End of the road

Clarion blanks Saegertown 10-0

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

NEW WILMINGTON — Saegertown was kept off balance in Thursday’s PIAA Class 1A quarterfinal matchup with Clarion.

The Panthers were out-hit 10-2 and lost 10-0 in five innings at Westminster College.

“Our playbook is getting on base and I think we had two or three base runners the entire game,” Saegertown assistant coach David Bradley said. “When you can’t get on base you can’t do what we typically do, so that hurt us.”

Saegertown had a base runner in the first inning, but was thrown out attempting to steal second base. The Panthers didn’t get on base again until the top of the fourth inning.

With two outs, Sully Zirkle walked on and freshman William Shaffer sent a line drive to right field for a single. Saegertown had runners on the corners and threatened to score, but Clarion picked off a runner to get out of the inning. It was Saegertown’s best opportunity to score all game as the Panthers didn’t get on base the rest of the way.

“I hate to say it, but our youth showed today. That’s all right. I thought we competed,” Bradley said. “That is a good baseball team. Hopefully we get another crack at them in the future.”

On the mound, Clarion’s Devon Lauer pressured Saegertown’s hitters. When the Panthers did make contact, the Bobcats defense cleaned up just about everything hit their way.

“He was just pounding the zone. He started 0-1 a ton, 0-2 a ton. It wasn’t like we had a lot of positive counts as hitters,” Bradley said. “He was throwing it over the plate and we weren’t putting good swings on the ball.”

Clarion’s Daunte Girvan and Noah Harrison each had a double. Girvan finished with two hits and two runs for the Bobcats. Dawson Smail was 2-4 with three runs and two RBIs while Bryce Brinkley was 3-3 with two RBIs and two runs.

Clarion scored four runs in the fourth inning and took advantage of two Saegertown errors. In the fifth, the Bobcats batters opened with a double, reached on an error and hit back-to-back singles before Harrison’s RBI double gave Clarion a 10-run mercy rule win.

The Bobcats will play Southern Fulton in the state semifinals on Monday.

It was the final game for three Saegertown seniors; Henry Shaffer, Joe Grundy and Zirkle.

“They have nothing to hang their heads about. They had a fantastic career. Coach (Scott) Walters, our previous head coach, talked a lot about leaving the program better than how you got there,” Bradley said. “Those guys didn’t have a freshman year due to Covid. They won their entire career including a District 10 title, a runner-up and state playoff win this year.

“Those guys are great leaders. They will be missed as players, but they’ll be truly missed because they were humble, great characters and leaders.”

Saegertown finished the season 19-4 overall. The Panthers were the Region 3 champions, the District 10 runner-up and one of the final eight teams in the state playoff tournament.

SAEGERTOWN - CLARION

Clarion Area (10) (AB-R-H-BI) Dawson Smail 4-3-2-2, Brinkley 3-2-3-2, Harrison 4-1-2-1, Derek Smail 0-0-0-0, Lauer 1-0-1-3, Miller 3-0-0-1, Alston 3-0-0-0, Girvan 3-2-2-0, Weber 3-0-0-0. Totals 24-10-10-9.

Saegertown (0) (AB-R-H-BI) Burchill 2-0-0-0, Young 2-0-1-0, H. Shaffer 1-0-0-0, Zirkle 1-0-0-0, W. Shaffer 2-0-1-0, Manning 2-0-0-0, Joe Grundy 2-0-0-0, Jordan 2-0-0-0, Gardner 1-0-0-0. Totals 15-0-2-0.

Saegertown 000 00x x — 0 2 3 

Clarion 102 43x x — 10 10 1 

BATTING 2B: C — Girvan, Harrison.

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) C — Lauer WP 5-2-0-0-2-2; S — Burchill LP 2.1-3-3-3-0-4, Joe Grundy 1.2-3-4-0-0-1, W. Shaffer 0.1-4-3-2-0-0.

