Chase McCole, Shenandoah Valley baseball

Tri-Valley, Haven roll; Marian explodes early; Pine Grove, Williams Valley, Shenandoah Valley grind out wins in busy Schuylkill League action

SHENANDOAH — Runs were nearly impossible to come by, and one was all it took.

Shenandoah Valley scratched across the game’s only run in the sixth inning, edging Nativity 1-0 in a tightly played Schuylkill League Division II baseball game Thursday at Babe Conroy Field.

Both teams struggled to generate offense throughout, combining for just three hits as pitchers controlled the game from start to finish. Nativity’s Ryan Grabowski was strong on the mound, allowing just one hit and one run over six innings while striking out five.

The lone breakthrough came in the bottom of the sixth when the Blue Devils manufactured a run on a fielder’s choice, providing just enough support for Chase McCole. Gene Sinkus led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to center field, stole second base and advanced to third by tagging up on a flyout to right field. Haden Kechula knocked in the run with a grounder to second as Sinkus safely beat the play at the plate.

McCole was dominant, tossing a complete-game shutout while limiting Nativity to two hits. Trey Keating and Marc Lutzkanin accounted for the Hilltoppers’ only hits.

McCole and Kechula; Grabowski and Bartashus. W — McCole (3-1). L — Grabowski (0-4).

HITS: Nativity — Keating, Lutzkanin. Shenandoah Valley — Sinkus.

Pine Grove 11, Panther Valley 8

PINE GROVE — Dane Hannevig homered as Pine Grove outlasted Panther Valley in a high-scoring Division I ballgame.

The Cardinals broke things open in the second inning, scoring four runs, highlighted by a two-run homer from Hannevig, and continued to add on through the middle innings to take control.

Panther Valley mounted a strong comeback in the seventh, scoring five runs to close the gap, but Pine Grove was able to hang on. The Panthers matched Pine Grove with 11 hits, led by multi-hit efforts from Gavin Yuricheck, Kaden Koerbler, Danny Wehr and Brody Breiner.

Hannevig led the way with two hits and three RBIs, while Wyatt Snyder and Chase Nagle also added two hits each.

Perilli, Yuricheck (5) and Koerbler; Brown, Gibson (7) and catcher. W — Brown (1-1). L — Perilli (0-1).

HITS: Panther Valley — Mazzie, Wehr 2, Breiner 2, Yuricheck 2, Koerbler 2, Jones, Cooper. Pine Grove — Hannevig 2, Nagle 2, Snyder 2, Frantz, Dixon, Gibson, Cataldo, Hatter.

2B — Breiner, Frantz, Gibson, Hatter, Snyder. HR — Hannevig.

Tri-Valley 13, Tamaqua 8

TAMAQUA — Peyton Schley led the way as Tri-Valley outslugged Tamaqua in a Division I matchup.

The Dawgs jumped out early with four runs in the first and added on in the third before pulling away with a four-run fifth inning.

Owen Miller had two hits for Tri-Valley, while Gavin Klock, Jason Stewart and Riley Kaslavage each drove in runs.

Tamaqua answered throughout with multi-run bursts to keep it within reach. Gavin Shannon led Tamaqua with three hits, while Gavin Edmonds added two.

Schley, Maurer (5), Stewart (7) and Troutman; Witkowski, Wargo (3), Shannon (6), Frohnheiser (7) and catcher. W — Schley (3-0). L — Witkowski (0-2).

HITS: Tri-Valley — Wehry, Stewart, Doyle, Klock, Miller 2, Kaslavage, Bruso. Tamaqua — Yenser, Morgans, Edmonds 2, Shannon 3, Witkowski, Montero.

2B — Doyle, Klock, Shannon, Edmonds.

Williams Valley 10, Minersville 4

TOWER CITY — Cayden Witmer and Williams Valley capitalized early to take control against Minersville in a Division II matchup.

The Vikings scored in each of the first three innings, building a 8-1 lead before cruising the rest of the way. Witmer struck out 10 to earn the win and added three RBIs at the dish. Chevy Green and John Rautzahn each had a pair on base knocks.

The Miners collected 11 hits but couldn’t string together enough timely offense to close the gap. Nolan Plesnarski led Minersville with four hits in four trips.

J. Plesnarski, Toth (2), Correll (5) and B. Rogers; Witmer, Bowser (6) and Thompson. W — Witmer (2-0). L — J. Plesnarski (2-1).

HITS: Minersville — Sukeena 2, C. Rogers, N. Plesnarski 4, Ryan, Correll, Rizzardi, B. Rogers. Williams Valley — Thompson, Witmer, Deiter, Rautzahn 2, Green 2, Berger.

2B — Correll, N. Plesnarski, Thompson, Witmer.

Marian 15, Mahanoy Area 0, 4 inn.

HOMETOWN — Jonathan Derr and Marian erupted early and never looked back in a Division II victory over Mahanoy Area.

The Colts exploded for 10 runs in the first inning, taking immediate control and ending the game early. Marian added on in the third and fourth while holding Mahanoy Area to just two hits.

Jimmy Cannon and Roman Bednarek drove in runs during the opening surge for the Colts, while Bednarek and Danny Lemus combined for the shutout on the hill.

Rios, Zilker (1) and Gambone; Bednarek, Lemus (4) and catcher. W — Rios (1-1). L — Bednarek (2-0).

HITS: Mahanoy Area — Gambone, Wagner. Marian — Bauder, Grant, Bednarek, Derr, Cannon.

2B — Derr.

Schuylkill Haven 19, Weatherly 0, 4 inn.

Trostle and Diehl; Montz, DeLauretis (4) and Suarez. W — Trostle (2-0). L — Montz (0-2).

HITS: Schuylkill Haven — Gerber 2, Yoder 2, Neith, Hinnershitz 2, Maley, Bayer, Tracey, Trostle. Weatherly — None.

2B — Hinnershitz 2, Yoder, Trostle.