As one of just two seniors on the team, games at this stage of the postseason mean more to Oley Valley shortstop Chase Reifsnyder.
“It definitely means more to me than it does to other people — other than Tyler, because he’s the other senior — just to keep on playing,” Reifsnyder said, referring to teammate Tyler Drobek. “Now when you lose, you’re done, so you just gotta keep on winning and keep on playing. So it just means a lot if we win.”
Reifsnyder helped guarantee the Lynx another day on the diamond as he had two RBIs to lead fourth-seeded Oley Valley to an 8-2 win over fifth-seeded Brandywine Heights in a District 3 Class 3A baseball quarterfinal Monday at Oley.
The Lynx (14-8) advance to play at top-seeded Camp Hill (16-3-1) Thursday in a semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. Oley lost in the semifinals last season to Trinity 10-6.
“It was a big game today for everybody,” Reifsnyder said. “We all played well, the bottom of our order came through today when they needed to. I just had confidence in everybody on the field, at bat. I just knew after the first inning we played, I was like ‘Guys, we got this.’ ”
The Lynx opened up with a 2-1 lead after the first inning, scoring one run on an error and another on a wild pitch. Reifsnyder, who opened the inning with a single, scored from third when Bullets catcher Grant Parks overthrew pitcher Carson Renner following a pitch during the at-bat.
Oley Valley extended its lead to 5-1 in the third. A sacrifice bunt by Nathan Firek led to a throwing error and allowed Sean Hoffman to score to make it 3-1. Drobek then hit an RBI single and Reifsnyder drove in another run on on a fielder’s choice grounder.
“They’re just a gutty group of kids,” Oley Valley coach Jeff Pinder said. “They just keep going at it and going at it and going at it, and that’s what we did today. We just keep chipping away and chipping away and then we get the lead, which is great, and we keep adding on and that’s a great thing.
Drobek went 3-for-4 and Firek finished 2-for-2.
The Lynx had 12 hits and made one error, while Brandywine Heights had eight hits and committed five errors.
“Up and down the lineup we did a good job,” Pinder said. “We talked about being aggressive and trying to hit it in the zone and they did that today. So I was very proud of them. Everybody contributed today so that’s what we want.”
Renner, a senior, pitched allowed five runs, two earned, on six hits in 4.1 innings. He hit three batters, walked four and struck out six. He also went 1-for-3.
Last season, Oley Valley defeated the Bullets 8-0 during the regular season with Renner on the mound and Reifsnyder said that the familiarity with the Brandywine Heights senior starter played a factor.
“Last year, when we played them we faced Renner and we hit him well last year, as well,” Reifsnyder said. “So everybody knew we could hit him, we just had to sit (and wait on) the fastball. If you hit the fastball, you’ll be all right, so we all just planned on hitting the fastball and we executed.”
The Bullets (12-8) added a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Aidan Hall RBI single. Brandywine Heights’ first run came in the first inning on a wild pitch.
Paul Petersen picked up the win for the Lynx. He allowed two earned runs on seven hits in six innings, walking two and striking out six.
“Paul was sharp, early; mid-game, (he) kind of like got a little messy and then he just stepped it up again,” Pinder said. “And that’s Paul. When it comes down to crunch time there’s no one that I want to put it out there on the mound more than him. He came and shut the door.
“I don’t expect anything less when I give him the ball. I know he’s gonna go out and give me everything he’s got for as many innings as he can get.”
Oley Valley added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh as Colin Remmel had an RBI single, Bradley Auge had an RBI double and Reifsnyder (2-for-4) an RBI single.
Joe Crist, a senior for the Bullets, went 2-for-3 with two doubles and scored both runs for Brandywine Heights.
For Bullets coach Ron Schaeffer Jr., his senior class has helped propel Brandywine and their leadership has helped set the program in the right direction.
“The seniors were the leadership of this team,” Schaeffer said. “They went through a coaching change mid-career and it’s not easy to do that. They took a good leadership role this year and took this team to a different level; making a county playoff appearance, making district appearances. A lot is owed to the seniors and what they’ve done for this program the last few years and where they took it.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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