Formidable foes

Saegertown facing Clarion in state title run

By Owen Krepps

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

Saegertown (19-3) will continue its class 1A PIAA state baseball playoff journey today against Clarion (18-4) at Westminster College at noon.

Both northwestern Pennsylvania teams are coming off shutout victories in their first games of states. Clarion whopped Harmony 15-0 and Saegertown beat WPIAL champion Bishop Canevin 6-0, both on Monday.

“Clarion is really good,” said Saegertown head coach Nick Leslie. “I have had a chance to see them and they can hit the ball. They play in a really good region and play against good competition, so we are going to have to be ready.”

The Panthers have been led all season by senior Henry Shaffer. The Penn State Behrend commit is currently batting .623, and on the mound he has 59 strikeouts this season in just over 37 innings pitched.

While he leads the team, he’s not the Panthers’ only player. A team effort against Clarion is critical, says head coach Leslie.

“We are going to have to go to the guys we have relied on all year,” said Leslie. “Some other guys like Wyatt Burchill and Joe Grundy have stepped up and are battled tested. We have relied on our whole lineup to score runs all year.”

For the Bobcats, they are led by the Smail brothers. Dawson Smail is currently batting .500 and has 37 runs this spring. Derek Smail has 22 RBIs and four home runs this season.

In terms of a head-to-head matchup, Saegertown is averaging 10.4 runs per game and Clarion nine. Both teams are very close in average hits with Saegertown having 8.6 and Clarion 8.4.

“Outworking them will be key,” said Leslie. “We have had some really good practices leading up to this and hope it carries over.”

The winner will move on to play the winner of a game between West Middlesex and Southern Fulton, which takes place 4:30 p.m. today.

The Panthers might have some extra motivation to get to the next round for a couple of additional reasons. Should West Middlesex win its game, and Saegertown theirs, a rematch of the district 10 championship game would be scheduled.

Saegertown lost that game 2-0 and also lost head coach Nick Leslie at the end of it, as he was suspended for his behavior after a collision at home plate. Leslie’s twogame suspension will end, should Saegertown advance.

One step at a time, says Leslie.

“We really just have to focus on (today’s) game right now,” said Leslie. “If we get a good result then we’ll look at the next game on Monday.”

Seniors Shaffer, Josephy Grundy and Sully Zirkle are on this ride for the Panthers. Saegertown has never won a state title in baseball.

Henry Shaffer throws no-hitter, Panthers advance

By Owen Krepps

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

Led by the arm of Henry “Hank” Shaffer, Saegertown baseball defeated Bishop Canevin 6-0 on Monday in the class 1A PIAA baseball state playoffs at Boyce Mayview Park.

In seven innings, Shaffer pitched a no-hitter, striking out nine and leading the Panthers to an errorless victory.

“We feel fantastic,” said Saegertown assistant coach David Bradley. “Hank obviously pitched a fantastic baseball game. He’s was our leader as usual and we got the job done.”

Saegertown will play again on Thursday against Clarion. A time and location have yet to be determined.

In the first inning, Luke Young started the Panthers off on the right foot has he hit a triple to send a batter home. Henry Shaffer then hit an RBI single and scored himself on a passed ball to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead early.

Defensively, it was all Henry Shaffer and the strong defense behind him. The Panthers allowed no hits and no errors and completely shut down Bishop Canevin.

“The guys played terrific behind Hank,” said Bradley. “We talked about playing clean baseball behind him and that’s what they did. There was a lot of ground baseball and they played it perfectly.”

Back on offense, the Panthers didn’t need any more big hits to win the game. Henry Shaffer, William Shaffer, DeMarcus Manning, Sully Zirkle, and Wyatt Burchill all hit singles. But it was the Panthers’ base running that truly stood out. Saegertown stole eight bases total with Burchill stealing three alone.

“That’s just been our game plan every game so far this year,” said Bradley. “We want to get on the bases and we want to to run. That defines Saegertown baseball.”

