YOUNGSVILLE, Pa. – Nate Lucks was dominant on the mound and Youngsville was able to manufacture four runs off Iroquois ace Ben Burkhardt in a 4-2 victory on Monday.
Lucks struck out 16 and retired the first nine batters he faced in the win.
“Their top five, I knew they were the tough hitters, so I gave them my best, and the rest I focused, threw strikes, and let my defense do work,” Lucks said.
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Burkhardt, meanwhile, was equally dominant early, but the Eagles got to him in the third inning. It started with Ethan Senz putting down a bunt and Burkhardt fielded it but threw it away, allowing Senz go get into second, coming home moments later on James Johnson’s RBI double.
“Going in we knew it was going to be their ace against our ace, so we knew it was going to be a pitchers duel,” said Youngsville coach Eddie Dorunda. “It started with Ethan Senz getting that bunt down and that started everything. That was huge. We stole a couple of bases and had some timely hits.”
Johnson came around to score on a passed ball to make it 2-0 in the third, with Iroquois getting on the board in the top of the fourth on doubles by Reilly Brown and Joe Doverspike.
“We had a couple of hitters that we had to worry about, but we knew Nate have a good chance of shutting them down,” Dorunda said. “He pounds the zone, throws that curveball, and is just a bulldog out there.”
Youngsville got that run right back in the fifth and once again it was Johnson serving as the catalyst, doubling with two outs and coming home after Burkhardt’s pickoff throw sailed into the outfield.
Lucks helped his own cause in the sixth, doubling and coming home on David Manning’s fielder’s choice.
Lucks ran into a little bit of trouble in the seventh, allowing a 2-out RBI single to Matt Schaffner, but he came back to strike out Hunter Chew to end the game.
Lucks allowed just three hits and one earned run.
Burkhardt, meanwhile, allowed just two hits and one earned run.
“If one guy doesn’t do it, the next guy is ready to step up and get the job done,” Dorunda said about his team’s 4-0 start. “Look around, this is the most people we’ve seen down here in a while. You can feel it. We’re just taking it one game at a time.”
HICKORY 7, WILMINGTON 6
HERMITAGE, Pa. – Zac Lanshcak was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to end the game and send Hickory to a 7-6 win over Wilmington.
Wilmington led 5-3 after five innings, but Hickory scored two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings for the win.
Luca Bertolasio, Johnny Leedham, and Joe Cidila all drove in runs for the Hornets.
Luke Ference got the win, recording the final out in the top of the seventh.
Shane Heller was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Colby Lewis was 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored.
Hunter Jones took the loss, allowing two runs in 1 ⅔ innings.
MCDOWELL 12, CORRY 0, 5 innings
CORRY, Pa. – Izaak Ogrodowczyk pitched five shutout inning and also drove in four runs to lead McDowell to a 12-0, 5-inning win over Corry.
Ogrodowczyk allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out five. At the plate, he was 3-for-3 with two doubles and four RBIs as McDowell scored two runs in the second inning, four in the third, and six in the fifth.
Carter Swanson was 1-for-3 with a double, three RBIs, and two runs and Brady Kramer was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Zack Martin took the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) in four innings, allowing six hits, and striking out seven.
WEST MIDDLESEX 13, COCHRANTON 3, 5 innings
WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. – West Middlesex scored six runs in the first two innings and seven more in the fourth in a 13-3, 5-inning win over Cochranton.
Julian Trott led the offensive charge for the Big Reds going 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs. Also for the Big Reds, Tyler Blanton was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs, and two runs, Bowen Briggs was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and Gio Rococi was 2-for-2 with two runs, two walks, and an RBI.
Rococi got the win, allowing three runs in five innings on seven hits while striking out eight.
Walker Carroll was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Cochranton.
Isaiah Long took the loss, allowing eight runs in 3 ⅓ innings, allowing nine hits and striking out five.
HARBOR CREEK 7, FAIRVIEW 5
HARBORCREEK, Pa. – A 4-run fourth inning gave Harbor Creek a 6-3 lead in what was ultimately a 7-5 win over Fairview.
Eli Moon hit a 2-run home run for Harbor Creek in the third inning, while Preston Lanagan and Brady Rzodkiewicz drove in two runs each.
Ryan Vaughn got the win, going 5 ⅓ innings and allowing five runs on four hits, striking out four and walking two. Gio Barbato got the save, pitching 1 ⅔ perfect innings with four strikeouts.
Vinny Campoli and Caleb Szklenski both homered and drove in two runs each.
Szklenski took the loss, allowing four runs in an inning of work.
SLIPPERY ROCK 8, NORTH EAST 0
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Nick Kingerski tossed five shutout innings and Brett Galcik was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored in Slippery Rock’s 8-0 win over North East.
