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By Dan Isenberg
disenberg@altoonamirror.com
STATE COLLEGE -- As the saying goes, the third time is the charm.
Williamsburg overcame a 5-run rally by Saint Joseph's Academy in the fifth inning of Tuesday's District 6 Class 1A semifinal after losing its 4-0 lead, thanks to a game-tying RBI single by Lambert Palmer in the seventh to help send the game to extras, followed by an RBI triple from Dylan Hartman in the eighth inning to put the Pirates up.
Freshman winning pitcher Dylan Shawver, who came on in the fifth to relieve sophomore Rowan Gorsuch, forced a ground out, fanned one batter and popped out a third to catcher Luke Uplinger to close out the final inning, and send the Blue Pirates to the District 6 Class 1A championship game with a 6-5 win.
Coach Bob McCall was overcome with emotion following the win, which avenged two losses to the Wolves in a double-header on May 2.
"When they came back, I was heartbroken," McCall said. "I tasted the win there in the fifth inning and we just lost it. We have one bad inning every game we play. We've had that all year, but this team never quits."
Williamsburg, which qualified for the PIAA Class 1A tournament with the victory, will face top-seeded Bishop McCort at 10 a.m. Saturday for the district crown. The Crushers edged Juniata Valley, 1-0, on Tuesday.
McCall, who said he had planned for this to be his last year with the program, noted that for his team to make it this far has meant everything to him.
"We said it at the first practice we were going for D6," he said. "We're finally there. This is the first time in I don't know how many years since we've been in this position."
Hartman's RBI triple in the seventh gave the Blue Pirates the go-ahead run, something McCall said the senior has done a couple of times when his team needed it.
"He's come up big in some games. He's a senior and that's why he's in that No. 5 spot," McCall said. "They just came out and got the big win. "We've been in district championships for football, basketball, and now this is the first one in baseball for this group of kids."
McCall said Shawver was "phenomenal," and complimented the play of several of his young players.
"He's stepped up all year. Every game that he's pitched he's stepped up," McCall said. "(Gorsuch) is a sophomore. Same with (Uplinger), he's a sophomore. We only had three seniors on this team tonight. This team is just phenomenal."
The Wolves end their season at 11-6. Coach Ryan Hendrick said games like these are tough, especially when Saint Joseph's had already notched two wins over Williamsburg (7-11) earlier this month.
"They're a great opponent, take nothing away from them, but we've beaten them twice before," Hendrick said. "They have nothing to lose. They come in thinking 'maybe we're the better team.' Not that we necessarily were, but these games are very difficult; very difficult to prepare for. We definitely didn't look past them, but they battled. They played a great game and I take nothing away from their effort. We just didn't get some hits when we needed hits."
WILLIAMSBURG (6): Uplinger c 411, Palmer ss 413, Gorsuch p-2b 302, Shawver 2b-p 411, Hartman 1b 302, McGregor cf 401, Brantner dh 402, G. Hughes lf 210, C. Hughes rf 120. Totals --29-6-9.
SAINT JOSEPH'S (5): Dreibelbis 2b-ss 312, Gigante cf 501, Forstmeier 3b 311, Roach p-2b 312, Delahoy c 301, Duckworth ss-p 300, Warner lf 400, Cornali 1b 310, Welsh dh 211. Totals --29-5-8 .
SCORE BY INNINGS
Williamsburg 002 020 11--6 12 1
Saint Joseph's 000 050 00--5 8 3
E--Wagner, Forstmeier, Delahoy, Warner. 2B--Palmer, Gorsuch, Uplinger. 3B--Hartman. RBI--Palmer 2, Gorsuch 2, Hartman. WP--Shawver. LP--Duckworth. SO--Gorsuch 2, Shawver 3, Roach 5, Duckworth 1. BB--Gorsuch 4, Shawver 2, Roach 2, Duckworth 1.
Records: Williamsburg (7-11); Saint Joseph's (11-6).