Golden boys

Red Raiders take advantage of Somerset miscues on way to title

Vinny Pezzimenti

ALTOONA — You would think a high school baseball coach of 28 years has seen darn near close to everything.

CDT/Christopher Weddle

Bellefonte's Matt Watson takes a swing against Somerset at Blair County Ballpark in Altoona on Thursday, May 21, 2009. CDT/Christopher Weddle

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Not exactly. Bellefonte coach Denny Leathers is apparently still checking items off his list of baseball experiences.

Leathers had a cooler full of ice water poured over his head by players for the first time after the Red Raiders defeated Somerset 9-4 on Thursday afternoon to capture the District 6 Class AAA baseball championship at Blair County Ballpark.

Leathers took the dousing in stride, smiling as he picked ice cubes out of his jacket. Of course, Leathers couldn’t help but be happy with a victory that gave Bellefonte its first district title since 2006 and clinched a berth in the PIAA tournament.

“It’s a team that knew what it wanted,” said Leathers, who had now guided the Red Raiders to three district championships. “They went out there day in and day out and worked very hard, whether it was in the gym early in the year or lately going out in the heat. It’s a team that’s had great senior leadership, probably the best we’ve had in a long, long time.

“What we do from here is gravy because they’ve done a super job this year.”

Bellefonte continues its season against the District 3 fourth-place finisher on June 1 at a site and time to be determined.

Matt Fisher had two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs to help No. 3 Bellefonte (17-6) avenge a loss to top-seeded Somerset (12-4) in last year’s title game.

Ethan Kline also had two hits, Frank Parkes and Jordon Schainholz each had two RBIs, and Seth Tressler doubled for the Red Raiders, who took advantage of seven Golden Eagles errors.

Tressler, the last link to the last Bellefonte district title team, and Fisher were responsible for showering Leathers. The seniors slowly crept up from behind to dump on their unsuspecting coach.

“I had no idea about it,” Fisher said. “Tressler just grabbed me and was like ‘C’mon Fish, we’re going to dump this on him.’ I said, ‘Are we allowed?’ And he said, ‘Why not?’”

You’d have to figure the Red Raiders earned the right to cause a little trouble. They rolled through districts, outscoring their opponents 34-7. The week-long run was reminiscent of an eight-game mid-season winning streak in which Bellefonte gouged opponents en route to an 11-2 start.

The Golden Eagles also provided plenty of help in this one.

“We were fortunate,” Leathers said.

The Red Raiders used a walk, error and three hits, including RBI singles from Fisher and Schainholz, in the first inning to plate four runs. Two of the runs were unearned.

Each of Bellefonte’s four runs in the fourth inning were unearned. The Red Raiders made good on four errors and a walk to take an 8-1 lead. The only hit in the inning came on an RBI double by Fisher.

Bellefonte, which had nine hits, scored its final run in the seventh inning with the help of an errant pickoff throw and wild pitch.

“The errors killed us today,” Somerset coach Steve Costea said.

“When you make mistakes against a team like this, you’re going to lose the game,” he added. “You’re going to lose it because they mash the ball and the mash it hard. You can’t make any mistakes like that.”

Somerset starter Cody Hemminger gave up eight runs on seven hits in four innings before giving way to Anthony Papini, who limited the Red Raiders to one hit.

Robert Gummo (6-2) picked up the win for Bellefonte, but it didn’t come without some tense moments.

Gummo, who allowed four runs on five hits in 42/ 3 innings, retired eight straight hitters at

one point and appeared to be rolling until giving up a leadoff walk in the fifth inning. After a fly out, Chase Dykstra tripled in a run and then scored on a Anthony Papini single. Papini scored on an error and Gunnar Smith singled to end Gummo’s day.

The news didn’t get any better after struggling reliever Cole McClarren walked the first batter he faced to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate.

But McClarren, who lost his last two starts of the regular season and hadn’t pitched in the playoffs, struck out Cameron Darr looking to end the threat. The senior right-hander allowed only a walk the rest of the way.

“It’s nice to see him bounce back from late-season adversity,” Leathers said, “and go out and pitch well and put them down and make his pitches and throw strikes. He did all that.”