J.J. Spehrley worked himself into a rhythm, zipping fastballs across the outside corner of the plate.
The Pottsville right-hander stuck to his routine, working quickly and efficiently.
Palmerton’s lineup never figured out the tune.
Spehrley tossed a four-hit shutout, striking out 10, while Brandon Daubert launched his first career home run as Pottsville defeated Palmerton 8-0 in a District 11 Class AAA baseball quarterfinal Wednesday at Steidle Field.
The Crimson Tide (19-4) advance to Saturday’s semifinals opposite Schuylkill League rival Tamaqua, a 2-0 winner over Northwestern Lehigh, at 2:45 p.m. at Blue Mountain’s Allen Greenawalt Field.
Spehrley had little trouble against the Blue Bombers (10-11), working ahead in the count and consistently pounding the zone.
“I felt like I was getting myself into a rhythm,” Spehrley said. “Every inning, just go out there and get myself ready to go. Take a deep breath. I have the same routine between pitches. Just get into a rhythm and it works.
“It feels awesome. (Pottsville) coach (Mike) Welsh gave me a great opportunity this year to go out and do what I can. To do this today was just huge.”
Spehrley pitched 3.1 innings of two-hit ball in last week’s Schuylkill League semifinal win over Marian, running into a bit of trouble in the fourth.
The junior faced little adversity against Palmerton, allowing just five baserunners, with just two advancing past first base.
“Pretty commanding and he picked a great time to come out and do that,” Welsh said. “I don’t think he’s had a 10-strikeout day this year. He’s pitched very, very well for us, and he’s been very, very consistent. To come out and have 10 strikeouts and go to work like that in the first round of districts is great.”
The Crimson Tide lineup backed him with a 10-hit attack, jumping out to a 1-0 lead with the help of a pair of errors in the first, then adding five more runs in the third to take command.
With the bases loaded in the third, Eli Nabholz delivered a two-run single up the middle. Palmerton got a runner out at the third on the play, with Nabholz advancing to second.
Connor Hinchliffe reached on an error on a fielder’s choice, bringing Daubert to the plate.
Daubert, who flew out to center on the first pitch of his first at-bat, displayed more patience in his second at-bat. His two-run homer gave Pottsville a 6-0 lead.
“I worked myself into a 3-1 count,” Daubert said. “I was looking for a pitch I could drive, not looking for too much though. Just a base knock, a nice line drive. I squared one up.
“I felt it off the bat. I felt relieved at that point. I knew I hit it hard, and that’s all I was looking to do really. I saw the trajectory of it, and I thought it had a chance ... Thank God.”
Welsh said he’d spoken to Daubert about being patient.
“Huge. They had just made that play at third base and started to put the fire out a little bit, and Brandon had that at-bat and gets two more runs, which was huge,” Welsh said. “Especially coming back after his first at-bat, we had talked about it a little bit. He went up there and swung early. He was able to get himself into a hitter’s count, 3-1, and he didn’t miss his pitch.”
Daubert added another RBI single in the fifth, driving in Nabholz, who finished 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
“Again, I worked myself into a 3-1 count — a nice hitter’s count,” Daubert said. “I was just looking to put the ball in play hard again, and I knocked it up the middle.”
Pottsville now turns its attention to two-time defending district champ Tamaqua. It’ll be the third time the Tide and Raiders have faced off this season.
“It’s going to be tough. Our kids know them well; they know us well — between baseball and basketball,” Welsh said. “They’re a well-coached team. It’s going to be tough. This is the third time this year we’ve seen them. Never like to play them, but we’re happy to have the opportunity to play them. Looking forward to it.”
Game Summary
District 11 Class AAA Quarterfinal
At Steidle Field
PALMERTON (0) — Schwartz cf 2 0 0 0, Silfies lf 2 0 0 0, Quinn lf 1 0 0 0, T. Sander rf 3 0 1 0, Rodrigues 3b 2 0 1 0, Perschy 3b 1 0 0 0, Buck ss 3 0 1 0, N. DeCourt 1b 3 0 1 0, George 2b-c 2 0 0 0, E. DeCourt ph 1 0 0 0, Mooney c 2 0 0 0, N. Sander 2b 1 0 0 0, Weber p 0 0 0 0, Svetik p 0 0 0 0, Nunn dh 2 0 0 0. Totals 25 0 4 0.
POTTSVILLE (8) — Blankenhorn ss 3 1 1 0, Painter 2b 4 2 1 0, Jacoby cf 3 0 0 0, Nabholz 1b 3 2 3 2, C. Hinchliffe c 3 0 0 0, Liptock cr 0 1 0 0, Daubert lf 3 1 2 3, Spehrley p 0 0 0 0, G. Hinchliffe dh 3 0 1 0, Wapinsky rf 2 1 1 0, Barnes 3b 2 0 1 0. Totals 26 8 10 5.
Palm (10-11) 000 000 0 — 0
Potts (19-4) 105 011 x — 8
E — Palmerton 4, Pottsville 0. DP — Palmerton 1, Pottsville 0. LOB — Palmerton 5, Pottsville 4. 2B — T. Sander. HR — Daubert. SB — Schwartz, T. Sander, Blankenhorn 2, Painter. CS — Blankenhorn, G. Hinchliffe.
Palmerton IP H R ER BB K
Weber L 3 6 6 4 1 2
Svetik 3 4 2 1 1 3
Pottsville IP H R ER BB K
Spehrley W,6-2 7 4 0 0 1 10
HBP — by Weber (Jacoby), by Svetik (Barnes). WP — Weber, Svetik 2. PB — George. T — 1:39.