Baseball: Palmyra Tops Pittston, Advances to State Quarterfinals

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Palmyra 7, Pittston 3

On Monday, Palmyra traveled north to Luzerne County to take on Pittston in the First Round of the PIAA State Championship Tournament. For Palmyra, it was their first appearance at States since 2016. For this year’s Cougars, hopes were high as they entered with a 22-1 record, their only loss coming to Lampeter-Strasburg in the District 3 Championship game.

Pittston entered the tournament as the District 2 Champions with an unblemished 23-0 record and was looking to move into the State Quarterfinals with a win over the orange and black.

The game started with Pittston retiring Palmyra in 1-2-3 order, each out resulting from contact by the batters (ground out, line out, ground out).

Palmyra sent ace Jonathan Strohecker to the mound. Following a leadoff single and a walk, Pittston hit a two-out single that brought two runners home. After another single, J. Strohecker worked his way out of the inning after spotting the home team a 2-0 lead.

In the top of the 2nd, Palmyra again made contact but came away with only a single by Jack Santana. However, by the bottom of the inning, J. Strohecker had calmed down and allowed only a harmless double to keep the score stagnant.

In the top of the 3rd, Julian Meley hit a single, but Palmyra was again denied any runs. A Pittston single in the bottom of the 3rd was quickly negated by a double play to end the inning.

In the top of the 4th, Palmyra finally turned that contact into successful hitting. After Ty Peck walked, Aiden Willard doubled to left field, allowing Peck to rumble home. Two batters later, Santana hit a sacrifice fly to score Willard, who had advanced by tagging up on a Braeden Sommer fly ball. Palmyra’s turn at the plate ended with the score tied, 2-2.

However, the tie didn’t last long, as Pittston converted a hit batsman into a run with a double. The 4th inning ended with Pittston holding a 3-2 lead.

The 5th inning is where the fireworks began. Adam Strohecker led off with a walk. Meley singled. Playing small ball, Alex Dorta then hit a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners. With runners now on 2nd and 3rd, Nate Osteen hit a single that allowed A. Strohecker to score. With Peck batting, Meley took an opportunity to steal home, giving Palmyra their first lead of the afternoon. Peck eventually drew a walk. Willard then singled to score Owen Zastowny, who had replaced Osteen as a pinch runner. Leading 5-3, Santana hit a single to score Peck and Willard. The inning ended with Palmyra scoring five runs to take a 7-3 lead.

The game remained scoreless the rest of the way. J. Strohecker pitched through the end of the 6th inning. He finished with a line of 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K. Braydon Bown came in for the final inning and ended the game by inducing a double play.

Willard (2-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB), Santana (2-3, 3 RBI), and Meley (2-3, R, SB) led the way for the Cougars. Peck(0-2, 2 BB, 2 R) also played a large role in the outcome. Osteen added an RBI.

With the victory, Palmyra advances to the PIAA State Championship Quarterfinals—their first since 2003—where they will face Elizabethtown. The matchup between the Cougars and Bears is set to take place on Thursday (Location & Time TBD).

Full 5A Bracket