Lower Macungie starter Shane Ohl said he had a feeling one run might be the difference in Saturday night’s game against Northampton.
That’s how confident he was in his ability and how much respect he had for his mound opponent.
Ohl and Northampton left-hander Logan Higgins locked up in a classic pitcher’s duel in the finale of a 10-hour quadrupleheader at the American Legion Region 2 baseball tournament played at Emmaus Community Park. Ohl and Lower Mac came out on top in a 2-0 win over Higgins and Northampton.
A right-hander, Ohl allowed only three singles – all of the infield variety – and struck out four as the host team proved it can compete with the region’s elite.Saturday’s Day 1 winners were Lower Macungie, North Parkland, Quakertown and Perkiomen.
North Parkland will play Perkiomen in Sunday’s 4:30 p.m. winner’s bracket semifinal, while Lower Macungie will meet defending regional and state champion Quakertown in the 8:30 p.m. winner’s bracket semifinal.
The entirety of the five-day, 14-game, eight-team, double-elimination Region 2 tournament will be played at Emmaus Community Park.
Ohl, a recent Emmaus High School graduate who will play at Muhlenberg College, was dominant from start to finish for Lower Macungie. Northampton’s only chance to get to Ohl came in the top of the sixth inning.
Billy Stuhldreher and Jed Colyer reached base on back-to-back textbook bunt singles to start a potential rally.
No. 9 batter Austin Sommers then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance the baserunners. That set the stage for perhaps Northampton’s top two hitters – Mason Haupt and Higgins. Ohl induced both Haupt and Higgins into ground balls to escape the trouble.
“I was a little concerned in that inning,” Ohl said, “but I kind of went to my slider in that situation. I trusted my defense to do the job and they did it. Once I got through the top of the order in the sixth, I thought that it’d be smooth sailing in the seventh.”
It was, indeed.
Ohl retired Northampton 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh to finish off his gem.
“I can’t say enough about Shane,” Lower Macungie manager Jeff Smith said. “Arguably, this was his best game of the season. I was afraid he was tiring as the season went on because he’s been our workhorse, and he said he was tiring in the sixth when I went out to talk to him. Once he got out of that jam, the adrenaline kicked in. Shane was dynamite tonight.”
Ohl threw exactly 80 pitches, meaning he would be eligible to come pitch in Wednesday’s championship game – if Lower Macungie is still alive.
Smith’s squad scored the only run it would require in the third inning.
Drew McGeehan lined a one-out single to left and Daniel Rohlsen reached on an error. Noah Hogan then delivered McGeehan with a sacrifice fly to center field.Higgins pitched five innings for Northampton. He allowed five hits and walked four. He struck out four.
Lower Macungie added an insurance run in the home half of the sixth inning. Wiley Fleck, who was 2-for-3, had the RBI.
“I’m thrilled with the way we hit the baseball,” Smith said. “I know we only scored two runs but we had some very hard outs. And Higgins is a great pitcher.”
The Lehigh Valley League representative proved worthy of its spot in the tournament, as well.
Lower Macungie, which went 1-2 in the league playoffs before bowing out, qualified for the eight-team field as the host team.
“Definitely,” Ohl said when asked if it was a statement win. “Being the host team, people probably think we didn’t deserve a spot and we’re trying to prove we belong here.”
Next up, Lower Mac gets a game against the team to beat – Quakertown.
“Quakertown is tough. I know that. Everybody knows that,” said Smith, who was undecided on his Sunday starter. “They earned it. So, my attitude is just go out and play baseball. We’ll do the best we can.”
Northampton will play Reading in Sunday’s 1:30 p.m. loser’s bracket game.
North Parkland 8, Kutztown 1
The Lehigh Valley League champion Buffaloes had only two hits in the game but they scored eight runs over the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to roll past Berks County champion Kutztown in the tournament opener.
They took advantage of three errors, 11 walks and four wild pitches.
Gavin Mohry and Nate Unger produced back-to-back hits with two outs in the home half of the fourth inning when North Parkland broke a scoreless tie with a pair of runs.
“One of the things that’s great about this team is we can win a lot of different ways,” North Parkland manager Jay Marakovits said. “We know we’re not going to be struggling at the plate to get hits every game so it’s good to get a win on a day when we struggled.”
Noah Trager started and pitched five shutout innings before Marakovits opted to remove the right-hander in order to control his pitch count and keep him eligible to pitch again in the tournament. A recent Parkland High School graduate and Marywood University recruit, Trager yielded three singles, did not issue a walk and struck out three. He threw 60 pitches.
Chase Whittaker and Peyton Scherff both pitched an inning of relief for the Buffaloes.
“I didn’t pitch in the league playoffs,” Trager said, “so I’ve had a couple of weeks off. Coming back today I was looking to control my fastball and mix in my other pitches. My off-speed stuff was working pretty well.
“Obviously, I wanted to stay in the game and try to finish off the shutout. I understood but I was a little mad. But if I stayed in, I probably wouldn’t pitch the rest of the tournament.”
“Noah gave us exactly what we needed,” Marakovits said. “He was sharp today with all three of his pitches.”
Kutztown starter Chris Bergstorm pitched three and two-thirds hitless innings for the Cougars before they self-destructed in the later innings. Kutztown walked six batters in the fifth inning and five more in the sixth.
Unger, who went 2-0 with one hit allowed in 14 innings in the Lehigh Valley League tournament, is slated to start Sunday’s game, according to Marakovits. Unger pitched a no-hitter vs. rival South Parkland on Tuesday.
“We know every team in this tournament is a tough team,” said Marakovits, whose Buffaloes went 0-2 at last year’s regional. “There are no easy days in a Region 2 tournament. We feel like we can compete with anybody but nothing is going to be easy.”
Kutztown will play Wanderers at 11 a.m. Sunday in a loser’s bracket game.
Perkiomen 2, Wanderers 1
The Bux-Mont League runner-up Indians scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to overcome a 1-0 deficit and defeat Northampton County League champion Wanderers in the third of four Day 1 games.
Jack Schramm doubled in a run in the top of the sixth inning, and Jordin Dice drove in the decisive run with a bunt single in the seventh. Braden Rieg allowed four singles in six and two-thirds strong innings to pick up the win. Brandon Godshall induced a fly ball the final out.
Perkiomen scored both of its runs after a leadoff walk was followed by a stolen base.
Rieg and Wanderers starter Paul Erfle were locked in a hitless pitchers’ duel through four innings. Wanderers broke through first, stringing together three singles to start the bottom of the fifth frame. The final single, off the bat of Zander Frey, produced Wanderers’ lone run. Rieg limited the damage by picking off a runner to end the threat.
Erfle walked the leadoff batter in the top of the sixth – his fourth of the game – and was removed by manager Paul Walsh in favor of left-hander Luke Piripavel. Erfle, who allowed his first earned run of the season, did not give up a hit and struck out nine.
Frey finished 2-for-3 for Wanderers.
Quakertown 10, Reading 0, 5 innings
Cole Reich went 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs, and Cooper Natisin pitched four shutout innings with six strikeouts to spark Bux-Mont champion Quakertown to the mercy-rule rout.
The Blue Jays scored two runs in the first inning and kept adding on, ending the Day 1 contest with three runs in the fifth frame.
Daniel Qualteria contributed three hits and two runs scored from the leadoff spot and Natisin helped his own cause with two hits and two RBIs.
Abel Montero was 2-for-3 for Reading.
Michael Blouse is a freelance writer.
Source: Berkshire mont