HS Baseball Roundup: Minersville claims final Schuylkill League playoff spot
Minersville's Nolan Plesnarski delivers a pitch during a Schuylkill League Division II game at Williams Valley. The Battlin' Miners defeated the Vikings 6-2 (Photo by Kelly Wiley).
TOWER CITY — Minersville jumped ahead in the first two innings and never looked back, topping Williams Valley 6-2 in a Schuylkill League Division II ballgame on Thursday to lock in a league playoff berth for the first time since 2014.
Logan Hutsko led the Battlin’ Miners with two hits, including a triple, and scored twice. Nolan Plesnarski helped his cause with two hits and tossed four innings to earn the win. Camden Rogers closed out the final three frames to notch the save.
Minersville (12-8, 9-5) finished with nine hits, including two apiece from Plesnarski, Hutsko, A.J. Halford and Logan Rizzardi. Plesnarski, along with Owen Fortna, collected two RBIs for the Miners.
Williams Valley (8-11, 6-8) got three hits from Cody Boehmer and two each from John Rautzahn and Peyton Adams, but couldn’t recover from the early deficit. Mason Deibert took the loss for the Vikings.
*The Schuylkill League baseball playoff bracket is available at the bottom of the roundup*
Min (12-8, 9-5) 320 010 0 — 6 9 1
WV (8-11, 6-8) 000 010 1 — 2 8 1
Plesnarski, Rogers (5) and Halford; Deibert, Bowser (1). W — Plesnarski. L — Deibert. S — Rogers.
HITS: Minersville — Hutsko 2, Plesnarski 2, Halford 2, Fortna, Rizzardi 2. Williams Valley — Boehmer 3, Thompson, Rautzahn 2, Adams 2.
2B — Rizzardi, Boehmer, Thompson. 3B — Hutsko.
Shenandoah Valley 8, Nativity 3
POTTSVILLE — Shenandoah Valley exploded for seven runs in the first two innings and never looked back as Brayden Maksimik went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored to lead the Blue Devils past Nativity in a Division II game.
Shenandoah Valley (14-6, 10-4) pounded out 11 hits and didn’t commit an error. Landon Monaghan added three hits and scored twice, while Jostin Lajara drove in three runs with a pair of hits.
The Blue Devils starter Chase McCole was on fire, tossing five no-hit innings with five strikeouts to earn the win. Ethan Bench and Brayden Lutz combined to finish the final frame.
The Hilltoppers (8-11, 7-7) were held hitless through five innings before scoring three times in the sixth, including a two-run single from Tommy Bartashus. Ryan Grabowski went the distance for Nativity on the mound.
Schuylkill Haven 12, Weatherly 0
WEATHERLY — Michael Terefencko threw a one-hitter and Schuylkill Haven erupted for 12 runs in four innings to shut out Weatherly in a Division II contest.
Terefencko struck out six over five scoreless innings. He also went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs at the plate.
The Hurricanes finish league play unbeaten.
Wea (2-17, 0-14) 000 00 — 0 1 6
SH (17-3, 14-0) 305 4x — 12 9 0
Terefencko and Fasnacht; Montz and Saurez. W — Terefencko. L — Montz.
HITS: Schuylkill Haven — Terefencko 2, Yoder 2, Evans, Crouse, Fessler, Maley, Trostle. Weatherly — Donadi.
2B — Evans, Terefencko, Yoder.
Marian 7, Mahanoy Area 1
HOMETOWN — Marian struck for four runs in the first and added on, defeating Mahanoy Area in a Division II contest.
Alex Diaz went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while Rocco Griguoli added a double and drove in a run for the Colts. Nick Bauder also had two hits, scored twice, and stole two bases.
Marian (10-10, 8-6) starter Cole Defrancisco earned the win, striking out five and allowing one hit over 3.2 shutout innings. Josh Berlanda closed out the final 2.1 innings with six strikeouts and no earned runs.
Mahanoy Area’s lone hit came from Donovan Herman in the fourth. Mikey Oblas scored the Golden Bears’ (4-16, 2-12) only run in the sixth after reaching on a walk and stealing two bases.
Tamaqua 0
Tri-Valley 0, susp.
TAMAQUA — Tamaqua and Tri-Valley remain scoreless with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning after its game was suspended due to weather.
Action will resume on Saturday from where it left off at Robert Wetzel Field at North Schuylkill High School at 11 a.m.
Postponement
Pottsville at Panther Valley was postponed due to weather. A makeup date has not been announced.
Schuylkill League Playoff Tournament
The number one seed in each division automatically receives a bye to the semifinal round.
Division 1
1 – Tamaqua (17-1, 10-1)
2 – Tri Valley (15-4, 8-3)
3 – Blue Mountain (12-7, 8-4)
*Tri-Valley is the #2 seed regardless of the outcome of the Tamaqua game*
- If Tri Valley loses, they are tied with Blue Mountain.
- The teams split.
- Tri Valley would get the #2 seed due to a higher District 11 power rating
