Schuylkill North is headed to the VFW State Teener 13-14-year-old Tournament winners' bracket final.
Richie Zahodnick is a big reason why.
Zahodnick kept Schuylkill North unbeaten by highlighting a pair of explosive five-run innings.
Zahodnick combined stellar play offensively and defensively to lift Schuylkill North to a 12-7 victory over Hollidaysburg on Saturday afternoon at Steidle Field.
The host team and Area 2 runner-up, Schuylkill North (6-2), moves on to the winners' bracket final against Area 3 champion Lebanon Valley (5-0) at 1 p.m. today at Steidle Field.
Lebanon Valley defeated Bald Eagle 7-3 on Saturday to advance to the winners' bracket final. Lebanon Valley also defeated Schuylkill South 6-5 in the opening round of the tournament.
Schuylkill South (5-3) fell in its second game as well, bowing out of the double-elimination tournament with an 8-6 loss to Philipsburg-Osceola (2-3) on Saturday morning.
Zahodnick finished 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, four RBIs, three runs scored and four stolen bases. He also pitched the final three innings to nail down the victory.
"Zahodnick is a beast," Schuylkill North head coach Al Norris Sr. said. "Richie (Zahodnick) put the team on his shoulders and ran away with it."
Zahodnick's bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the fourth inning propelled Schuylkill North to a lead that it would not surrender for the rest of the way.
"I stayed within myself," Zahodnick said. "I didn't get too anxious and I was able to drive the ball."
Schuylkill North entered the fourth down 3-2 but emerged with a four-run lead.
Tyler McCole recorded the only other hit of the inning, but Schuylkill North drew six walks in that frame. Three of those crossed the plate.
Schuylkill North stranded 13 baserunners, leaving the bases loaded on two occasions, a statistic that worried Norris.
"We have to do a better job of scoring," Norris said. "Our hitters have quality at-bats, but we can't leave that many on base."
Schuylkill North surged for another five runs in the sixth inning, stretching the lead to 12-6.
Zahodnick shined again, this time with an RBI double to cap both his team's scoring and hitting on the day.
"He's got a football mentality on the baseball field," Norris said. "He's a big game player and he certainly did his job today."
Schuylkill North's critical five-run fourth inning ended a back-and-forth battle for the lead.
Schuylkill North struck first in the opening inning when Zahodnick singled and scored on an error.
Hollidaysburg took the lead in its next at-bat with a three-run outburst.
Alex Bernard, Jarret Cavalet and Liam Steward contributed singles, while Benard, Andrew Moyer and Stevie Kenawell added RBIs to gain a 3-1 lead before Schuylkill North rallied.
Zahodnick played a part in preventing any chances of a comeback on the defensive side of the ball as well.
Zahodnick, a right-hander, pitched three innings in relief. He limited Hollidaysburg to just two hits and three runs.
"My defense really held together," Zahodnick said. "They made the plays."
Bobby Wagner, the Schuylkill North starter, went four innings on the hill, striking out six, and picked up the win.
Schuylkill North committed four errors, none of which proved to be detrimental.
The North squad will look to polish that play as it advances to the winners' bracket final today.
"We didn't play our best game yet by any stretch of the imagination," Norris said. "But we're where we want to be and we're going to come out swinging."
Philipsburg-Osceola 8 Schuylkill South 6
Schuylkill South bowed out of the tournament with a loss to Philipsburg-Oceola, the Area 6 third-place finisher, earlier Saturday.
That marked Schuylkill South's second loss in the double-elimination tournament.
Schuylkill South cut the deficit to 7-6 with a three-run sixth-inning rally, then left the bases loaded in the seventh.
Schuylkill South suffered its first loss Friday when Lebanon Valley rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs to emerge with a 6-5 victory.
Schuylkill South defeated Schuylkill North in the Area 2 championship. South entered the state tournament as the Area 2 champion, while North managed a spot as the host team of the tournament.
Game Summary