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Big third inning lifts Carroll into semifinals

CRESSON — Nine runs in the third inning sealed the deal for the No. 4 Bishop Carroll baseball team Monday against No. 5 Juniata Valley in the District 6 Class 1A quarterfinals.

With a 13-3 victory over the Hornets at Mount Aloysius College, the Huskies punched their ticket into the semifinals and clinched the program’s first playoff win since 2011.

“This is a special feeling,” said Huskies senior Logan Gottshall, who is a Waynesburg baseball commit. He fanned one in relief in the final inning. “The past couple years haven’t exactly gone as planned, but this year we were able to put it together and actually become one of the higher seeds in the playoff race. We’re looking to do big things.”

Bishop Carroll took a 2-1 lead in in the bottom of the first after a triple by Jake Zazvrskey scored two, but the Huskies truly took flight in the third inning.

The Huskies were able to take advantage of Hornets pitcher Quinn Zinobile as eight different players combined for nine runs in the third to take a commanding 10-run lead.

“I think all the kids were just confident with what they could do,” Bishop Carroll coach Bill Schenk said. “We hit the ball, and when these kids believe, they can play.”

Nine out of the 10 Bishop Carroll batters ended the game with at least one hit.

Leading the attack on both sides of the ball was senior Carson Ertter (2-for-2), who tallied two runs for the Huskies.

“We knew we had talent all year, but we just couldn’t put it together,” Ertter said. “Now we came out in the first round and seemed to get everything going. We’re just hoping to carry this into the next round.”

Ertter had a strong performance at the plate but was just as lethal on the mound. In four innings, he allowed only three hits and struck out six.

After throwing 67 pitches, Ertter was relieved by Gottshall to allow the Penn State baseball commit to be available for Thursday’s semifinal match against Bishop McCort.

“Carson pitched well for us today,” Schenk said. “We did pull him early. With the PIAA rules and us turning around to play Thursday, we wanted to make him available. We were up 10 when we did that, and I had a lot of faith in Logan to hold it down.”

Down by 10 runs in the fifth, Juniata Valley’s Jay Max Hurley and Gabe Brower scored to keep the game alive. However, Bishop Carroll responded with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning to close the game via mercy rule.

The Huskies now shift their focus to the No. 1 Crimson Crushers (13-7), who host Bishop Carroll in the semifinals Thursday at Sergeant’s Stadium at the Point. The Huskies lost both previous matchups to McCort that included a nine-inning affair in March and a tight 1-0 battle May 3.

“We saw McCort earlier this year,” Schenk said. “I know the kids believe that we could go ahead and advance even further in the playoffs. They’ve been playing well. We’ve had our blunders, but they came out confident and were able to get the win today.”

Zinobile pitched 2-plus innings for Valley, striking out five in the loss.

BISHOP CARROLL (13): Gottshall ss-p 321, Karlheim rf 333, Ertter p-cf 232 Zazvrskey 2b-ss 402, Becquet c 410, Beiswenger dh 312, Kline 1b 311, Gomish 3b 311, Dumm cf-lf 211, Kosicki 101. Totals — 28 13 14.

JUNIATA VALLEY (3): Johsnon lf 312, Hensor ss-p 312, Zinobile p-ss 201, Brower cf 301, Betres c 301, Wilson dh 200, Watson rf 200, Rupert 3b-p 200, Hurley 1b 211. Totals — 22 3 6.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Juniata Valley 100 02X X — 3 5 1

Bishop Carroll 209 02X X — 13 14 2

E — Gomish, Karlheim, Zinobile. 2B- Ertter (2), Dumm, Hurley. 3B — Zazvrskey, Hensor, Zinobile. RBI — Zazvrskey (3), Beiswenger (2), Dumm (2), Gottshall, Ertter, Becquet, Kline, Gomish, Kosicki, Zinobile, Brower. WP — Ertter. LP — Zinobile. SO — Ertter 6, Zinobile 5, Gottshall. BB — Zinobile 3, Ertter.

Records: Juniata Valley (10-10); Bishop Carroll (8-9).

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