Forest Hills secures spot against Altoona
Curve Classic
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Caiden Bonsell held undefeated Forest Hills scoreless for five innings before being replaced after Tyrone took a three-run lead in the top of the sixth inning during the Curve Classic semifinals Friday afternoon at PNG Field.
When he didn't return to the mound to try and finish off the Rangers and they rallied for six runs and a 6-3 victory in the bottom of the inning, eyebrows of those not in the know were raised.
It turns out, Bonsell was on a pitch count as he recovers from offseason surgery and Friday's outing was his longest of the year.
"He hasn't been able to pitch too much, because he had surgery," Tyrone coach Kevin Soellner said. "That's the first time we have let him go to 50. He went 56, and we had to pull him. That will help. We need that second pitcher right now, and that will be real big if he can keep doing that and moving in that direction. He had surgery on his arm, not Tommy John or anything, but he's been on a pitch count of about 25. This is the first time we let him go a little bit."
Bonsell ended his outing allowing just two hits to the potent Forest Hills lineup which has rolled through opponents on its way to an 8-0 record.
"We have a couple 15-run rule wins and two 10-run rule wins," Forest Hills coach Joe Carpenter said. "We got behind and had to come back today. That's the first time we had to do it, and that shows the character of the team whenever you can do that. One through nine in the lineup we have confidence in. Usually it's a matter of time before we come through."
Earlier in the day, Forest Hills handed defending PIAA Class 3A champion Central its first loss since the 2021 season in a 5-0 triumph in a first-round game.
"I believe they had 34 wins in a row and of course have a great program," Carpenter said. "That was big, and the coaches talked about avoiding a letdown after that win. Central has been a great team and won the Laurel Highlands last year. To come beat them, then have a long wait, it's natural to have a letdown, but we came back and did a great job."
Central's bad day continued with a 7-0 loss to Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic in the consolation game.
"We didn't play great," Central coach A.J. Hoenstine said. "We hit some balls hard, but they were right at guys. Our pitchers threw well overall, but we just couldn't piece anything together. I told them you have days like this. You turn the page tomorrow. It's not about how we played today, it's about how we respond tomorrow. They are not used to losing, so I'm anxious to see how we respond next week. We played some good competition. I think talent wise, teams one through eight, this is one of the best Curve Classics I have seen."
Despite Bonsell needing to come out of the game, Tyrone still had a chance to hold on to its lead going into the final inning.
The Golden Eagles led 3-2 with two runners on and two outs, and Nate Cornell hit a towering foul ball near the first-base netting. Tyrone's Ross Gampe, who made a pair of outstanding defensive plays at first base earlier in the game to save Bonsell from would-be hits, had a long run to the ball and it popped out of his glove as he hit the netting.
"He makes that catch 99 percent of the time," Soellner said. "For the last bunch of years, we've got a lot of the breaks to fall our way. I said to the guys, this year, we're just not getting those breaks. Hopefully that will change. It's baseball, and that happens."
Two pitches later, Cornell ripped a game-tying single up the middle. The Rangers went on to add three more runs in the inning.
"I knew I had to make it hurt," Cornell said. "My team really needed me. We were down by one in the bottom of the sixth. It's a big spot, and I knew I had to come through for the team. That was an extra life for me, and I had to take advantage of it."
Tyrone was in a similar situation earlier in the day, holding a 6-3 lead, before hanging on to defeat the Marauders in the first round, 6-5.
"We just need more offense," Soellner said. "The offense is slowly coming. We squared the ball up a little bit, but we knew they were good."
Forest Hills, which lost to Tyrone in last year's District 6 playoffs, will play Altoona in the Curve Classic championship game Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
"Playing a bigger school is always exciting," Carpenter said. "It's going to be difficult. We're down in our pitching, but we'll battle and do our best. Hopefully we will be victorious."
SEMIFINAL
TYRONE (3): Walk ss 411, Coleman rf 311, Gampe 1b 301, Hamer c 300, N. Patterson cr 000, LeGars cf-p-cf 300, Lehner 2b 301, Bonsell p 200, Light lf 100, Oakes dh 00, J. Patterson pr 000, Miller lf-rf 211. Totals -- 27-3-5.
