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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
MARTINSBURG -- The Central High School baseball team, which boasts hitting ability from the top to the bottom of its lineup, is a dangerous squad without receiving any extra outs from its opposition.
On Friday afternoon, in a District 6 Class 3A quarterfinal-round playoff game with seventh-seeded Penn Cambria, second-seeded Central scored 15 runs and mashed out 11 hits while benefiting from three Panthers' errors as the host Scarlet Dragons advanced to the semifinal round with a 15-6 victory.
Central (15-6) now moves on to host sixth-seeded Huntingdon, a 9-1 quarterfinal-round winner over third-seeded Philipsburg-Osceola, in a semifinal game next Thursday. Penn Cambria closed its season with an 8-12 record.
Central showcased its batting balance by getting impressive production from the lower half of its batting order, as sophomore third baseman Wyatt Dilling stroked three hits and drove in four runs out of the eighth position on the lineup card, and left fielder-pitcher Mason Byler, batting ninth, had two hits and drove in another run.
Catcher Britton Marko, batting fifth, had a two-run single, and center fielder Lukas Black, batting sixth, drove in a run with a fielder's choice and also had a bunt single as Central's fifth through ninth batters on the lineup card accounted for a total of eight hits.
"We take a lot of pride in the one through nine spots in our batting order, and the bottom of the lineup carried things for us today,'' veteran Central coach A.J. Hoenstine said. "Penn Cambria is a good, athletic team, but fortunately, we were able to put together some good at-bats against them today.
"We don't have a lot of power in our lineup, but our batters are scrappy with two strikes on them, and they find a way,'' Hoenstine added.
Trailing 5-1, Central scored four runs in the first inning on just one hit against Penn Cambria starting pitcher Rylan Hanlon to tie up the game, 5-5. Griff Snowberger, Baron Dionis, and Troy McNichol drew consecutive one-out walks before Marko bounced a two-run single up the middle to score Snowberger and Dionis. McNichol scored when Lukas Black bounced into a fielder's choice, and Adam Loucks - inserted as a courtesy runner for Marko — crossed the plate on the same play via a throwing error.
Central broke on top for good, 8-5, with three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Dilling's RBI double and Snowberger's run-scoring single were the key hits, while another run scored after another Penn Cambria throwing error.
"You can't give these guys any extra outs,'' Penn Cambria coach Jim Ronan said of the Scarlet Dragons. "They're a championship pedigree team, and if you make a mistake against them, they are going to make you pay.
"Their entire batting order is always productive, and it's impressive to see how they work as a group,'' Ronan said.
Central put a great down payment on the victory by adding five runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Dilling, Byler and catcher Hunter Smith each produced RBI singles. The Scarlet Dragons tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single by Dilling, who said that his team's ability to rally from its early deficit Friday has been its trademark this season.
"We've been able to do that all year,'' Dilling said. "We don't put our heads down. We always stay on it.''
Central has a chance to punch another ticket into the PIAA state playoffs by winning next Thursday's semifinal game, as the top two teams in District 6 Class 3A advance to the state tournament.
"The next game will be a big one,'' Hoenstine said.
PENN CAMBRIA (6): Gibbons ss 410, Semelsberger c 311, Farabaugh rf-p 212, Mento lf 201, Hanlon p-2b 401, Hite cf 412, Hammer 3b 300, Vinglish 3b 101, Zavalanski 1b 100, Conrad dh 311, Cherico 2b-p-2b 210. Totals - 29-6-9.
CENTRAL (15): Smith 1b 501, Snowberger ss 322, Dionis rf 210, Sparks p 000, McNichol dh 220, Moushlian cr 010, Marko c 301, Loucks cr 020, Black cf 321, Hoenstine 411, Dilling 3b 423, Byler lf 422. Totals - 30-15-11.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Penn Cambria 140 010 0--6-9-3
Central 413 520 X--15-11-4
E--Farabaugh, Mento, Cherico, Snowberger 2, Dionis, Oakes. 2B--Dilling, Farabaugh, Mento. RBI--Farabaugh 2, Gibbons, Semelsberger, Mento, Hite, Conrad. SF--Semelsberger. SB--Byler, Snowberger, Loucks. CS--Hanlon (Marko to Snowberger); Dilling (Semelsberger to Gibbons). HBP--Black by Hanlon; Black by Farabaugh. LOB--Penn Cambria 9, Central 9.
PITCHING
Penn Cambria: Hanlon (L) 3+IP, 4H, 9R, 7ER, 6BB, 2SO; Cherico 1IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 0SO. Farabaugh 2IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 1SO.
Central: Sparks (W) 4IP, 5H, 5R, 4ER, 6BB, 7SO; Byler (SV) 3IP, 4H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 6SO.
WP--Sparks 2.
Umpires: Derrick Soellner (plate); Jim Cushion (first base); Dave Gildea (third base).