HEGINS — Despite threatening skies, Pine Grove Red and Hegins started their Schuylkill County Teener League Senior Division winner’s bracket game at 5:40 p.m. Thursday.
About 15 minutes later, the deluge that was expected arrived, suspending the contest in the bottom of the second inning. It will resume there at 5:30 p.m. today at Hegins Park.
Pine Grove Red (14-6), the tournament’s No. 4 seed, reached the winners’ bracket final with a 7-6 win over No. 5 Branch on Sunday and then beat No. 8 DeAngelo’s Crimson 11-3 on Tuesday. Hegins, the No. 3 seed, downed No. 6 DeAngelo’s Black 8-5 on Sunday and knocked off No. 2 Frackville 8-6 on Tuesday.
Not only did the rain push back the winners’ bracket game a day, but it also moved the rest of the tournament.
Both of Thursday’s losers’ bracket games also got started but were suspended.
No. 2 Frackville Red (16-3) was leading Branch 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the second with the bases loaded before that game was stopped. DeAngelo’s Crimson (11-8) was up 1-0 at No. 7 Cressona after one inning. Both of those games will resume at 5:30 p.m. today.
The winners of today’s losers’ bracket games will meet Saturday at the higher remaining seeds. The winner of that game will take on the Pine Grove Red-Hegins loser Sunday.
The Pine Grove Red-Hegins winner will host the championship game Monday. If necessary, a deciding game will be Tuesday.
Pine Grove Red had two runners reach base in the top of the first against Hegins starter Dawson Schwalm.
Jason Soper singled to right with one out, but with Austin Ney at the plate, he took off for second before Schwalm threw home and was thrown out at second. Ney eventually walked but Nick Kresiser was retired on a comebacker.
Hegins was sent down in order in the bottom of the first against Pine Grove Red starter Dominic Dostick, while Schwalm retired Pine Grove Red 1-2-3 in the top of the second. Rain had started to fall in the second and Pine Grove Red took the field for the bottom of the inning before the game was called at 5:57.
Hegins won the regular-season meeting 1-0 on June 30.
District 24
Little League
11-12-year-olds
Orwigsburg 1
Cressona 0, susp. 2nd
ORWIGSBURG — The Cressona-Orwigsburg Pool 1 game was suspended due to rain in the top of the second inning with Orwigsburg leading 1-0.
Orwigsburg starter Peyton Washin pitched a 1-2-3 first, recording one strikeout.
Anthony Zeplin drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, and Billy Gerlott sent him to third with a one-out double to left.
Alex Tidmore loaded the bases with another walk, and Washin plated Zeplin on Orwigsburg’s third walk of the inning.
Cressona starter Keenan Cryts got out of the jam courtesy of a double play that saw the next batter line out to shortstop Keegan Brennan, who then tagged second after the runner was caught going to third.
Play will resume at 5:30 p.m. today in Orwigsburg in the top of the second with a runner on first and nobody out.
Both teams are 3-0 in pool play. The winner will win the pool, with the loser taking the runner-up spot. Both teams have clinched spots in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
American Legion
Oley/Topton leads
Tamaqua
OLEY — Oley/Topton held a 10-2 lead over Tamaqua in a Schuylkill-Berks League second-round playoff game when it was suspended in the bottom of the fourth inning because of rain.
The game will be resumed at 6 p.m. today.
In other action, Wyomissing’s game against Valley View at Hegins was postponed until 6 p.m. today.
Southern Area’s game at Muhlenberg, which was moved from a 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. start because of the storm, then was postponed until 6:30 p.m. today.
Pine Grove’s game at Hamburg was postponed until 7:30 p.m. today.
Section 3 Softball
Minersville’s game
gets rained out
TURBOTVILLE — The Section 3 Little League Softball Tournament elimination game between Minersville and Berwick was postponed due to rain.
The game has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. today.