PIAA Baseball: Mount Union stuns Tri-Valley in quarterfinals
Tri-Valley's Braeden Doyle swings at a pitch during a Schuylkill League playoff game against Minersville (Photo by Kelly Wiley).
NEWVILLE — Tri-Valley’s playoff push ended in extra innings Thursday as Mount Union capitalized on small-ball execution.
The Dawgs’ season came to a heartbreaking end as the Trojans executed a walk-off squeeze bunt in the bottom of the 10th inning to edge the Dawgs 4-3 in the PIAA Class AA quarterfinals at Big Spring High School.
The game-winner came off the bat of Georgie Bilger, whose bunt single plated Maddox Hobbs to cap a back-and-forth extra-inning battle and send the Trojans (20-4) to the state semifinals.
It was the second straight PIAA tournament appearance for a still-young Tri-Valley squad (20-7), which finished as the Schuylkill League runner-up and District 11 Class AA champion.
Tri-Valley grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the third inning on Jason Stewart’s fielder’s choice. The Dawgs regained the lead in the seventh when Gavin Klock doubled to right, scoring two runs to make it 3-1.
But Mount Union responded quickly in the home half. Jamon Ranck’s RBI double and a Dylan Shawver RBI single knotted the game at 3-3.
Klock took the loss in relief, allowing one unearned run on two hits over 2.1 innings. He walked three and struck out two. Braeden Doyle started and was sharp, going seven innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out four.
Doyle also led Tri-Valley at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a double. Klock had a double and two RBIs, while Peyton Schley, Parker Hatter, Bailey Clark and Trey Porter each added hits.
Cody McClain earned the win for Mount Union with four strong innings of relief, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five. Davin Yocum started for the Trojans and allowed two runs (one earned) over six innings with four strikeouts.
Hobbs led Mount Union’s offense, finishing 2-for-3 with a double and the winning run. Shawver, Ranck and Bilger each drove in a run, and the Trojans stole five bases.
Tri-Valley committed two errors, including one in the 10th that helped set up the final run.
Despite the loss, the Dawgs will return much of their nucleus in 2026. Juniors Doyle and Klock — who handled the bulk of the innings on the mound this season — will be back, along with key contributors Hatter, Schley, Porter, Stewart, Owen Miller and Gavin Scheib. With that core intact, Tri-Valley appears well-positioned for another run at league, district and state contention.