If winning a state title wasn’t enough to motivate the Panthers this spring, there are a couple more factors pumping up the Panthers. The first is head coach Nick Leslie, who is currently serving a two-game suspension. Leslie has given the keys to the team to Bradley and now has his suspension half complete. If Saegertown can win against Clarion, they will get their head coach back for a game at Penn State.

“These guys absolutely played for coach Nick today,” said Bradley. “He’s our leader. We all love coaching with him or playing for him.”

The second motivator is a rematch with West Middlesex, who beat Saegertown 2-0 in the District 10 final on May 30.

“We can’t think that far ahead,” said Bradley. “I know Clarion is a good baseball team so we will have our hands full there.”

PIAA BASEBALL AND SOFTBA LL PREVIEWS

State playoff season

Saegertown to face WPIAL champion Bishop Canevin today

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

The Saegertown Panthers drew a tough opponent to open the PIAA baseball playoffs.

Saegertown (18-3) will play Bishop Canevin (15-3), the WPIAL champion, today at 5 p.m. at Boyce Mayview Park in Upper St Clair. It’s about 106 miles from Saegertown Junior-Senior High School for the first round Class 1A matchup.

“We are going to have our hands full with Bishop Canevin. From what I saw at the WPIAL Championships, they are solid up and down the lineup, play good defense and get good starting pitching,” Saegertown head coach Nick Leslie said. “That’s a pretty good recipe to win a lot of baseball games.”

The Crusaders entered the WPIAL playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the 12-team bracket. They won four games, including the championship game against California 8-5, to earn the right to play near home.

Bishop Canevin is led by its ace, sophomore Tyler Maddix. Maddix has 117 strikeouts in 50.1 innings this season. He’s allowed 18 hits and 11 earned runs.

Also on the mound is Kole Olszewski. He’s totaled 69 strikeouts in 45 innings with 16 earned runs.

“If we want to be effective against him, we have to compete in the box and take away what he wants to do (strike us out),” Leslie said. “If we have an effort like we did in the D-10 Championship game, I don’t think we will get the result we want.”

At the plate, Mason Glover has a .528 batting percentage. Maddix leads the team in hits (26) with Quentin White (24) and Olszewski (22) following.

For Saegertown, Henry Shaffer is the ace with Wyatt Burchill and Joe Grundy seeing significant time as well. Shaffer started in last week’s District 10 championship game and fanned eight batters in a 2-0 loss to West Middlesex.

“The pitching plan we had in D-10 will work again against their lineup and we have quite a few guys that can execute that plan,” Leslie said. “We are still working Hank through some muscle soreness so starting pitching is going to be a game-time decision.”

Shaffer is also the team’s leading batter with a .636 percentage. He has 42 hits and four homers on the season.

Late in the game against West Middlesex, Leslie was ejected after a physical play near the plate. Because of the disqualification, he is suspended for two games. David Bradley will be acting head coach today.

“It is unfortunate, but our head assistant coach David Bradley has done an incredible job all year. In the dugout, he’s seen as our second head coach,” Leslie said. “He commands respect, knows the game and our guys respond to him. We are in real good shape in that respect going into the tournament.”

The winner of today’s game will play the winner of Clarion (9-1) and Harmony (6-2) on Thursday at a time and place to be determined in the quarterfinal round.

Panthers fall short in district final

By Corey J. Corbin

CNHI NEWS SERVICE

SLIPPERY ROCK — Saegertown’s hopes for back-to-back District 10 championships fell short.

The defending Class 1A champion Panthers managed just two hits against West Middlesex senior ace Richie Preston in a 2-0 setback Monday afternoon in the District 10 Finals at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park.

“We had some opportunities early and we just didn’t execute,” Saegertown coach Nick Leslie said. “It’s the little stuff you talk about in the preseason … the two-strike hitting, the bunting. I told the guys after the game that those two items don’t really rear their head until playoff time when you’re facing a good pitcher and in a tight ballgame.”

