Three of our local high school baseball teams — Bellefonte, Bald Eagle Area and State College — were able to get in games over the past week despite the terrible weather.
The Little Lions split two games with a win over Williamsport and a loss to Mid Penn rival Altoona, while Bald Eagle Area and Bellefonte both swept to double-digit victories.
Here’s a closer look:
State College is now 2-2 for the season
The State College Little Lions traveled to Williamsport on the afternoon of Saturday, April 6, and took care of things early against the Millionaires.
State College opened the game with eight runs in the first two innings and rode them to an 11-5 victory over non-league Williamsport.
The Lions extended that early lead to 11-1 before Williamsport scored three runs in the fourth inning to extend the game to seven innings.
State College struck 11 hits, led by Jensen Chestnut, Sebastian Rhoades, Jack Coleman, Austin Harter and Logan Shannon with two each. Harter added three RBIs and Chestnut drove in two.
On the mound, Gino Pighetti and Sam Janik combined to give up four earned runs, striking out six and walking just three.
The game put the State College record at 2-1, but that would only last until the slugfest against Altoona on Monday, April 9.
In an upset of fortunes, Altoona struck early in this game and scored seven runs in the first three innings to take a 7-1 lead.
State College, however, chipped away until the Lions put together two rallies in the sixth and seventh innings. They scored three in the sixth and five in the seventh, tying the game at 11-11 and sending it into extra innings. Coleman tied the game with a clutch, two-out, three-run home run.
Altoona was not shaken, though, and put together a triple, a sacrifice fly and a home run in the eighth to hang on for a 14-11 win.
Mountain Lions reliever Eric McCallister got the final outs, and his team took home its second win of the season in three games.
Next up for State College will be a home conference game on Friday, April 12, against Cumberland Valley, followed by a non-league away game at Central Mountain on Monday, April 15.
Bellefonte streaks past Huntingdon, 15-7
The Raiders gave up a run in the top of the first inning to Huntingdon and then proceeded to score seven runs in the first and second innings to take an early 7-1 lead that stood up in their 15-7 win.
Huntingdon, with 13 hits on the day, kept it competitive with runs in the third, fourth and fifth, but Bellefonte answered each call.
By the end of the fifth inning, the score was 12-5, and the Raiders were on their way to their third win without a loss.
Bellefonte’s offense was clicking with 17 hits, led by Trevor Johnson, Peyton Vancas, Braedyn Kormanic and Ryan Fraley, who each had three. Parker Capparelle led with four RBIs, and Vancas and Kormanic each got three.
Vancas was the winning pitcher with four innings, nine hits, four runs and two strikeouts.
Bellefonte now has a trip to Greater Johnstown on Friday, April 12, before a home game against Bellwood-Antis on Tuesday, April 16.
BEA gets a rare Sunday win, 16-1, over Central Cambria
Bald Eagle Area head coach Jim Gardner said he was a little worried at Central Cambria how his team would respond after such a long layoff due to the bad weather.
He did not have to be concerned.
The Bald Eagles, traveling to Ebensburg for a rare Sunday game, came out smoking and scored 13 runs in the first four innings on the way to a five-inning, 16-1 victory.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in Wingate but it was moved to Central Cambria because of the all-weather field.
Weston McCain took the win for Bald Eagle Area, with Cam Watkins going 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs. Kahale Burns went 2-for-2, Gavin Burns was 2-for-2 with an RBI and Wyatt Spackman was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.
McCain pitched four innings, giving up just three hits and striking out seven.
Wyatt Kowalczyk finished up the five-inning win, and Bald Eagle Area is now 3-0 for the season.
Next up for Bald Eagle Area will be an away conference game at Bishop Carroll on Friday, April 12.
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