EASTON — They sat in a circle in the first-base dugout, a stunned silence engulfing them.
There were heads buried in hands, tears streaming down faces, blank stares on others.
Dreams of playing for a state championship that only minutes before had still seemed possible were dashed.
Pottsville’s deepest run in the PIAA baseball playoffs had come to a sudden end.
Tyler Ksiazek pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh as Abington Heights edged Pottsville 4-3 in a Class AAA state semifinal at Easton High School.
The victory advances the District 2 champion Comets (18-3) to Friday’s PIAA state championship game in State College. The loss ends the Crimson Tide’s glorious season at 23-5.
“It’s disappointing to come up a run short,” Pottsville coach Mike Welsh said. “We kind of got in our own way. We couldn’t execute as well as we have over the course of the year, and it came back to haunt us.
“When you play a quality team like this and you don’t execute as well as you should have … you can’t do that.”
Early on, Pottsville looked en route to the state finals for the first time in program history.
Travis Blankenhorn opened the bottom of the first with a single, took second on a wild pitch, went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ty Painter and scored on Darion Jacoby’s single.
Jacoby took second when the ball kicked away from the right fielder, went to third on a single by Eli Nabholz and scored on Connor Hinchliffe’s sacrifice fly.
One inning in, Pottsville had a 2-0 lead.
Unlike its seven previous playoff games, however, the Crimson Tide weren’t able to do the things that they had done in winning Schuylkill League and District 11 Class AAA championships to preserve the lead.
Nabholz got uncharacteristically wild in the top of the second, walking four batters and throwing a wild pitch. The Comets added a pair of infield singles and took advantage of a passed ball to score three runs and take a 3-2 lead.
“That inning, it was the deciding factor for sure,” Nabholz said.
Pottsville had several chances the rest of the game, but could never regain the lead.
More importantly, the Tide never got the big break they needed.
In the fifth, Eric Wapinsky led off with a double, but Trent Barnes popped up a sacrifice bunt attempt.
The Comets intentionally walked Blankenhorn, and Painter walked to load the bases. Jacoby, however, hit a grounder up the middle that Ksiazek turned into a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning.
“That’s why it’s called baseball. Anything can happen,” Blankenhorn said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way today.”
In the sixth, Nabholz hit a long fly ball to right in which the right fielder twisted and turned before somehow making the catch for the first out. Connor Hinchliffe then ripped a ball up the middle that Ksiazek kicked and turned into an out.
Ksiazek then struck out Brandon Daubert on a high pitch that didn’t look like a strike. It was that kind of day for the Tide.
“I kind of felt like the Baseball Gods today … they’ve been on our side a lot throughout the course of this year … today the Baseball Gods just didn’t happen,” Welsh said.
“It’s the beauty of the game. It keeps us coming back. You can’t win them all.”
Nabholz pitched well after the second inning, but Abington Heights added a key insurance run in the sixth inning when Colin McCreary and Sam Arnold hit back-to-back doubles.
That run proved critical in the seventh when Pottsville put together a rally and seemed poised to claim a dramatic victory.
Gavin Hinchliffe opened the frame by drawing a walk and Wapinsky reached on an error. Barnes hit into a fielder’s choice that retired the lead runner at third, but Blankenhorn singled to load the bases.
Ksiazek retired Painter on a foul popup for the second out and struck out Jacoby. The third strike, however, wasn’t handled by the catcher, allowing Wapinsky to score and loading the bases for Nabholz.
After falling behind 1-2 in the count and fouling a pitch off, Nabholz tapped a ball back to the pitcher, ending the inning and the Tide’s season.
“The pitch before, it was really close,” Nabholz said. “It’s a pitch I should have probably fouled off. The kid put it in almost exactly the same spot. I tried to foul it off and it hit the bat and squirted back toward the pitcher. They made the play. It’s baseball.”
As they gathered on the field following the game, Welsh and his players reflected on one of the greatest seasons in Pottsville history.
Blankenhorn, Painter, Nabholz and Connor Hinchliffe will depart for the college level, leaving behind a legacy that will be hard to match by future Pottsville teams.
“It’s a very, very special group. It’s the best group of kids I’ve ever been around,” Welsh said. “Collectively, from top to bottom, the way they handled themselves on and off the field, the way they approached their work on the field, and you take the athleticism and you add that to it.
“Overall, they’re just great people. Their parents and family should be very proud of who they are. They left Pottsville baseball much better than they found it.”
Welsh’s players agreed.
“We’ve been friends since I can’t remember when. I’m going to miss playing with them,” Painter said. “I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life. I think everybody else will. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime team.”
Added Nabholz: “It definitely hurts a little now. The fact that we lost … it’s a game.
“We’re going to wake up tomorrow, we’re going to hang out with our families, hang out with our friends and everything is going to be fine.
“What’s going to hurt is not being able to come to practice with these guys every day, not be able to work out with these guys, not be able to get in the weight room. Not be able to joke with each other during warm-ups. It’s those little kind of things.”
Game Summary
PIAA Class AAA Semifinal
At Easton High School
ABINGTON HEIGHTS (4) — Fayocavitz ss 2 0 0 0, Spangenberg 2b 4 0 0 0, Campbell c 4 0 2 1, Kelly cr 0 0 0 0, Ksiazek p 3 0 0 0, Salerno lf 2 1 1 0, McCreary cf 3 2 2 0, Arnold 3b 2 1 1 1, McDonald 1b 3 0 0 0, Nolan rf 0 0 0 0, Manasek dh 2 0 1 1. Totals 25 4 7 3.
POTTSVILLE (3) — Blankenhorn ss 3 1 2 0, Painter 2b 2 0 0 0, Jacoby cf 4 1 1 1, Nabholz p 4 0 2 0, Liptock cr 0 0 0 0, C. Hinchliffe c 2 0 0 1, Siminitus cr 0 0 0 0, Daubert lf 3 0 0 0, O’Pake 1b 0 0 0 0, G. Hinchliffe dh 2 0 0 0, Wapinsky rf 3 1 1 0, Barnes 3b 3 0 0 0, Wood pr 0 0 0 0. Totals 26 3 6 2.
Abing. Hts. (18-3) 030 001 0 — 4
Pottsville (23-5) 200 000 1 — 3
E — Abington Heights 2, Pottsville 0. DP — Abington Heights 1, Pottsville 2. LOB — Abington Heights 5, Pottsville 7. 2B — Campbell, McCreary, Arnold, Wapinsky. SB — McCreary. S — Fayocavitz, Painter. SF — C. Hinchliffe.
Abington Hts. IP H R ER BB K
Ksiazek W,9-0 7 6 3 1 3 5
Pottsville IP H R ER BB K
Nabholz L,11-1 7 7 4 4 4 5
WP — Ksiazek, Nabholz. PB — C. Hinchliffe. T — 1:51.