Oley Valley falls in first round of state tourney
It went from exhilaration to deflation in four days’ time.
Oley Valley reached the PIAA Class AA playoffs with a heady run in the District 3-AA tournament, capped by a 6-0 win over Lancaster Catholic in their June 2 title game. But the Lynx’s postseason run ended in the first round of states with a 6-3 loss to North Schuylkill on June 6.
A four-run fourth gave the District 11 champion Spartans (20-4) separation from a 1-1 tie with Oley (195), which was able to score twice in the seventh. North Schuylkill banged out eight hits off Lynx pitcher Matt Fisher, who went the distance in a losing cause.
Sebastian Williamson (double), Fisher and Peter Vaccaro drove in the Oley runs. They all hit safely, as did teammates Gavin Blankenbiller and Brandt Schlegel.
The first-round state loss was a reversal of the roll Oley made through District 3’s Class AA playoff bracket. The Lynx outscored the opposition by a combined 20-1, racking up wins over Fairfield (12-1) and Camp Hill (2-0) prior to its romp over Lancaster Catholic in the title game at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Against Fairfield (11-8), Pete Vaccaro hit a grand slam and scored three runs to lead the Lynx’s 12- hit offense. Matt Fisher went 2-for-4 while allowing just three singles in a complete-game pitching performance.
Nate Christman swung another big bat for Oley, going 2-for-3 with a double and driving in two runs. Daymond Zweizig also doubled and had two RBI for the Lynx.
In its game with Camp Hill, Oley got shutout pitching from Matt Fisher, who scattered six hits and one walk while striking out seven. The Lynx scored a pair of runs on bases-loaded walks in the bottom of the sixth to beat the defending champion Lions (14-8).
In the district championship game, Blankenbiller threw a four-hit shutout and the Lynx scored in four of their six at-bats to beat the Crusaders (17-5). Tyler Wentzel went 3-for-4 with two doubles and scored twice, and Gray Williamson and Vaccaro had RBI triples in a three-run sixth inning.