Even with the loss, the Panthers’ quest for a state crown remains still alive but the District 10 runners-up will have to get through the WPIAL champion — either California or Bishop Canevin — in the first round of the PIAA tournament on June 5. The WPIAL will contest its Class 1A championship game at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

“Whenever we get another day in the sun, we’re going to enjoy it,” Leslie said. “Yeah, we would’ve loved to win another D10 title, but we’re still in the tournament and we still have some hope and some life. At this point, anything can happen.”

Monday at ‘The Jack,’ neither offense could generate much offense with Preston and Saegertown’s Henry Shaffer firmly entrenched in a pitcher’s duel.

A year after tossing a twohit shutout in a 6-0 shutout of Sharpsville in D10 2A Finals, Preston — a Salem International University recruit — fired another two-hitter against the Panthers in addition to striking out a career- high 10 and walking three (one intentionally) and hitting a pair of batters.

“Big-time players come through in big-time moments,” West Middlesex coach Kolten Hoffman said. “When Richie is locating his fastball, he’s just so tough to hit. He’s mid- to upper- 80s. Whether he’s locating up, down, in, out, he’s tough to hit. He adds this sweeper like they like to call it in the big leagues now. He mixed that in when he needed to to get big strikeouts.”

Shaffer — a Penn State Behrend recruit — nearly matched Preston pitch-forpitch, striking out eight, scattering six hits and walking four in a 108-pitch effort.

“He just competed every inning,” Leslie said. “He was able to throw strikes early and keep them off balance. That’s always been his game plan. He was dealing with arm issues throughout the regular season, so we were limiting his pitch counts and innings but he showed up today and that’s all we could ask for.”

Preston came up big when his team needed him the most, working out of bases loaded jams in the first and fifth innings.

In the first, Saegertown (183) loaded the bases against Preston with one away with singles from Luke Young and Hank Shaffer and a hit by pitch from Sully Zirkle, but Preston recorded back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the jam.

The Panthers filled the bases again in the fifth without a hit on free passes to Everett Gardner and Shaffer and Jon Grundy’s hit by pitch, but Preston got Zirkle to ground out to second for the final out.

“(Preston) was at his best when he was in jams,” Hoffman said. “He just found another level both times. He definitely did that in the first and fifth innings. He had 28 pitches in the first inning, put his head down and continued to grind after that.”

West Middlesex struck first in the fourth when Evan Gilson — who singled in his first at bat — doubled home courtesy runner Logan Kent for a 1-0 lead.

The Big Reds made it 2-0 in the top of the seventh when Blaze Knight sent a rope past a diving Young for a stand-up triple before scoring on a Julian Trott double.

“You look up and down our statline and you never say ‘Wow, look out for this kid — except for Richie when he’s on the mound, because he’s a stud,’” Hoffman said. “We’ve got nine guys we feel we can compete with in our order. Evan Gilson hitting in the seven hole two hits today … a big double to score the first run across to kinda break the ice, so I have confidence one through nine that we’re never going to have a down inning.

“Credit to our guys for scratching a run across in the seventh. Blaze Knight and (Trott) with big swings gave us an insurance run, which was huge.”

Moments later with one away, Trott — who stole third — broke for home on a Devin Gruver grounder to short but got caught in a rundown before being ‘tagged’ out by Shaffer in front of the plate. During the tag, both players ended up on the ground, causing tempers to flare and a brief dustup around the plate.

After sending both teams to their respective dugouts, the game’s officiating crew circled up and ultimately ejected Trott and Leslie.

“It was an unfortunate situation,” Hoffman said. “You never want to see something like that happen. I thought (Trott) was in a rundown and he made his commitment to go home and he turned and it kind of just happened. I don’t think there was malicious intent. Obviously when you have that kind of contact, boys will be boys and tempers are going to get going. That’s not how we want to play the game. The umpires told me they thought it was malicious contact and that was why they removed him from the game. I disagree with that assessment, but it’s not my decision at the end of the day.”