FOREST HILLS (6): Bro. Roberts 2b 402, Rearick cf 410, B. Williamson c 311, Kreger 1b 302, Ruddek 1b 010, Orris ss 311, C. Williamson p-lf 300, Cornell 3b 311, Bry. Roberts dh 212, Burda lf 000, Maul rf 301. Totals -- 28-6-10.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Tyrone 000 003 0--3 5 1
Forest Hills 000 006 X--6 10 3
E--Walk, C. Williamson, Orris. 2B--Bro. Roberts, Kreger. RBI--Coleman, Gampe, Bro. Roberts, Kreger, Orris, Cornell, Bry. Roberts, Maul. WP--Richardson. LP--LeGars. SO--Bonsell 2, C. Williamson 2, Richardson 1. BB--C. Williamson 1, Bonsell 1.
Records: Tyrone (3-5); Forest Hills (8-0).
FIRST ROUND
FOREST HILLS 5, CENTRAL 0
FOREST HILLS (5): Bro. Roberts 2b 411, Rearick cf 401, B. Williamson c 311, Kreger 1b 211, Ruddek 1b 000, Orris ss 210, C. Williamson lf 412, Cornell 3b 301, Bry. Roberts dh 300, Maul rf 200, Richardson cr 000. Totals -- 27-5-7.
CENTRAL (0): Je. Hoenstine ss 301, Snowberger p-3b 300, Dionis cf-p-cf 201, Byler p 100, Marko dh 301, Metzger 2b 200, Klotz c 301, Black 3b-lf-3b 200, Mountain ph 100, Bettwy rf 300, Muthler 1b 201. Totals -- 25-0-5.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Forest Hills 000 050 0 -- 5 7 0
Central 000 000 0 -- 0 5 1
2B--B. Williamson, Cornell. Je. Hoenstine. RBI--C. Williamson 2, Cornell 2, B. Williamson. WP--Burda. LP--Dionis. SO--Burda 5, Dionis 3, Snowberger 1, Byler 1.
TYRONE 6, BISHOP GUILFOYLE 5
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (5): Rother ss 311, Dombrosky 2b-3b-2b-ss 422, Negola cf 311, Sell 1b 400, Beauchamp p 401, Wyandt c 300, Hagg rf 300, Williams 3b-p 301, Gates lf 312. Totals -- 30-5-8.
TYRONE (6): Walk 2b 301, Coleman cf 210, Gampe p 300, Hamer c 221, LeGars ss 111, R. McClure 1b 000, Lehner dh 110, Light lf 200, B. McClure 3b 200, Miller rf 311. Totals -- 19-6-4.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Bishop Guilfoyle 210 000 2 -- 5 8 0
Tyrone 200 400 X -- 6 4 1
2B--Rother, Negola, Beauchamp. RBI -- Rother, Sell, Negola 2, LeGars, R. McClure, Miller. WP--Gampe. LP--Beauchamp. SO -- Gampe 5, Beauchamp 2. BB -- Beauchamp 6, Williams 3
CONSOLATION
BISHOP GUILFOYLE 7, CENTRAL 0
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (7): Rother ss 311, Dombrosky 3b-1b 401, Negola cf 402, Sell 1b-p 400, Beauchamp 2b 411, Wyandt c 311, Hagg rf 210, Williams p-3b 321, Gates lf 312. Totals -- 30-7-9.
CENTRAL (0): Je. Hoenstine ss 300, Snowberger 3b 300, Dionis cf 401, Marko dh-p 100, Sparks p 000, Harbaugh p 000, Metzger 2b 301, Klotz c 200, McNichol ph 000, Black lf 101, Butler ph-lf 200, Muthler 1b 300. Totals -- 22-0-3.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Bishop Guilfoyle 030 301 0 -- 7 9 0
Central 000 000 0 -- 0 3 2
3B--Rother. WP--Sell. LP--Sparks. RBI -- Rother 3, Dombrosky, B. Williams 2. SO--Sparks 2, Harbaugh 3, Sell 3. BB--Williams 4, Sell 5, Harbaugh 1.