BEA, Bellefonte baseball both fall in PIAA quarterfinals

Bald Eagle Area lost to Brownsville 10-0 in Thursday’s PIAA Class 3A baseball quarterfinal at Slippery Rock.

The game was scoreless heading into the fourth inning, but Brownsville scored five in the bottom of the fourth and five in the bottom of the fifth to end the game after five innings due to the mercy rule. The Eagles held Brownsville to just five hits, but several errors cost the team.

“We turned a losing season of last year into a state playoff winning team,” Bald Eagle Area coach Jim Gardner said in an email. “These kids should be commended for an outstanding season.”

Walk-off ends Bellefonte’s season

Bellefonte fell just short in PIAA Class 4A action Thursday at DuBois’ Showers Field. An RBI-single from Meadville’s Nick Frantz ended the Red Raiders’ season with a 4-3 loss in the state quarterfinals.

Bellefonte took a 2-0 lead when it pushed across two runs in the top of the fourth, but Meadville countered with two of its own to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth.

After trailing by one heading into the seventh inning, Bellefonte tied the game on a bases-loaded walk from CJ Lauck. However, Frantz’s heroics in the bottom of the inning ended the comeback attempt.

Bellefonte starting pitcher Ashton Wetzler, who took a no-hitter into the fourth, struck out four hitters and allowed two runs in five innings of work. Cade Fortney had two hits for Bellefonte.

This story was originally published June 7, 2018 at 10:03 PM with the headline "BEA, Bellefonte baseball both fall in PIAA quarterfinals."