“There’s no criticism of anybody,” Leslie said. “In that situation, I should’ve done a better job of keeping a cooler head. I explained to my group (after the game) when you see one of your own rolling around in pain. It’s kind of like your own kid and it’s hard to not get emotional about that. One thing that I’ll never apologize for is for going to bat for our kids and being there when they need me. Could I have done it in a better way? Absolutely!”

After getting out of the seventh trailing 2-0 and down to their final three outs, Saegertown went down quietly with West Middlesex senior Gio Rococi earning the save with a five-pitch strikeout.

SAEGERTOWN - WEST MIDDLESEX

Saegertown  (0)  (AB-R-H-BI)  Burchill 3-0-0-0,   Young 3-0-1-0,  H. Shaffer 3-0-1-0,  Zirkle 2-0-0-0,  W. Shaffer 3-0-0-0, Manning 2-0-0-0, Joe Grundy 3-0-0-0, Gardner 2-0-0-0, Jon Grundy 2-0-0-0. Totals 22-0-2-0. 

West Middlesex (2) (AB-R-H-BI) Julian 3-0-1-1, Devin 2-0-0-0, Gio 3-0-0-0, Preston 4-0-1-0, Kyle 3-0-1-0, Evan 3-0-2-1, Tyler 3-0-0-0, Blaze 3-1-1-0. Totals 27-2-6-2. 

West Middlesex 000 100 1 — 2 6 1 

Saegertown 000 000 0 — 0 2 2 

BATTING

2B: WM — Evan, Julian.

3B: WM — Blaze.

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) S — H. Shaffer LP 7-6-2-2-8-2; WM — Preston WP 6.2-2-0-0-10-4, Gio 0.1-0-0-0-1-0.

Region-leading Saegertown playing for title

By Owen Krepps

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

Saegertown (18-2) will play for the District 10 Class 1A Championship today at Slippery Rock University at 11 a.m.

As the top team in Region 3, Saegertown is coming off a 16-2 regular season and a 14-4 playoff win over the Cochranton Cardinals.

The Panthers have been led by Penn State Behrend commit Henry Shaffer, who does a little bit of everything for the team. The senior has four home runs, 37 RBIs, and .641 batting average according to MaxPreps.

With 14 runs in each of their playoff games so far, scoring hasn’t been a problem for Saegertown. This is why head coach Nick Leslie emphasizes defense as the key to the championship game.

“West Middlesex can put the ball in play,” said Leslie. “We have to complete the defensive plays. If we don’t do that, we won’t have a good outcome. When we play good defense, we can compete with just about anybody.”

The Panthers have just three seniors on their team, Shaffer, Josephy Grundy, and Sully Zirkle.

As for West Middlesex, the Big Reds are 13-9 overall and defeated both Reynolds and Youngsville to advance to the final.

First baseman and pitcher Kyle Gibson has a 0.395 batting average and 0.458 on-base percentage.

Panthers beat Cards, will play for title

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

The Saegertown Panthers, led by Henry Shaffer’s six RBIs, beat Cochranton 14-4 in the District 10 Class 1A semifinals on Thursday.

The mercy-rule win in five innings at Allegheny College’s Garbark Field clinched an appearance in Monday’s District 10 title game. Saegertown will play West Middlesex at Slippery Rock University at 11 a.m.

Shaffer, a Penn State Behrend commit, was 4-4 at the plate and was a double short of a cycle. The senior homered in the second inning to push the Panthers ahead 2-0 and hit an RBI triple in the third inning.

“Hank is so dynamic, especially at the plate and on offense,” Saegertown head coach Nick Leslie said. “He is able to do things as far as adjust pitch to pitch that a lot of kids in this area can’t. He really led us today. We had a huge triple from Wyatt and Hank hit a two run home run that really set the tone for the game and for his day.

“He is invaluable. One of those seniors you hate to lose, but will love to see play at the next level.”

