PINE GROVE — Eli Nabholz made Pottsville’s first PIAA baseball playoff game in 17 years one for the record books.
The Penn State-bound senior right-hander tossed a no-hitter and struck out 13 as the Crimson Tide blanked Spring Grove 1-0 in a Class AAA first-round game at Stump Stadium.
Nabholz threw just 77 pitches and faced one batter over the minimum, hitting No. 9 hitter Cameron Sterner with a pitch with two outs in the sixth inning.
Otherwise, he was simply perfect.
“He just came out and was dominant from the very beginning,” Pottsville coach Mike Welsh said. “He came out and showed tonight what type of pitcher he is.
“The people in attendance were able to see a great performance, one for the ages. It’s certainly one of the all-time best performances in our program’s history on a special night for us, the first round of states.”
The victory, Pottsville’s 12th straight, advances the District 11 champion Tide (22-4) to today’s quarterfinals, where they will face District 3 third-place finisher Twin Valley at 6:30 p.m. at Wenger Field in Fredericksburg.
Twin Valley advanced with a 2-0 victory over District 12 champion Archbishop Wood.
“We came in saying we had four championship games to win,” Nabholz said. “That’s how we’re going to think about it. We have another championship game to win (today).”
Nabholz’s performance wouldn’t have happened if the game would have been played as originally scheduled Monday.
With Nabholz having thrown seven innings in Pottsville’s win over Blue Mountain in the District 11 championship game last Thursday, Welsh planned to use junior J.J. Spehrley against Spring Grove.
When the game was rained out both Monday and Tuesday, it gave Nabholz two more days of rest.
Welsh changed his mind, and Nabholz came through with his best performance of the season.
“The two extra days certainly helped,” Welsh said. “We talked (Tuesday) and he said he was ready to go.”
Added Nabholz: “A couple of extra days rest is a chance for me to rest up and recover well. I have a chance to prepare, come out and do what I want to do.
“Today, I had a feel for everything. I could get ahead and throw strikes.”
For five innings, Spring Grove starter Matt Brooks was equally impressive.
The junior right-hander, who struck out 11 in a District 3 semifinal win over Twin Valley, allowed just one hit through five innings with five strikeouts.
In the sixth, Darion Jacoby led off with a single.
Nabholz, not known for his bunting, laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Jacoby into scoring position.
“Coach Welsh and I talked before that inning, and we had a feeling Darion was going to get on base,” Nabholz said. “Bunting is something we do everyday. It’s something we practice, it’s something I’m comfortable doing.
“It’s another aspect of the game that everybody can do, but needs to be done. I was able to get it done.”
Connor Hinchliffe followed with a single up the middle to score Jacoby and give Nabholz all the run support he would need.
Hinchliffe’s at-bat was one to admire ... he fouled off three pitches with two strikes before lining a pitch back through the box.
“All year long, you preach little things, little things,” Welsh said. “One of the little things we work on is two-strike hitting.
“Darion did a great job battling with two strikes to get a base hit. Connor battled his tail off with two strikes and comes up with that clutch hit to get that one run.
“Sometimes all it takes is one run,” Welsh continued. “Tonight, all it took is one. Eli came in and said ‘Get me one run, get me one run.’ They got him that one run.”
The last two times Pottsville advanced to the PIAA baseball playoffs — in 1998 and 1994 — the Tide won their first game before falling in the quarterfinals.
Today, they’ll look to end that streak when they take on the Raiders.
“It’s special for our program,” said Welsh, who was a starter on the 1998 club. “Hopefully the younger guys see it and get a little taste of it. There’s no guarantees that you get back here ever.
“We’re going to battle our tails off (today) and compete and try to keep it going. This is a special group, it’s a special team. We’d like to make the run last as long as we could.”
Game Summary
PIAA Class AAA First Round
At Stump Stadium, Pine Grove
SPRING GROVE (0) — Miller ss 0 0 0 0, Baker dh 3 0 0 0, Ruth 3b 3 0 0 0, Brooks p 3 0 0 0, Hoiles c 3 0 0 0, Sager cf 2 0 0 0, Schuchart 2b 2 0 0 0, Piety 1b 2 0 0 0, Reed lf 2 0 0 0, Sterner rf 1 0 0 0. Totals 21 0 0 0.
POTTSVILLE (1) — Blankenhorn ss 2 0 0 0, Painter 2b 2 0 0 0, Jacoby cf 3 1 1 0, Nabholz p 2 0 1 0, Liptock cr 0 0 0 0, C. Hinchliffe c 3 0 1 1, Siminitus cr 0 0 0 0, Daubert lf 2 0 0 0, O’Pake 1b 0 0 0 0, G. Hinchliffe dh 3 0 0 0, Wapinsky rf 1 0 0 0, Barnes 3b 2 0 0 0. Totals 20 1 3 1.
Spring (17-9) 000 000 0 — 0
Potts (22-4) 000 001 x — 1
E — Spring Grove 1, Pottsville 0. DP — None. LOB — Spring Grove 1, Pottsville 6. SB — Sterner, Liptock. S — Painter, Nabholz.
Spring IP H R ER BB K
Brooks L 6 3 1 1 3 5
Pottsville IP H R ER BB K
Nabhlz W,11-0 7 0 0 0 0 13
HBP — by Nabholz (Sterner). WP — Brooks. PB — Hoiles. T — 1:33.