The Rockets jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings en route to the win, as Sal Mineo was 2-for-4 with two runs, Dylan Gordon was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Luke Allison was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Nolan Darr was 2-for-3 with a run.
Kingerski allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out seven, while Allison came in and tossed two scoreless innings of relief with four strikeouts.
Tyler Wittman took the loss, allowing five runs on nine hits in 1 ⅔ innings.
SENECA 11, CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS 0, 5 innings
WATTSBURG, Pa. – Lucas Rupp was 2-for-2 with a double and four RBIs as Seneca earned an 11-1, 5-inning win over Cambridge Springs.
Conner Kaveney pitched five strong innings to get the win, allowing just three hits while striking out six and not issuing a walk.
Ben Reider was also 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs and Kendall Yosten was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run.
Brayden Field took the loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) in 2 ⅓ innings, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out four.
MAPLEWOOD 11, EISENHOWER 7
GUYS MILLS, Pa. – Trailing 7-6 going into the bottom of the sixth, Maplewood scored five runs to rally for an 11-7 win over Eisenhower.
Levi Willison was 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs for the Tigers, Isaac Williams, Landyn Reynolds, and Andrew Proper drove in two runs each.
Reynolds got the win, tossing 1 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief.
Brok English was 1-for-3 with three RBIs for Eisenhower, while Derek Childs was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Kael Hunt was 2-for-4 with two runs.
Camron Jakubczak took the loss, allowing two runs in an inning of work.
SOFTBALL
CONNEAUT 15, MCDOWELL 7
ERIE, Pa. – Conneaut rallied from a 6-0 deficit after two innings, scoring seven runs in the fourth on its way to a 15-7 victory over McDowell.
Linda Shepard homered, part of a 3-hit, 5-RBI effort that included a 3-run home run.
Kylie Shrock also drove in five runs, part of a 4-for-5 effort at the plate. Lainie Harrington was also 2-for-3 with three RBIs, three runs, and two walks.
Shepard got the win, allowing 10 hits and two earned runs, striking out eight.
Gabby Deluca hit a 2-run home run and drove in four total runs for McDowell.
DeLuca also took the loss, allowing nine runs (eight earned) in 5 ⅓ innings on 11 hits while striking out eight.
REYNOLDS 4, COCHRANTON 0
COCHRANTON, Pa. – Madelyn Diefenderfer and Marissa Hillyer drove in two runs each as Reynolds earned a 4-0 win over Cochranton.
Diefenderfer had a 2-run double in the third inning and Hillyer a 2-run single in the seventh.
Diefenderfer fired five shutout innings on six hits while striking out six.
Dani Hoffman took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits on seven walks, striking out 10.
Kim Ewing and Brooklyn Needler had two hits each for the Cardinals.
HARBOR CREEK 8, FAIRVIEW 1
HARBORCREEK, Pa. – Georgia Weber and Hannah Smith drove in two runs each as Harbor Creek beat Fairview, 8-1.
Leading 4-0 after three innings, the Huskies scored four runs in the fourth to break the game open.
Baileigh Bleih and Brooke Przybylski both had two hits and an RBI, while Weber and Smith had three hits apiece.
Addison Lucas pitched five shutout innings to get the win, striking out 10 while allowing just two hits and two walks.
Brianna Price took the loss, allowing eight runs (four earned) in five innings on 12 hits, while Gabi Ramm drove in the lone run for the Tigers.
FORT LEBOEUF 11, NORTHWESTERN 1
ALBION, Pa. – Kendall Stull tossed a 4-hitter with 13 strikeouts and also drove in a run as Fort LeBoeuf beat Northwestern, 11-1.
Ryan Shields and Lorelei Hiltabidel (4-for-5) had two RBIs each for the Bison, while Kadence Bailey was 2-for-3 with a triple and three runs scored.
A-C VALLEY/UNION 16, LAKEVIEW 4, 5 innings
STONEBORO, Pa. – Bella Ielase and Emerson Stevens each drove in three runs to lead A-C Valley/Union to a 16-4, five-inning win at Lakeview.
Stevens went 2-for-5 with two doubles and a run scored, while Ielease was 2-for-5 with three runs scored.
Mackenzie Parks had four hits for the Falcon Knights going 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Lexi Bauer was 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs.
Both players were 3-for-3 three runs scored and two RBIs with a walk each. One of Hartzell’s hits was a triple.
Kya Wetzel chipped in a triple while going 1-for-3 with two runs scored while also walking.
Hemi Brazel was 1-for-1 with a double, a walk, a run scored, and an RBI for Lakeview with Zoe Proper going 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Stevens got the win going three innings allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits and four walks while striking out seven.
Parks pitched two innings allowing one unearned run on a hit and a walk while striking out three.
Brazel took the loss going five innings allowing 16 runs, 13 earned, on 19 hits and three walks while striking out three.
