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MARTINSBURG -- Philipsburg-Osceola took a six-run lead over Central after the first two innings of Thursday's District 6 Class 3A semifinal game, but the Scarlet Dragons have been there, done that before.
Central came back from the same deficit against Penn Cambria in the quarterfinals and looked like it was on the verge of doing it again when Baron Dionis' two-run double in the bottom of the third inning helped cut the lead in half.
But this time, the Mounties added on. And on. And on.
There was no comeback on Bean Hill this time for the Scarlet Dragons, who saw a spectacular season in defense of their PIAA Class 3A championship from last year come to an end with a thud, 18-3, in five innings.
"We did a lot of things that are uncharacteristic of us," Central coach A.J. Hoenstine said. "We gave some free passes, we missed cut-off men, we just weren't fundamentally sound. You have days like this. You just wish they weren't in the district semifinals, but you know, it happens. Hat's off to Philipsburg. I thought they had some good two-strike approaches and really battled in there. They were the better team today."
Central starter Kaleb Mountain, who had a fantastic season as the Dragons' top starter, opened the game by walking the first three batters on just 13 pitches and was relieved by Mason Sparks, who walked two more batters during a five-run top of the first for the Mounties.
"We talked about it all week," Philipsburg-Osceola coach Doug Sankey said. "I have been coaching a long time. Central has the toughest kids in the state every year. We preached to our guys that every run matters. That first inning, once we had the bases loaded and no outs and a couple runs in, I was hoping for five runs. We did get five. It's so hard to beat those guys, because they can come back from any deficit."
The bottom of the first inning didn't provide any runs for Central, but there certainly was a feel-good moment for the Dragons.
Hunter Smith, who was injured during football season and missed most of his junior-year basketball season after surgery, played in his first baseball game of the year and doubled in his first at bat.
"It was great, and to see him get a hit in his first time up," Hoenstine said. "He's been through it missing most of basketball and most of baseball. Hopefully he'll be able to get some swings this summer, but that was neat. The kids were pumped up for that. Unfortunately, he only got one game."
Philipsburg-Osceola added another run in the second inning before Central scored three runs in the third. Griffin Snowberger led off with a single, Smith was hit by a pitch, Dionis doubled in two runs and Kyle Klotz had a two-out RBI single that made it 6-3.
"We cut it to 6-3 and had some momentum," Hoenstine said. "We got the first out of the (next) inning, and then the wheels fell off. It's baseball. You wish it was a three or five game series, but it's not. They were better than us today."
Parker Lamb lined out to begin the fourth, and T.J. Wildman hit was looked like a routine groundout but reached on an error. Six runs later, it was 12-3.
"They beat us earlier in the season, 17-11, but we practiced really hard this week," Philipsburg-Osceola starting pitcher Denny Prestash said. "We knew what we wanted to get done here. We wanted to make it happen, and we got it done. We're feeling pretty high right now. Higher than a kite."
The Mounties, who got two hits each from Wildman, Prestash, Jamey Massung and Alex Knepp, added six more runs in the fifth inning to put a bow on their victory. Sam McDonald drove in four runs for P-O, which will play Tyrone in the District 6 Class 3A championship game on Monday at 4 p.m. at Sargent's Stadium at the Point in Johnstown. Philipsburg-Osceola won both regular season games against the Golden Eagles.
"It feels good," Sankey said. "We have been pretty consistent all year. The hitting has been great. It's always tough to get past these guys, but we're happy to be back. (Tyrone) can hit the ball, I know that. They have a good offense. I don't know if they pitched (Ross) Gampe, because he hasn't pitched much, but we haven't seen him yet. We'll have to see matchup-wise who they pitch, but it's going to be another Mountain League matchup, so you know it's going to be tough."
Central finished with just five hits and walked 12 Philipsburg-Osceola batters.
"Every year the hard part is missing being around these guys every day," Hoenstine said. "I thought our seniors really stepped up with everything we lost last year. It's not going to make them feel any better, but to be 19-3, they really provided some leadership. They made guys play the way they are supposed to play. This is the first game they ever lost on this field in their career, our senior class. That's a testimony to them and their work to not lose a game on your home field until your senior year in the last game."
Overall, the senior class finished 68-6 at Central with a state championship last year and a PIAA semifinal appearance in 2021.
"I know they are hurt they lost," Hoenstine said. "But they are hurt more, because they play for the community. They feel like they left them down, but we'll be back next year."
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (18): Gustkey c 320, DeSimone cf 411, Lamb ss 321, Wildman 3b 332, Prestash p-lf 202, Peterson cr 030, Massung 1b 412, Ivicic pr 010, Emigh rf-p 000, Knepp dh 422, Hahn lf-rf 221, McDonald 2b 211. Totals -- 27-18-12.
CENTRAL (3): Je. Hoenstine ss 300, Snowberger 3b 312, Mountain p 000, Sparks p 000, Muthler rf 000, Smith dh 211, Marko c 300, Dionis cf-p 111, Butler cr 000, Metzger 2b 200, Klotz 1b 301, Black rf-cf 100, Fisher lf 200. Totals -- 20-3-5.
SCORE BY INNINGS
P-O 510 66X X--18 12 2
Central 003 00X X--3 5 3
E--Lamb, Prestash, Hoenstine, Klotz, Metzger. 2B--Prestash, Massung, Wildman, Smith, Dionis. RBI--Knepp 3, Massung 3, Prestash 2, DiSimone 2, Lamb, Dionis 2, Klotz.
PITCHING
Philipsburg-Osceola: Prestash (W)--4IP, 5H, 2K, 3BB, 1HBP, 3R, 3ER, 86 pitches. Emigh--1IP, 0H, 1K, 0BB, 0R, 0ER, 14 pitches.
Central: Mountain (L)--0IP, 0H, 0K, 3BB, 3R, 3ER, 13 pitches. Sparks--3 1/3IP, 8H, 2K, 4BB, 8R, 6ER, 86 pitches. Dionis--1 2/3IP, 4H, 0K, 5BB, 7R, 6ER, 60 pitches.
Umpires: Matt Cursio (HP); Bill Wolf (1B); Steve Oakes (3B).
Records: Philipsburg-Osceola (15-7); Central (19-3).