JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
I pulled a double-dipper on Tuesday, and thankfully, both of my stops were in Berks County, just minutes from my driveway. Gotta love that. My first stop was at Muhlenberg High School for the District 3 Double-A baseball semifinal pitting Lancaster Catholic against Kutztown in a rematch of last year’s semifinal game — won by Kutztown. Catholic got some revenge on Tuesday, and clinched a spot in the district final — and in the PIAA playoffs — for the first time since 1983. Here’s my story from Wednesday’s New Era:
LAURELDALE – Jeff Helm had revenge on his mind when he took the mound Tuesday afternoon.
One year ago, the hard-throwing lefty was the losing pitcher when Lancaster Catholic fell to Kutztown in the District 3 Double-A semifinals.
Yesterday, in a rematch of that game, again with a trip to the district championship game hanging in the balance, Helm – déjà vu — was on the bump for the Crusaders.
Using a tailing fastball to paint the corners and a tantalizing changeup as his out pitch, Helm handcuffed Kutztown, scattering seven hits and striking out seven in Catholic’s 6-2 victory at Muhlenberg High School’s Gochnauer Field.
Kutztown was the two-time defending District 3 Double-A champ, and the Cougars fell to Bald Eagle Area in last year’s PIAA championship game. The loss snapped Kutztown’s nine-game winning streak in District 3 playoff games.
The victory sends Catholic (17-4 overall) into the district title game for the first time since 1983, when the Crusaders fell to Oley Valley. Catholic also locked up a spot in the PIAA playoffs, and will return to States for the first time since 1983.
“I can’t even find the words to describe this,” Helm said. “It’s amazing. This is huge for our team.”
Catholic won’t find out its title-game opponent until this evening, when Brandywine Heights (16-5) and Hanover (11-9) resume their semifinal game, which was postponed by rain Tuesday.
The Double-A title game is set for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Hershey High School.
“We’re excited about moving on,” first-year Catholic coach Mike Davis said.
The Crusaders’ game plan Tuesday was simple:
“Get them on, get them over, get them in,” Davis said.
The Crusaders swiped five bases – two by courtesy runner Dan Long – and took advantage of four Kutztown errors – all in the first inning, three by catcher Steve Motika, who threw wildly to second on three consecutive stolen-base attempts by Catholic, which jumped on Cougars’ starter Chris Moyer for four runs in the bottom of the first.
Freddy Jankowski’s RBI single scored Evan Montgomery, who was plunked by a pitch to open the frame, then swiped second. After Jankowski stole second and went to third on a wild throw, he scored on Kevin Cotchen’s squeeze bunt and it was 2-0.
Jon Markel followed with a single and Helm reached on an error. Courtesy runner Kevin Gibbons scored on Tim Jones’ RBI single to cap Catholic’s first-inning uprising.
“Getting four in the first really got my confidence up,” said Helm, who walked two and threw 117 pitches.
“We were focused and we took care of business.”
Helm allowed a run in the second on a double and an error, and another in the sixth, when Motika led off with a triple and scored on Andrew Miller’s double.
Helm, an Alvernia College recruit, wriggled out of the jam, retiring the next three hitters in a row, punching out Taylor Hauck and Mike Gernert to get out of the inning.
“We wanted to pressure them,” Davis said. “We knew if we could jump on them early, we could take them out of their game. They’re a lot like us … they like to run and bunt and get guys over. I think it caught them by surprise how much we were running on them.”
Catholic tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the sixth, when Jones belted a homer over the fence in right-center before Ryan Clark singled, Long ran and stole second, and eventually scored on a balk.
