Teener Baseball: Hegins Black rolls past Schuylkill Valley in Game 1 of championship series
HEGINS — An explosive first inning put Hegins Black one win away from a perfect season and a league crown.
A fast start powered Hegins Black to a 15–5 win over Schuylkill Valley in five innings Wednesday evening in Game 1 of the Schuylkill County Teener League Junior Division best-of-three championship series at Hegins Park.
Now 20-0, Hegins Black will look to secure the title in Game 2 on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Schuylkill Valley’s home field in Middleport.
Hegins set the tone early by scoring eight runs in the bottom of the first. The inning featured a bases-loaded walk by Brayden Kimmel, RBI singles by Damon Lettich and Dylan Klock, and a pair of timely hits from Daxton Maurer and others to build an early cushion.
Kimmel later added a run-scoring single in the third as Hegins tacked on three more runs to help close out the game in five innings. The right-hander also earned the win on the mound, going all five innings. He allowed six hits and five runs (four earned), walked four and struck out four.
Hegins pounded out 13 hits in the win. Maurer went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, Lettich was 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs, and Kimmel finished 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs. Riley Kaslavage chipped in a 2-for-4 day with three runs scored. Lukas Lucht doubled and scored twice, while Klock added a single, run scored and RBI. Brody Lesher also crossed the plate three times.
Schuylkill Valley, now 15-5, got a strong showing from Brady Loftus, who went 2-for-3 with a triple and drove in three runs. Bentley Werez also went 2-for-3 and scored twice. Owen Lipzok started on the mound and allowed seven hits over three innings. He struck out three and walked one.
The teams will meet again Thursday with Hegins Black aiming to complete a perfect season and secure its eighth consecutive championship.
(Google Maps for Sch. Valley’s field): Nichols St, Middleport, PA 17953
