Pennsbury and Neshaminy were winners Thursday, setting up a showdown between the two archrivals in Monday’s PIAA 6A State Tournament semifinals. Pennsbury/Hazleton photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography, and Neshaminy/La Salle photos courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals
#1-4 Neshaminy 3, #12-1 La Salle 0
It was a moment to savor.
Chase Bonner – with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, a runner on first and his team holding a 3-0 lead – walked off the field to a rousing ovation after reaching his allowed pitch count. Neshaminy’s senior ace was brilliant, allowing just two hits in 6 2/3 shutout innings.
All that remained was for Jared Kligerman to record the game’s final out, and he did that. A La Salle team with state title aspirations and penciled in by many to win
the state title was going home.
The talented Explorers - projected to be a stumbling block for the Redskins - never solved the mystery of Bonner.
“We work so hard in practice, and we’ve been working since September for moments like these,” Bonner said. “Just all the work we put in throughout the winter, throughout the fall – we worked so hard, and now we’re just excited to be in this position.
“We know La Salle is a great team, so we just had to come out here and continue to do what we’ve been doing all season, and now we’re going back to state semifinals for the second time in a row.”
Kligerman put an exclamation point on the win, recording a three-pitch strikeout to close it out.
“Jared’s a dog,” Bonner said. “When his stuff’s on, he unhittable.”
“It’s always great to see Jared close out a game,” Gryn said. “He gets pretty animated. It’s fun to see him do his thing.”
For Kligerman, it was a special moment.
“Ever since I was a little kid watching all these videos on line, it’s always been a dream to come in in moments like this – senior year, game on the line against an opponent we haven’t played,” Kligerman said. “We’ve been wanting to play this team for many years, and it’s a great feeling teamed with amazing Chase out there.
“He gave me the best possible situation to go in – two outs, the run didn’t matter. It’s a great feeling. We came into this game, and we were the underdogs, no doubt. All the people on the internet – they all had La Salle. We came in here played Neshaminy baseball and made it happen.”
The Redskins spotted Bonner a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Mike Sassano led off the inning with a line single to center, but he was erased on a double play. Bonner drew a two-out walk, and Brandon Lall was safe on an error. Bonner was replaced by courtesy runner Ben Flynn. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Flynn scored what would stand as the winning run on another wild pitch.
That 1-0 score stood until the top of the fifth when the ‘Skins staged a two-out rally with Matt Gryn delivering a clutch two-run single.
Gryn delivers at the plate: Three days after tossing a complete game win, Matt Gryn had arguably the game’s biggest hit, delivering a two-run single in the fifth inning to give Neshaminy a 3-0 advantage.
“Lately, I haven’t been able to hit the ball the other way, so I’ve been really focusing, trying to hit the other way,” Gryn said. “I haven’t been hitting the ball much either, but I was able to get the barrel on the ball.
“I was afraid I was going to be out at first, but I saw the second baseman spinning around a little bit, and I thought, ‘It might fall.’”
It fell in for a hit, two runs crossed the plate, and it was more than enough insurance for Bonner.
“That hit was huge,” Neshaminy coach Dan Toner said. “Matt hit great all season, batting .500, and then playoffs came around, and he kind of lost it a little bit.
“But he’s been fantastic pitching, and that’s what we would rather have him focus on, but today, it looked like he was getting his swing back. He hit a hard ball the other way – it just went foul, and then he came through and got those incredible insurance runs that we needed.”
Getting defensive: Bonner, who struck out seven, spent the day coaxing ground balls out of dangerous Explorer lineup. The Redskins’ defense was flawless behind its senior ace.
“I’ve got to give a huge shoutout to my defense because they’re the ones who are making the plays behind me, they’re keeping my pitch count down,” Bonner said. “Those guys are huge, even my outfield
“My goal is just to fill up the strike zone and just make them earn their hits – just keep filling up the zone and make them earn it.”
In the bottom of the sixth, the ‘Skins turned a third-to-second-to-first (Lall to Mike Sassano to Noah Wallace) double play after Brycen Clarke lined a leadoff single to center.
“Chase was absolutely remarkable, completely lights out,” said Gryn said. “Our defense – it was perfect today.
“We were able to steal so much momentum and switch the tides of the game with defense. I forget what inning it was, but Chase let up a leadoff single, and the next batter was a double play. That just completely shuts down the inning.”
Added Toner, “We always talk about how important pitching and defense is, and we backed that up again today. Chase was absolutely dominant. He seems to always rise to the occasion in these types of games, and to shut down an offense like that is fantastic, and for our defense to play the way they did behind him – that is expected in the playoffs and has to be done in the playoffs to win.”
High stakes rivalry game: A familiar foe is waiting in the wings for the Redskins, who will be facing archrival Pennsbury for the fifth time this season in Monday’s PIAA 6A state semifinal. The Falcons hold a 3-1 edge – a streak the ‘Skins are hoping to end.
“I think this is the fifth or sixth time we’ve seen each other,” Bonner said. “We both know what to expect out of each other. They know what to expect out of us, and we know what we’re expecting out of them.
