Philipsburg wins Pa. championship after outdueling Boyertown in another low-scoring matchup
BOYERTOWN » Pitching was arguably the “gold standard” for teams competing in the 2022 Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball State Tournament.
With five shutouts, four others decided by margins of no more than three runs and averaging fewer than seven runs per game in the tournament, the hurlers on the hill had a profound effect on the way the competition played out.
That impact was especially telling in games involving Philipsburg and Boyertown.
In their championshipqualifier and championship-round matchups, the combined score was 1-1.
That slim run production Tuesday – a 1-0 win courtesy the pitching of Nathan Fox – put the Bears into Wednesday’s championship rounds.
Philipsburg returned the favor on Wednesday in a 1-0 victory over the Bears in the championship game at Bear Stadium for the Phils’ first-ever state title.
Zack Tiracorda threw a seven-strikeout sevenhit shutout, which helped him claim the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award, and Philipsburg
(25-3) bunched its three hits for the game’s lone run in the second inning. Though Boyertown (23-9-1) outhit the Region 7 champion 7-3, it was stymied by the Phils’ finishing touch in each at-bat.
“We knew we had the arms coming into the season,” John White, Philipsburg’s first-year manager, said while his team and its fans were celebrating the championship out by the Bear Stadium scoreboard. “We have five guys who give 100 percent. We play for the first run.”
Tiracorda’s heroics made Boyertown starter Colin Eisenhard the hardluck losing pitcher after allowing only three hits over seven innings.
The Bears got designated hitter Steve Colucci to third in the second, and Evan Hetrick (2-for-3) that far in the fourth. Hetrick made a run for home plate off Tyler Hoffman’s foul pop to the left field side, but a pinpoint relay throw from Tanner Kephart to catcher Nathan Gustkey prevented the score from happening.
“When we beat Philipsburg the first time,” Boyertown’s Peyton Moyer, the tournament’s battingaward winner, said, “we made the plays we needed to. We had plenty of chances to go all the way.”
The Phils’ best chance in the title game proved sufficient to claim the state trophy. Michael Kitko and Colby Hahn led the second off with singles before Tiracorda added a hit that plated Kitko.
Boyertown’s defense prevented Philipsburg from additional scoring, erasing Tiracorda on Jake Desimone’s fielders’ choice hit to third before turning a 4-6-3 double play. The defense, which turned another double play in the seventh, coupled with Eisenhard’s own solid pitching performance to keep the Phils at bay from the third inning on.
“The kids, all of them, have come a long way,” Boyertown manager Justin Konnick said following his team’s 6-1 win over Paxton, one that qualified it for the Mid-Atlantic Regional alongside Philipsburg. “They proved it today. I’m extremely proud of how they earned the spot.”
Heading the Bears’ pitching staff was Richard Black, who was named the tournament’s Outstanding Pitcher. Black limited Paxton to six hits and its lone run on a David Schwoyer home run in the second inning of their game.
“I’m happy,” Black (2-0) said, “but at the end of the day we wanted to win the state title. We fell short.”
“He has the confidence he’s been working for,”
Konnick said of Black. “He’s playing at a very high level.”
Boyertown was shooting for the 24th state championship in program history, and first since 2013. Now it’s seeking its 10th Mid-Atlantic title, and first since 2007, when it heads to Morgantown, Va. for the next step toward the 2022 World Series.
“We have a week to prepare,” Black said. “We’ll be ready. If the team can do well there, we can show who we are.”
Philipsburg, in the meantime, is enjoying the unprecedented success this year’s team has achieved ... and the pursuit of more at Mid-Atlantics.
“We’re always in the game, win or lose,” White said. “We had all close games here. We came out Friday with a win (vs. Greater Pittston), and we started saying, ‘Why not us?’
“We knew we had to win five games, so we were going to burn every pitcher we have. That plan worked.” NOTES » Brandon Shane also went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Bears . ... Boyertown
and Philipsburg will open the Mid-Atlantics against either the Maryland champion (9:15 a.m.) or host Morgantown (6:30 p.m.) on Aug. 3, depending on how the teams are slotted. Games will be played at Dale Miller Field in Morgantown . ... Philipsburg was a previous state-tourney participant in Boyertown back in 1993 and 2003. The Bears were champions in the first, and Blackhawk in the second . ... The Phils had another individual award recipient in Nick Coudriet (Sportsmanship).