenko blasted a shot off the left-field fence to put both runners in scoring position. Another infield error by Conemaugh Township scored Windber’s final run.
Conemaugh Township, this year’s Heritage Conference champions, attempted a season-saving comeback after Bryce Conn scored from first on Dinyar’s triple to right field. Strick fielded a grounder at shortstop and fired to first to seal the win.
“We just had a letdown,” Doyle said. “Nineteen straight wins. We have been battling back, I think, a little too much towards the end of the season. We weren’t getting runs across the plate that were on base.”
Conemaugh Township narrowly escaped with a 3-2 win over Windber April 27.
“We made plays when we needed to make them,” Banjak said. “We had chances when we played them the first time, where we had guys on base in spots, and we didn’t come through with them. Today, we manufactured runs. Even though we weren’t finding gaps, we were just making things work, causing chaos on the bases.
“We’ve created an identity doing that.”
Continue reading...
The fifth-seeded Ramblers collected five hits, stole as many bases and pitcher Ike Serenko tossed a complete game with six strikeouts.
“I would put this up in the biggest wins in the history of this program,” Windber coach Cameron Banjak said. “These guys really battled and did something special.”
Windber awaits the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Chestnut Ridge and Everett.
Even though the game was moved from a 4:30 p.m. start to 11 a.m. due to predicted inclement weather, the visitors were the first to score.
In the second frame, Cole Heinrich drove a shot to left field that landed under the glove of the diving fielder, resulting in an RBI double.
Top-seeded and 19-1 Conemaugh Township earned the run back an inning later when base hits from Kaden Valentine, Greyson Studer and Colin Dinyar loaded the bags. Gabriel Valentine scored the tying run on a fielder’s choice.
A walk loaded the bases again, but Conemaugh Township left the runners stranded.
The game shifted to Windber’s advantage dramatically in the fourth. An errant throw on a dropped third strike allowed Dalton Strick to reach second base safely. Another error on an infield groundball scored Strick as Nathan Betcher reached first.
Heinrich moved Betcher to second on a base hit to left field, and both runners advanced to scoring position after a sacrifice bunt by Colton Woodruff. A sacrifice fly from Dylan Woodruff made it a 3-1 lead, and another costly error on a double-play attempt later in the inning made it 4-1.
“Today, the mistakes hurt us pretty bad,” Conemaugh Township coach Tim Doyle said.
“Practice was great, and then you get in a game situation where there’s a lot on the line, and then you tend to try to do things a little too perfectly instead of just playing baseball and doing what you know how to do. That’s when mistakes happen.”
Serenko bounced back after allowing the run in the third. He struck out two in the bottom of the fourth, then another in the fifth before retiring Conemaugh Township in order in the sixth.
“I was working a lot of off-speed,” Serenko said.
“I tried to get ahead early and work ahead.”
“Ike’s been a bulldog for us all year,” Banjak said. “The kid’s a gamer. He’s one of the best guys on the field every time you get out there.”
The game remained 4-1 until the final inning.
Logan Serenko found a base hit in left, and Ike Serenko blasted a shot off the left-field fence to put both runners in scoring position. Another infield error by Conemaugh Township scored Windber’s final run.
Conemaugh Township, this year’s Heritage Conference champions, attempted a season-saving comeback after Bryce Conn scored from first on Dinyar’s triple to right field. Strick fielded a grounder at shortstop and fired to first to seal the win.
“We just had a letdown,” Doyle said. “Nineteen straight wins. We have been battling back, I think, a little too much towards the end of the season. We weren’t getting runs across the plate that were on base.”
Conemaugh Township narrowly escaped with a 3-2 win over Windber April 27.
“We made plays when we needed to make them,” Banjak said. “We had chances when we played them the first time, where we had guys on base in spots, and we didn’t come through with them. Today, we manufactured runs. Even though we weren’t finding gaps, we were just making things work, causing chaos on the bases.
“We’ve created an identity doing that.”
Continue reading...