“It’s going to be a dog fight the whole game, and we know we’ve just got to be ourselves out there and just play good team baseball. Then I think we’ll be all right.”
“We want Pennsbury,” Gryn said. “They took the league and the district from us, so, yeah, we want to take it back from them.”
Pennsbury won the three-game season series over the Redskins after the ‘Skins won the first game. The Falcons also sent Neshaminy to playbacks with a 12-7 win in a District 1 6A semifinal contest.
“They definitely have had our number,” Toner said. “They’re fantastic this year, but I think if we can clean some things up – we didn’t play the cleanest games against them, make a couple adjustments hitting, I think we’ll be okay.”
By the numbers: Neshaminy: Chase Bonner (W) (6.2 IP, 2H, 0R, 3BB, 7K)
Mike Sassano (2-for-4), Nick Sassano (2-for-2, 2B), Matt Gryn (2RBIs)
Key inning: Top of fifth – Neshaminy – clinging to a 1-0 lead – added a pair of insurance runs. With two outs and nobody on base, Chase Bonner lined a single to center, and Brandon Lall followed with a line single to left field. The bases were loaded when Noah Wallace drew a walk, setting the stage for Matt Gryn’s single over the infield, plating a pair of runs for a 3-0 Neshaminy lead.
Up next: Neshaminy will take on Pennsbury in a high stakes PIAA 6A semifinal contest on Monday at Plymouth Ballpark at 2pm
Neshaminy 100 020 0 3-9-0
La Salle 000 000 0 0-2-1
#1-1 Pennsbury 2, #2-1 Hazleton 0
An explosive offense has been Pennsbury’s calling card this year, but the Falcons have proved they can win in more ways than one. In Thursday’s state quarterfinal win over Hazleton, it took a heroic defensive play by left fielder Henry Garlits, a pair of doubles and the game’s only runs scored by sophomore Finn Burke, and gutsy pitching efforts from Quinton Shaffer and Owen Hawkes to eke out the win.
“Going into the game, we knew that we were very similar teams – our strengths being our offense but also both teams having excellent pitching staffs,” Garlits said. “As we do every game, we were looking for a
battle, looking to jump on the team early.
“That wasn’t exactly how it played out today, but we’ve had all kinds of wins in different fashions, and we find ways to win. That’s what this team is about. We’re gonna find a way.”
It wasn’t necessarily smooth sailing for Shaffer, who started and battled. He allowed just three hits in four and two-third shutout innings, walking six and striking out 10.
“They were working counts, and when he reached 101 pitches, we made a change,” Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci said. “He had the bases loaded multiple times and got out of it, including the first inning, so for him to bear down and be a bulldog – it was great.
“He’s a kid that looks at all the scouting reports and kind of knows before we tell him, so I am just proud of him for hustling and for showing up there.”
Hawkes closed it out for the Falcons, allowing three hits in two-and-a-third shutout innings. Hazleton put its first two runners on board in the seventh on back-to-back singles, but Hawkes helped his own cause with a huge pickoff of the baserunner on second for the inning’s first out.
“He started to get hit around a little bit, he was leaving the ball up, but we got a couple of great defensive plays, and he got a pickoff, which was a game-changer too,” Pesci said.
The Falcons put a run on the board in the third when Burke, who doubled to lead off the inning, scored on a single by Pierce Perry.
“He’s really come on since the Council Rock North series when he had a bases-clearing triple,” Pesci said of Burke. “He’s had some really big hits, and
for our nine hitter to get on base three times today, including a double to lead off an inning and then get driven in was huge for us.
“He scored both runs, and it bodes well for us when the bottom of our order and the nine hitter are setting the table for the top.”
In the bottom of the sixth, Garlits delivered the defensive gem of the game, and an inspired Falcon squad added a run in the top of the seventh. Burke once again led off the inning with a double, and he scored on Carlton Crane’s single for the 2-0 final.
Garlits saves the day: Henry Garlits delivered a highlight reel play that kept the Falcons’ postseason dreams alive. It came with one out in the sixth inning, a runner on second and the Falcons clinging to a tenuous 1-0 lead.
“Typically, our offense is pretty explosive, and honestly, it wasn’t today - our hitting wasn’t as timely as usual, and we were only up 1-0,” Garlits said. “Coach had me playing in a perfect spot. I was a little bit shallow, and he hit a line drive that off the bat – I knew it was do or die, so I laid out and made the catch - full extension. Being a lefty hitter, it kind of tailed back to me. I took my time, got up and made a throw to second to get the double play and end the inning.”
Garlits makes it sound simple, but it wasn’t. After making the spectacular diving catch and flipping over, the left fielder fired to second, easily doubling off the runner who was already past third when Garlits came up with the game-saving catch.
“We kind of stole the momentum right back, and I think we used that to go back out and score one run, so it was a huge play,” Garlits said. “I just don’t want to stop playing with these
guys, so I had to put it all on the line to make sure I get at least one more game, hopefully, two more.
“I trust myself, I trust the guys. Even if I don’t make the play, I know with the team we have, we’re gonna find a way to rally back and get the win. That’s just what it’s been about this year.”