Saegertown scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth to bring the mercy-rule into play. In the inning, Saegertown reached base on three singles, three errors, two walks, one intentional walk and one hit by pitch. The 14th run came on a William Shaffer RBI single that scored Luke Young.

Saegertown tallied 10 hits. Daniel Manning had two with Wyatt Burchill, W. Shaffer, Joe Grundy and Young each adding one.

“We had a really good practice leading up to the game. Good teams made adjustments,” Leslie said. “We’ve seen Cochranton a few times this season and I think we had a good game plan.”

On the mound, Burchill allowed one hit in three innings of work. Grundy pitched two innings in relief and allowed four hits and one earned run.

For Cochranton, senior Jack Rynd led with two hits. Andrew Albert, Walker Carroll and Brayden Burnette each had one. The Cardinals finished the season 9-13.

Panthers finish strong

SAEGERTOWN — Saegertown beat Eisenhower 14-1 in five innings in the Panthers regular season finale in Region 3 baseball action on Wednesday.

Senior Henry Shaffer was 3-3 with four RBIs, a double and a triple to pace the Panthers.

A nine-run fourth inning pushed Saegertown ahead for the mercy-rule win.

Saegertown finished the season 17-2 overall and 15-1 in the region.

Shaffer sends Saegertown celebrating

By Owen Krepps

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS — The Region 3 champion Saegertown Panthers prevailed in a close region baseball game against the Cambridge Springs Blue Devils 8-6 Tuesday in Cambridge.

Saegertown’s Henry Shaffer, a Penn State Behrend commit, homered in the top of the sixth inning to give the Panthers two runs, and the eventual game-winning score. He had an impressive game with four RBIs.

It was yet another close game between the two PENNCREST rivals.

“Whenever we play Cambridge, tensions and emotions run high,” said Saegertown head coach Nick Leslie. “They’re a good squad and they’re real gritty. We just came out and we did what we normally do, which is hit the ball.”

Saegertown caps off a 2-0 season series win. However, both games were close, with the other being an 11-10 loss in early April.

Wanting another shot, Cambridge Springs head coach Andy Brown is already salivating at the idea of a potential playoff game between the two teams.

“They are a heck of a team over there and No. 1 for a reason,” said Brown. “But honestly, I’ll tell you what, I think we can swing with them and I hope we see them again because it’s gonna be a showdown.”

On the mound to start the game for Cambridge was senior Bradyn Field who pitched just over five innings before being replaced by Tristen Mazzadra.

Saegertown started sophomore Wyatt Burchill and both Shaffer and DeMarcus Manning came in as relief.

Saegertown got out to an early lead in the first inning as a double by Shaffer scored two. Manning added an RBI single to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

Slowly but surely, Cambridge fought back. A well-placed single from Owen Riley loaded the bases for the Blue Devils, who narrowed the lead down to one in the second inning. Both Bryce Kania and Preston Gorton had RBI hits.

Base running was a critical part in this game with both sides using speed to their advantage. In the third inning, Cambridge’s Ryan Thayer stole home after a bad pitch to tie the game at three.

“That’s a part of our game and obviously for them too,” said Leslie. “They’ve got great team speed. And for us we are always trying to create.”

The game remained closely contested in the middle innings. Strong infielding and pitching limited hits, which made base running even more important.

With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Gorton bravely stole home to give the Blue Devils their first lead of the game 4-3.

Cambridge battled to get back into the game, but then let its momentum slip in the fifth inning as Saegertown started to see the ball.

Shaffer would start the inning off with a big double and Sully Zirkle sent him home with a double. Saegertown grabbed the lead back with another hit from Manning and an error from the Cambridge defense.

But Cambridge wouldn’t go away as they tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with Manning pitching for Saegertown.

Mazzadra hit a double to tie things at five. Saegertown ended the inning with a chase-down on the third base line.

The sixth inning would be where Saegertown took the lead for good as Shaffer’s home run made it 7-5 and went on to be the game-winner.

