PINE GROVE — Pine Grove got a Levan sweep Sunday in the qualifier round of the Schuylkill-Berks Legion League playoffs.
The Grovers beat Schuylkill Valley 4-1 in Game 1 and 11-1 in five innings in Game 2 at Stump Stadium, winning the best-of-3 series and punching their ticket to the eight-team, double-elimination league tournament.
Levan brothers Logan and Tanner played big roles in the victory.
Tanner pitched 6.1 innings to pick up the win in the first game, while Logan went 3-for-4 with two triples, two runs and an RBI in the second game.
“We just got lucky that, today, it all came together for us,” Logan said. “(Tanner) threw great. I was able to get it done at the plate for us. It felt good.”
Pine Grove (11-6) won’t know its opponent in the first round of the league tournament until the qualifier round concludes today.
Tanner didn’t allow a run in Game 1 until the fifth inning. Jeff Yordy led off the frame with a walk and scored on Ian McCole’s RBI single down the left-field line. An intentional walk to Bobby Grigas loaded the bases, but an infield flyout ended the inning.
Schuylkill Valley (3-14-1) stranded 14 runners on base in Game 1, eight in scoring position.
Zach Boltz’s double to the center-field fence scored Steve Zimmerman in the third inning to give Pine Grove a 1-0 lead. Zimmerman reached on a fielding error and advanced to third on a throwing error.
Boltz drove in another run with a fielder’s choice in the fifth that scored Dilan Smith. The Grovers’ final runs scored in the sixth when Logan Levan was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Zimmerman drove an RBI single up the middle of the infield.
It was more than enough offense for Tanner Levan, who rarely went deep into counts and got good defense — including a 6-4-3 double play started by his brother — behind him.
“Tanner’s been doing a good job,” Pine Grove manager Frank D’Agostino III said. “He struggled a little bit last week against (Schuylkill Valley), but I think
that was because he didn’t throw for a bit. He threw well tonight, kept them off-balance, used all three of his pitches and (catcher) Stevie (Zimmerman) did a good job calling the game.”
McCole was tagged with the loss in Game 1, giving up four runs — three earned — striking out six and walking three in six innings.
The Pine Grove bats weren’t any less merciful to Yordy, who started and took the loss in Game 2. Logan Levan tripled in the Grovers’ second at-bat of the game and scored on Zimmerman’s single through the left side of the infield for an early 1-0 Pine Grove lead.
The Grovers’ Mark Weinus led off the second with a bunt base hit and scored on Smith’s single to the right-field line.
Then the flood gates opened in the third. Tanner Levan had a run-scoring single and Weinus launched a two-run double to left before two passed balls scored three more Pine Grove runs. Suddenly, the Grovers owned an 8-0 lead.
Weinus finished 3-for-4 in Game 2 with two runs scored and three RBIs. His double chased Yordy from the mound in favor of Grigas, who was replaced by Steve Middleton to start the fourth.
“We faced Yordy a little bit last time we saw them (a 13-5 Pine Grove win June 30),” Logan Levan said. “I think that helped us out a bit to see his curveball, his secondary pitches. We were able to hit his fastball when he grooved it in there, too.”
Logan Levan hit his second triple later in the third to score Kobe D’Agostino and make it 9-0.
Zimmerman scored on a fielder’s choice and error in the fifth before Weinus delivered the game-ending hit to shallow right field three batters later.
D’Agostino earned the win in Game 2, allowing just three hits.
“We’re happy with what we did today,” Frank D’Agostino said. “Them coming in, it was a little different squad than what we faced last week. They have three No. 1 pitchers on their team and we knew we needed to play well in order to beat them.”
Game Summaries
Game 1
PINE GROVE (4) — D’Agostino cf 3 0 2 0, L. Levan ss 2 0 0 1, Zimmerman c-p 3 1 1 1, Boltz 1b 3 0 1 2, T. Levan c 4 0 0 0, Weinus lf 4 0 0 0, Kreiser rf 1 0 0 0, Soper pr-rf 1 1 0 0, Brown 3b 3 1 2 0, Smith 2b 3 1 1 0. Totals 27 4 6 4.
SCHUYLKILL VALLEY (1) — Yordy ss-cf 2 1 0 0, Erbe rf-2b 4 0 1 0, McCole p-ss 3 0 1 1, De. Reese c 4 0 0 0, Middleton 1b-lf 3 0 0 0, Johns cf 1 0 1 0, Grigas cf-p 1 0 1 0, Schwalm lf 2 0 0 0, Bernitsky rf 0 0 0 0, Skrincosky rf 1 0 0 0, Dy. Reese 3b 1 0 1 0, Dziczek 1b 3 0 1 0, Knerr 2b-3b 4 0 0 0. Totals 29 1 6 1.
P. Grove (11-6) 001 012 0 — 4
Sch. Val. (3-13-1) 000 010 0 — 1
E — Pine Grove 4, Schuylkill Valley 3. DP — Pine Grove 1, Schuylkill Valley 1. LOB — Pine Grove 9, Schuylkill Valley 14. 2B — D’Agostino, Boltz. SB — Zimmerman, Yordy, McCole, Dziczek. S — Bernitsky.
Pine Grove IP H R ER BB K
T. Levan W 6.2 6 1 1 6 6
Zimmrmn 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
Sch. Val. IP H R ER BB K
McCole L 6 7 4 3 3 6
Grigas 1 0 0 0 0 1
HBP — by McCole (L. Levan 2, Zimmerman). PB — De. Reese. T — 2:09.
Game 2
SCHUYLKILL VALLEY (1) — Grigas cf-p-cf 2 1 0 0, Yordy p-cf-2b-3b 2 0 1 0, McCole ss 2 0 1 0, Dziczek 1b 1 0 0 1, De. Reese 2b-c 2 0 0 0, Johns lf 0 0 0 0, Schwalm lf 0 0 0 0, Erbe dh 1 0 0 0, Scott dh 0 0 0 0, Middleton rf-p 1 0 0 0, Dy. Reese 3b 1 0 0 0, Skrincosky 2b 1 0 0 0, Knerr c 1 0 0 0, Bernitsky rf 1 0 1 0. Totals 15 1 3 1.
PINE GROVE (11) — D’Agostino p 3 1 0 0, L. Levan ss 4 2 3 1, Zimmerman c 3 1 2 1, Boltz 1b 2 2 0 0, T. Levan rf 3 1 1 1, Weinus cf 4 2 3 3, Brown 3b 1 1 0 0, Soper lf 2 1 1 0, Smith 2b 3 0 1 1. Totals 25 11 11 7.
Sch. Valley (3-14-1) 000 10 — 1
Pine Grove (12-6) 117 02 — 11
2 outs when game-ending run scored
E — Schuylkill Valley 2, Pine Grove 0. DP — Pine Grove 1. LOB — Schuylkill Valley 3, Pine Grove 6. 2B — Weinus. 3B — L. Levan 2. SB — L. Levan, Zimmerman 2, Weinus 2. SF — Dziczek
Sch. Valley IP H R ER BB K
Yordy L 2.1 7 6 6 0 4
Grigas 0.2 2 3 3 3 2
Middleton 1.2 2 2 0 3 1
Pine Grove IP H R ER BB K
D’Agostino W 5 3 1 1 1 2
HBP — by Yordy (Boltz), by D’Agostino (Grigas). WP — Yordy, Middleton 2, D’Agostino. PB — Knerr 2. T — 1:34.