DETURKSVILLE - Hegins scored three runs Wednesday evening, all of which originated from walks.
Thursday afternoon, Pine Grove turned the tables, sending two runs across the plate that originated from walks.
Three walks to begin the bottom of the eighth inning helped Pine Grove rally for a 5-4 victory over Hegins in the completion of their Schuylkill County Teener League Senior Division first-round playoff game that was suspended Wednesday after seven innings.
The victory sends No. 4 Pine Grove (15-4) to a winners' bracket game tonight at No. 1 Frackville (18-1), while No. 5 Hegins (12-7) hosts No. 8 Hope's Collision (10-9) in an elimination game. Both games start at 5:30 p.m.
"We talked about the walks killing us on Wednesday," Pine Grove head coach Wes Levan said. "It ended up coming back to kill them."
The teams battled through seven innings Wednesday tied at 3 before the game was called due to darkness. A pair
of Pine Grove pitchers had combined to walk 11 Hegins batters through the seven innings, while Hegins pitcher Billy Wagner issued four free passes.
Fifth-seeded Hegins (12-7) wasted no time ending the deadlock Thursday, as Tyler Lucas ripped a solo homer over the high, left-field wall.
Pine Grove reliever Ryan Wolfe then settled in to induce three straight outs, two grounders and a fly ball, before Pine Grove went to work offensively.
Trailing by a run, Logan Levan, Austin Fick and Donald Legarht each drew walks to start off the inning. The trio walked on 12 straight pitches.
"You can't win games if you can't throw strikes," Hegins head coach Sean Masser said.
Chase Schaeffer, the left-handed Hegins reliever, struck out one batter before Dylan Brown hit a game-tying RBI single to shallow right field.
Hegins had the infield playing in because the bases were loaded. Brown's single was a blooper just over the drawn-in infield.
"You're darned if you do and you're darned if you don't," Wes Levan said of defensive strategy. "It worked out for us today."
With the game knotted at four runs apiece, Zach Walter stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out.
Walter did not play Wednesday evening, but he sure made an impact in Thursday's continuation.
On the seventh pitch of the at bat, Walter sent a fly ball into center field that plated Fick to give Pine Grove the victory.
"Their attitudes from yesterday to today were totally different," Wes Levan said of his team. "They were here to win today." Game Summary