DUBOIS, Pa.- It wasn’t meant to be for St. Marys on this day.
Rewatch the game:
Bellefonte scored eight runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 14-0, 5-inning win over the Flying Dutchmen in the District 6-8-9 Class 4A championship game on Thursday at Showers Field.
“I tried to remind them, especially the seniors, of the special stuff they did this year,” said St. Marys coach Jesse Beimel. “This obviously didn’t pan out the way we wanted it to. Hats off to Bellefonte. They pounded everything. It just is what it is sometimes. They were seeing big beach balls and we weren’t.”
Duke commit Trevor Johnson led off the game with a triple, part of three-straight hits to start the game, including an RBI double from Peyton Vancas and an RBI single from Alex Ebeling to make it 2-0.
The Red Raiders (16-5) sent 14 men to the plate in the first, an inning that also included a 2-run double from starting pitcher Dominic Capperella, an RBI single from Josh Brown, and another RBI single from Vancas.
“It just boosts you completely,” Vancas said of the big first inning. “It felt great and we just went from there.”
See Vancas’ full interview:
Bellefonte scored four more runs in the second on Johnson’s 3-run home run.
Capperella, meanwhile, allowed just one hit in his five innings of work to get the win, striking out five and walking one.
Lucas Bauer took the loss, allowing six runs in ⅔ of an inning on four hits and three walks. Cam Coudriet tossed two innings of relief, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out one.
“As a freshman, Cam came in and threw a couple of really good innings,” Beimel said.
Vinnie Lenze had St. Marys’ lone hit.
Bellefonte advances to play WPIAL runner-up Greater Latrobe on Monday, while St. Marys’ season, which included a District 9 championship, ends at 13-10.
“These seniors really paved the way for us,” Beimel said. “They drew us a road map. We now know what it takes to get here. Now we have to work hard to replace all their productivity, which is going to be hard to do. It starts with hard work, and I know these guys are up to the challenge.”
