HEGINS - Branch has gotten into the habit of blowing leads.
It has also developed the ability to quickly bounce back when it does.
Saturday afternoon was no exception.
Dave Pedron went 4-for-4 as Branch used a five-run fifth inning to outlast Hegins for an 11-8 victory in a losers' bracket contest of the Schuylkill County Teener League Senior Division Tournament at Hegins Park.
Sixth-seeded Branch (14-7) built a 5-0 lead through three innings, but Hegins (13-8), the No. 5 seed, took the lead with a six-run third.
"We were down," Pedron said. "But it took some of our 16-year-olds, some of our older guys to get some of the younger guys motivated to have good at-bats and start getting back on base and get runs across.
"Putting the ball in play forced them to make the errors."
That's what Branch did, scoring five times in the fifth to regain the lead for good. Hegins committed two errors in the inning, part of the six it had in the game.
Gino DiNicola's double knocked in Dylan Stephen to tie it at 6, and DiNicola scored the go-ahead run after an errant pickoff try at second. Branch's third run scored on a balk, the fourth on an another error and the fifth on a wild pitch, making it 10-6.
Branch pushed across an insurance run in the seventh. Stephen pitched 4.2 innings of relief to pick up his second victory of the tournament.
Branch takes on No. 4 Pine Grove (16-5) today, with the winner moving on to the losers' bracket final. Pine Grove eliminated Shenandoah with a 12-4 victory Saturday. Hegins was eliminated with the loss.
The winners' bracket final will be held at 4 p.m. today when No. 2 seed Schuylkill Haven (18-2) visits No. 1 Frackville Red (19-1).
Saturday was the third time in three tournament games that Branch has built a lead and failed to hold it.
Branch was up 6-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh during its opener against DeAngelo's on Wednesday. DeAngelo's tied the game with four runs in the bottom of the seventh, but a two-run single by Pedron in the top of the 11th lifted Branch to an 8-6 win.
Branch got out to a 5-0 advantage after the first inning Friday against Schuylkill Haven. But Schuylkill Haven tied the game in the third inning and took the lead for good in the fourth in a 9-8 victory, sending Branch to the losers' bracket.
"We've been learning to persevere," Branch manager Jim Kramer said. "They are learning to come back. They are learning that when things get tough and bad, adversity, they hang in there.
"It was only 6-5 and we were dead for an inning or two. But we got to the top of our order and things happened. We put pressure on them."
Pedron had four singles Saturday, driving in three runs with a two-run single in the first and RBI hit in the third. He now has eight hits in the tournament. He also scored twice.
Zach Brown was 2-for-4 for Branch, while DiNicola knocked in two runs and scored twice. Stephen, Evan Sukeena and Jon McBreen also scored two runs apiece.
"The whole year we've been dealing with a little bit of errors and it was cost us some games," said Pedron after Branch committed four errors Saturday. "But I think we are starting to finally click as a team and starting to realize we have to play hard all seven innings to win games."
Hegins didn't go down without a fight, scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh.
Sammy Hepler reached on a wild pitch after he struck out to lead off the inning. He later come home on an error, while Tyler Lucas, who singled, also scored on an error to make it a three-run game.
Hegins loaded the bases but Stephen struck out Jaden Buchanan, the potential go-ahead run, swinging at a 3-2 fastball to end the game.
Before the at-bat to Buchanan, Kramer paid a visit to the mound.
"We just knew we had to get it done," Stephen said. "He told me to go right at him and just get him out so we could go home."
Stephen was winner Wednesday against DeAngelo's, pitching four innings of scoreless relief. He came on for Brown with one out in the third Saturday and ended up retiring 11 in a row before Hepler reached on the error to start the seventh.
Stephen struck out six and didn't walk a batter.
Pine Grove 12 Shenandoah 4
PINE GROVE - Mark Weinus was 3-for-5 as Pine Grove came from behind to down Shenandoah at Stump Stadium.
No. 7 seed Shenandoah, which eliminated No. 3 DeAngelo's on Friday, led 4-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth but Pine Grove scored nine runs in the inning to take the lead for good. Mark Troxell had a two-run single for Pine Grove.
Weinus, who also drove in two runs, doubled in the first inning and had singles in the second and sixth.
Ryan Wolfe, Austin Fick, Donald Legarht and Zach Walter added two hits apiece for Pine Grove.
Fick pitched three innings of relief to get the win.
Game Summary