“That was the play of the game,” Burke said. “We know out there him, Danny (Seidler) and whoever plays the outfield – they catch everything. When he caught that ball, it changed the whole momentum of the game.
“It’s just deflating to the other team, and all season he (Garlits) has been a dog. That’s all I can say – he’s so good.”
Pesci also acknowledged the significance of Garlits’ web gem.
“It was straight at him, which is the hardest ball to catch,” the Falcons’ coach said. “He was diving in and rolled, and the kid was running on contact. We were talking about it – the best part was obviously the catch, but he got up and made a controlled throw. He didn’t rush, he didn’t get over excited. He gave himself time and made a good throw. That was huge.
“Henry made an amazing diving catch in the district championship, and the stakes weren’t as high because we had a big lead, but this was a massive catch in that moment right there. He’s a catcher-third baseman, but we converted him (to the outfield) because he’s an athlete. We needed a guy out there, and he’s been the guy.”
Bottom of order delivers: Pennsbury’s six, seven and nine hitters – Danny Seidler, Henry Garlits and Finn Burke – combined for six of their team’s 10 hits. Burke
was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and scored both runs.
“All season, the top of our lineup has picked us up,” Burke said. “Every guy in our lineup knows that on any given day, we could all pick each other up.
“They all support me, and they’ve all helped me, so that I have confidence going into every game and every at-bat. If they don’t have their best day, I’m there to pick them up and just do my job. I just try to stay relaxed. When you play tense, you usually tend to play worse, so I always try to keep myself relaxed and just do what I do.”
“There’s not a hole in our lineup,” Garlits said. “You do not want to pitch to a single guy on our team. If I’m a pitcher, the Pennsbury Falcons are not a team I want to face.”
Garlits went on to laud the play of Burke in his rookie season.
“Finn has stepped into a role this year and has gotten better every single game,” Garlits said. “Boy, that man has been hot at the right time.
“He’s been an electric player for us throughout this playoff run, and he’s just one heck of a prospect to keep watching and following. He’s going to be a great player. Most importantly, he’s just a great guy on and off the field – great kid, great teammate, great student. He’s just the best, honestly.”
For Burke, the transition to varsity has been effortless.
“It’s great – everybody on this team, we’re all so tight,” he said. “Not even the baseball part – it’s like a family. We’re all so close to each other. Winning as many games as we have is just a plus.”
Fifth showdown with Neshaminy: If four games weren’t enough for fans of the Pennsbury/Neshaminy rivalry, there will be a game five on Monday. The stakes are high in this one with the winner earning a trip to Penn State and the PIAA 6A state final.
“Our coach said he doesn’t need the extra drama, but personally, I love it,” Garlits said. “There’s not a better feeling in the world than beating Neshaminy.
“It’s a friendly rivalry off the field, but when we’re on the field, it’s very intense. Its’ gonna be a good rivalry game. We know what they got, they know what we got, and we’re just going to play them straight up. We’re just going to keep doing our thing, and that’s the name of the game right now.”
Burke is a newcomer to the lineup, but this rivalry has a history that runs deep
“Even last year on JV, the big rival is Neshaminy,” Burke said. “Going down to them the first game in the series, to come back and win two games was huge. When we play them, we come out with even more energy than we normally have, and it gives more hunger for us to want to win.
“I knew from the beginning of the season, this team is something special, top to bottom. Even the guys that don’t play – everybody makes an impact on the team. We knew we were going to be good, but this is unimaginable – it’s crazy.”
Perhaps a little more crazy than Pesci would prefer, but there’s no mistaking the fact that both teams are looking forward to the fifth meeting.
“You don’t need the extra drama, you don’t need the extra storyline when you’re climbing the mountain to try and get a state title,” Pesci said. “We know their hitters, we know they’re a talented team.
“I jokingly texted (Neshaminy coach Dan) Toner on the bus, and I said, ‘Congrats, do you want a scouting report?’ They also returned pretty much their guys from last year, so we basically have seven games of scouting report as do they.
“We’re feeling confident going in with the game plan, but it’s hard to beat a team four times in a row. It’s hard to beat a team three times in a row, so again, the added drama isn’t necessary, but it’s also great for our league and everything.”
By the numbers: Pennsbury: Carlton Crane (2-for-4, 1RBI), Danny Seidler (2-for-3), Henry Garlits (2-for-3, 2B), Finn Burke (2-for-2, 2 2B, 2R), Pierce Perry (1RBI).
Quinn Shaffer (W) (4.2 IP, 3H, 0R, 6BB, 10K), Owen Hawkes (S) (2.1 IP, 3H, 0R, 1BB, 1K)
Key inning: Top of the third – Finn Burke lined a double to right field to lead off the inning, and he moved up to third on a ground out by Carlton Crane, setting the stage for a line single to center by Pierce Perry that gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
Up next: Pennsbury will take on archrival Neshaminy in a PIAA 6A semifinal contest at Plymouth Ballpark on Monday (2pm).
Pennsbury 001 000 1 2-10-2
Hazleton 000 000 0 0-6-0
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