As it turned out, the wait was well worth it for the Golden Tigers.

Hollidaysburg enjoyed a solid starting pitching effort from senior lefty Cole Hartman, outstanding defensive play that produced three double plays, and timely hitting that helped the Tigers score four second-inning runs, as Hollidaysburg moved on to Monday’s semifinal round with a 6-2 victory.

It’s the second time in three seasons that Hollidaysburg (21-2 this season) has reached the state semifinals. The Golden Tigers also achieved that feat two seasons ago, won in the semifinal round that year, and advanced to the state championship game, where they suffered a tough 2-1 loss to Governor Mifflin.

Hollidaysburg’s semifinal-round opponent Monday at a site and time to be determined will be District 9 champion DuBois (20-4), which outlasted WPIAL champ Upper St. Clair, 13-10 in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Hollidaysburg second baseman Ty McGough doubles up Lampeter-Strasburg's Cooper Hillen. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Monday’s two semifinal-round winners will advance to next Friday afternoon’s 4:30 p.m. Class 5A state championship game at Penn State University’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Reaching the semifinals for the second time in three seasons is a gratifying experience for the Hollidaysburg team, but the Golden Tigers no doubt have their focus set on winning the state championship that narrowly escaped them two seasons ago.

“It’s a good feeling,” veteran Hollidaysburg coach Jon Szynal said. “The players on this year’s team that were on our team two years ago got a taste of it, how much fun it is, and how great for the players that it is.”

Hartman came through on the mound and at the plate for Hollidaysburg on Thursday. He worked six-plus innings, spaced six hits, and allowed two runs – only one of which was earned – while walking just two batters, and striking out two. Hartman departed the mound after throwing 75 pitches, and junior righty Vince Boland came on in relief and pitched a scoreless seventh inning to preserve the Tigers’ victory.

Hartman was helped out by the fact that Hollidaysburg executed the three double plays on defense behind him.

“I was just trying to throw strikes today and trust the guys who were playing behind me, because I know that they have my back,” Hartman said. “I was just trying not to give anybody (on the Lampeter-Strasburg team) free bases, and the double plays that were made behind me were clutch and bailed me out of some trouble.

“I thought everybody on our team played well today,” Hartman added.

Hartman also had a good day at the plate. After his first-inning single drove home Josh Banks, who had drawn a leadoff walk and advanced to second on Mason Mierley’s groundout, Hartman collected an RBI single after Mierley’s two-run single to spark Hollidaysburg’s four-run second inning that gave the Golden Tigers a 5-1 lead.

Banks also had an RBI single to start Hollidaysburg’s outburst in the second inning, in which three Golden Tigers batters drew walks.

“Any time that you can put up four runs in an inning, those are big numbers,” Szynal said. “Cole Hartman has been steady on the mound for us his whole career. He mixes his pitches well – I think he walked only one batter all season before today.”

Executing the three double plays was pivotal for District 6 champion Hollidaysburg, and sophomore second baseman Ty McGough had a central role in all three.

Lampeter-Strasburg had runners on first and second and nobody out in the third inning when James Wall hit a grounder to shortstop Mierley, who flipped to McGough at second for the first out, before McGough threw on to first baseman Tanner Rossman to complete the double play.

In the fourth inning, the same tandem – Mierley to McGough to Rossman – turned a Devin Campos grounder into another double play after Cooper Williams had opened the inning with a single.

In the fifth inning, McGough dove to the ground to catch a line drive off the bat of Chase Messinger, and threw on to Rossman at first base to double off Gavrin Wyant, who had reached on a one-out single.

“For a high school team, or any baseball team for that matter, to turn three double plays in a game is huge, and it was a huge bonus for us today,” Szynal said.

District 3 champion Lampeter-Strasburg, which closed the books on a 23-5-1 season, stranded six runners on base and was hurt by the fact that its three pitchers in the game issued a combined total of eight walks.

“We had our chances,” Lampeter-Strasburg coach Jeffrey Swarr said. “Offensively, we hit some balls right at them today. Every team that is playing at this time of the year is a good team, and their batters did a good job of fighting some pitches off at the plate today.”

And now Szynal and his team have a chance to rewrite history, starting with Monday’s semifinal game against DuBois.

“They’re always a good program,” Szynal said of DuBois. “We’ve played them the last couple of years but we haven’t played them yet this year. We’re looking forward to it, and I’m sure that they are, too.”

LAMPETER-STRASBURG (2): C. Messsinger 2b 311, Hillen ss 200, Wall cf 300, Hart rf 301, Scranton p 000, Weaver p 000, Williams dh-p 301, B. Sheehan cr 000, Campos c 201, B. Messinger lf 200, Chris Broderick cr 000, Schreck 1b 211, Wyant 3b 301. Totals – 23-2-6.

HOLLIDAYSBURG (6): Banks rf 321, Mierley ss 411, McGough 2b 300, Hartman p-1b 202, Rabel cr 000, Rossman 1b 300, Phillips cf 210, Miller 3b 200, Layton lf 100, Hatch c 200, Boland cr-p 000. Totals – 22-6-4.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Lampeter-Strasburg 100 010 0–2-6-1

Hollidaysburg 140 100 X–6-4-2

E–Hillen, Mierley, Rossman. HR–Schreck. RBI–Hart, Schreck, Hartman 2, Mierley 2, Banks. SB–C. Messinger. SAC–Campos. HBP–Hillen (by Hartman). DP–Hollidaysburg turned three double plays. LOB–Lampeter-Strasburg 6, Hollidaysburg 5.

PITCHING

Lampeter-Strasburg: Scranton (L) 1 2/3IP, 3H, 5R, 5ER, 3BB, 2SO; Weaver 1 1/3IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 3BB, 1SO; Williams 3IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 2SO.

Hollidaysburg: Hartman (W) 6+IP, 6H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 2SO, 75 pitches; Boland 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 2SO, 16 pitches.

Records: Lampeter-Strasburg (23-5-1); Hollidaysburg (21-2).

Umpires: Albert Jones (plate); Tom Janeski (1b); Charles (Chip) Carnes (2b); Mike Schlesinger (3b).

Time of game: 1:54.