Palisades makes it seven in a row with win over Palmerton
Palisades broke through in 2021 and won the first District 11 baseball title in school history.
Anybody who thought the Pirates of last year were one-hit wonders was mistaken.
After finishing 16-9 last spring, Palisades seems determined to finish with an even better mark this season. The Pirates won their seventh straight game and improved to 14-3 overall with a tidy 6-2 Colonial League win over visiting Palmerton on Wednesday.
Senior Michael Wallbillich shook off a shaky start to finish with a 7-hitter and also had an RBI single in the first inning and knocked in another run in a five-run fourth with a groundout as Palisades improved to 13-3 in the league with one game left before the Colonial’s postseason tournament is set to begin May 13.
“We have great senior leadership and the guys come out and work hard to get better,” said low-key veteran coach Gary Koenig who’s been guiding the program since 2012. “We’re going to try to go as far as we can go.”
Palisades has already qualified for the six-team league tournament along with Southern Lehigh, Saucon Valley, and Notre Dame-Green Pond. Those three are the only ones to beat the Pirates this season.
Last year in the league tournament, Palisades qualified as the No. 6 seed and was 0-7 against the other teams in the tournament. But the Pirates stunned Saucon Valley 12-1 in the quarterfinals and then had a wild, back-and-forth game with Notre Dame in the semis that ended with the Crusaders winning 9-8.
Two weeks later, Palisades got revenge and a district championship by beating Notre Dame 3-2 in Class 3A finals for the first D11 crown in program history.
“We learned from that experience last year about how to handle the playoffs,” Koenig said. “As long as we stay focused and keep working hard, we are going to be OK. Anybody can beat anybody on a given night. Our guys just want to compete.”
Wallbillich, a lefty who walked two and struck out four, said the team’s chemistry is its strength.
“We’ve been playing together while we’ve been growing up,” he said. “Just because we’re playing well right now doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of work to do. We have a lot to improve on to get to the point where we can win another championship.”
Wallbillich said he found his rhythm after a rocky top of the first.
Connor Beahm doubled for Palmerton and after a walk to Kaleb Eitner, Chase Reph delivered a two-out, two-run single.
But that would be it for the Blue Bombers scoring.
“Our pitching was pretty good and we held an explosive offense to six runs,” first-year Palmerton coach Tyler Svetik said. “Offensively, we’re just in a big funk and we’re not getting anything going.”
The Blue Bombers (11-7, 9-7) currently hold the sixth spot in the tournament chase with games against Moravian Academy and Northern Lehigh still to play.
“We have a gritty bunch but this late in the season we’re still working on being consistent,” Svetik said. “We pitch well, we play defense, but we’re just not getting the hits right now. Hopefully, we can turn that around as we go into the playoffs.”
Palmerton outhit Palisades 7-6 but six walks helped the Pirates.
“Palisades is a solid team right now,” Svetik said. “They put a lot of pressure on the defense with bunts and slapping the ball. They’re wellcoached and [Koenig] has them doing what they need to do.”
In the decisive fourth inning, the Pirates benefited from three walks, two errors, and two hit batters. Chase Kimbel had an RBI single and Nick Petrillo and Jaden Newton had basesloaded walks.
“We never back down no matter what team we play,” said Newton, who was also a talented quarterback in football and helped Palisades win a district gold in that sport in 2020. “Whether we’re down by a few runs or up by a few, we never quit. We feel good going into the playoffs, but we’re never satisfied. Last year we were the sixth seed. It didn’t matter. Everybody’s hungry.”
Newton, who will play baseball at East Stroudsburg University, said he would love to get a league or another district title, but the focus is one game at a time.
That next game for the Pirates is a nonleague contest scheduled for Friday at Allentown Central Catholic.
“We look forward to the competition and that’s what we want,” Newton said. “They’ll help us get ready for the playoffs. But hopefully we’ll get the win.”