Tri-Valley's baseball team pictured with the District 11 Class AA championship trophy (Photo courtesy of Tri-Valley's Athletics X account).

ORWIGSBURG — Tri-Valley’s offense came alive when it mattered most.

The Dawgs broke a tie with a five-run seventh inning to knock off Schuylkill Haven 8-5 in Thursday’s District 11 Class AA championship game at Blue Mountain’s Allen Greenawalt Field.

It’s Tri-Valley’s second straight District 11 Class AA crown, seventh title in the last eight district tournaments and 18th D-11 championship overall, six in Class AA and 12 in Class A.

“The one thing our team does not want to do is lose,” Tri-Valley coach Brent Smith said. “And that is in their hearts. They’ll do whatever not to lose. They proved that there. They battled to the last inning. They did what they had to do and put up a crooked number.

“(Tri-Valley) gave us a little breathing room,” Smith said. “And that is always nice. You need breathing room against a very good team like Schuylkill Haven.”

Tied 3-3 entering the final frame, Tri-Valley (19-6) sent nine batters to the plate, capitalizing on four hits and a pair of walks to blow the game open. Gavin Klock’s two-run double sparked the outburst, while Braeden Doyle, Bailey Clark and Gavin Scheib added singles in the inning.

Schuylkill Haven (18-5) answered with two runs in the bottom half, but Klock relieved Doyle and was able to notch a strikeout for the final out and clinch the victory.

Doyle got the win to improve to 9-0 on the season. He went 6.2 innings, giving up five runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out five. Klock entered with the tying run on deck and recorded the final out for the save.

Doyle also led the offense with a 3-for-3 day at the plate and one RBI. Klock went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, and Owen Miller scored three runs out of the lead-off spot.

Alan Evans went 3-for-4 with three runs scored for the Hurricanes, who tied the game at 3-3 with a run in the sixth inning on a throwing error before the Dawgs’ decisive rally. Haven finished with eight hits but committed one error and stranded seven baserunners, several in scoring position.

Tri-Valley, last year’s PIAA Class AA runner-up, advances to the state playoffs as the District 11 champion.

The Dawgs will play the District 2 champion — either Holy Redeemer or Old Forge, who play Friday — in the opening round of the PIAA Tournament on Monday at a District 2 site and time to be announced.

“We have to take it one game at a time,” Smith said. “One inning at a time, try to win each inning, and one pitch each inning. And have quality at-bats, which they had very money today.”

District 11 Baseball
Class AA

Tri-Valley 8, Schuylkill Haven 5

TRI-VALLEY (8) — Miller 1b 2 3 1 0, Stewart ss 3 1 0 0, Doyle p-2b 3 0 3 1, Klinger cr 0 0 0 0, Klock 2b-p 3 1 2 4, Hatter c 4 1 0 0, Porter lf 3 0 0 0, Neugard cf 0 0 0 0, Schley dh 4 0 0 0, Clark 3b 3 1 1 0, Scheib rf 3 1 1 0. Totals — 28 8 8 5.

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN (5) — Evans ss-p 4 3 3 0, Yoder 3b 4 0 1 0, Wade 1b 4 1 0 2, Correll p-ss 3 0 2 0, Fessler lf 3 1 1 0, Maley 2b 3 0 0 0, Terefencko rf 3 0 0 0, Trostle cf 3 0 0 0, Fasnacht c 3 0 1 0. Totals — 30 5 8 2.

TV (19-6) 100 020 5 — 8

SH (18-5) 101 001 2 — 5

E — Tri-Valley 3, Schuylkill Haven 1

LOB — Tri-Valley 3, Schuylkill Haven 7

2B — Klock, Evans, Fessler

SB — Miller 3, Doyle, Klinger, Klock, Stewart, Hatter, Fasnacht, Yoder, Correll

CS — Correll

SAC — Porter

Tri-Valley

(Pitcher                         IP, H, R, ER, BB, SO)

Doyle (W, 9-0)   6.2, 8, 5, 2, 2, 5

Klock (S, 2)         0.1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1

Schuylkill Haven

Correll (L, 7-3) 6.1, 6, 6, 6, 4, 6

Evans                    0.2, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0

HBP — Correll (by Doyle). WP — Klock, Evans.