High school playoffs roundup: Results from Monday and Tuesday’s baseball and softball games
Four Centre County high school baseball and softball teams kicked off their postseasons across Monday and Tuesday.
Bald Eagle Area softball played Monday while Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola had their first-round games postponed from Monday to Tuesday. State College baseball also made its postseason debut at home Tuesday, fighting for a position in the PIAA District 6 Class 6A title game next week.
Let’s take a look at how all four teams performed.
Bald Eagle Area softball
The top-seeded Eagles earned a victory in Monday’s home Class 3A matchup. They shut out the Penn Cambria Panthers, 5-0, on the back of a dominant performance from senior pitcher Madison Peters. Peters pitched all seven innings and stuck out 15 Panther batters on her way to the victory.
Her teammates helped her at the plate by earning two runs in the second inning to take the lead. Peters went into cruise control from there and the Panthers never truly threatened the Eagles.
The win moves Bald Eagle Area to the semifinals of the district playoffs. The Eagles will take on No. 5 seed Westmont Hilltop at home at 1 p.m. Thursday with a place in the District 6 Class 3A title game on the line.
Penns Valley softball
The Rams advanced to the PIAA District 6 Class 2A semifinals with a road win over Blairsville Tuesday afternoon. Penns Valley 10-run ruled the Bobcats and won 15-3 in only five innings.
The win pushes the Rams to a matchup with the top-seeded Marion Center Stingers. The Stingers fended off an upset bid from Juniata Valley Tuesday afternoon and earned a 10-9 win.
The semifinal matchup will take place at Marion Center at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
Philipsburg-Osceola softball
The Mountaineers’ postseason hopes were ended Tuesday evening when they lost, 3-2, to the Cambria Heights Highlanders. The loss came in the PIAA District 6 Class 3A quarterfinals and ends Philipsburg-Osceola’s first season under head coach Steve Frank.
The Highlanders earned a 3-0 lead but the Mountaineers came back with two runs of their own late in the game. However, they were unable to complete the comeback attempt, ending the season with a 10-8 record.
State College baseball
The Little Lions earned a spot in the PIAA District 6 Class 6A title game when they defeated Altoona, 8-5, at home, Tuesday afternoon.
Both teams scored two runs in the first inning but were held scoreless thereafter until State College busted things open with six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ethan Schimony knocked in two runs with a single with the bases loaded to make it 4-2. Then an Altoona error pushed another run across before Nate Polo singled in another. The final two runs for the Little Lions came on yet another Altoona error.
The away team started to come back in the fifth inning with two bases loaded walks making it 8-4. The Mountain Lions added another run in a fielder’s choice in the sixth inning to make it 8-5, but were unable to complete the comeback.
The win means State College will take on Mifflin County at 3:30 p.m. June 1 at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona with the district title on the line.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 7:49 PM.