Manning added a double to make the margin three for the trailing Blue Devils, who scored one run in the sixth, but none in the seventh.

“We just made a couple more mistakes than them,” said Brown simply. “They’re at the top of the league for a reason so we are watching little things that they do and learning,” the first-year head coach added.

Both teams have one more game remaining in the regular season. The 10-6 Blue Devils will play Rocky Grove at 4:30 today on the road.

The 16-2 Panthers will travel to

SAEGERTOWN - CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS

Saegertown (8) (AB-R-H-BI) Burchill 3-1-1-0, Young 3-2-1-0, H. Shaffer 4-3-3-4, Zirkle 4-2-1-1, W. Shaffer 2-0-1-0, Manning 4-0-3-3, Joe. Grundy 4-0-0-0, Jordan 3-0-0-0, Jon. Grundy 2-0-0-0. 

Totals 29-8-10-8. 

Cambridge Springs (6) (AB-R-H-BI) Bry. Kania 3-1-1-1, P. Gorton 4-1-1-1, Bre. Kania 2-0-0-0, Field 3-0-2-0, Jardina 3-0-1-1, Gage 2-2-0-0, Mazzadra 4-0-1-1, J. Gorton 4-1-1-0, Riley 4-0-1-0. 

Totals 29-6-8-4. 

Saegertown 300 023 0 — 8 10 3 

Cambridge Springs 021 111 0 — 6 8 1 

BATTING

2B: S — H. Shaffer; C — Mazzadra, Jardina HR: S — H. Shaffer 

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) S — Burchill WP 4.0-6-4-2-3-4, Manning WP 2.0-2-2-2-3-0, H. Shaffer WP 1.0-0-0-0-0-1; C — Field LP 5.2-9-8-6-3-4, Mazzadra 1.1-1-0-0-2-1. 

Records: Saegertown 16-2; Cambridge Springs 10-6.

Shaffer’s walk-off gives Panthers win in region battle

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

SAEGERTOWN— Henry Shaffer’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning paved the way for a Saegertown 10-9 Region 3 victory over Iroquois at home.

This came after Iroquois fought back from a five-run deficit to tie the game. Ben Burkhardt, Joe Doverspice and Cole Bennett all had hits for Iroquois.

The Panthers had nine hits total. Luke Young and DeMarcus Manning both had multiple. Wyatt Burchill stole two bases.

On the mound, William Shaffer started for Saegertown and pitched five innings before he was replaced by Joseph Grundy and Everett Gardner.

The 15-2 Saegertown Panthers will travel to play Cambridge Springs today at 4 p.m.

Panthers win in extras

YOUNGSVILLE — Saegertown scored four runs in the eighth inning to beat Youngsville 11-8 and take a two-game lead in Region 3.

A Sully Zirkle sacrifice fly scored Wyatt Burchill for the goahead run. Luke Young scored on a wild pitch for a two-run lead in the eighth. William Shaffer hit a tworun single to score Henry Shaffer and Joe Grundy and give the Panthers a four-run cushion.

Saegertown is 13-2 overall and 12-1 in region action. Youngsville is now 10-3 in region play. Saegertown will play at Eisenhower on Friday.

Monster inning

Panthers use 10-run inning to best Tigers

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

SAEGERTOWN — Saegertown used a 10-run fifth inning to beat Region 3 opponent Maplewood on Monday at Ed Acker American Legion Field.

Maplewood took a 4-0 lead in the third inning. Levi Willison hit an RBI double to score Landyn Reynolds. The Tigers scored in each of the next three at bats to take the lead.

Saegertown answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Facing a 5-2 deficit in the fifth inning, the Panthers offense came up big.

Consecutive walks and an RBI single from Henry Shaffer got things started. Sully Zirkle followed with an RBI to tie the game at 5. Saegertown took the lead and added to it with runs from Joe Grundy, Luke Young, Reese Wilkinson, Garrett Crawford, Wyatt Burchill and William Shaffer.

The Tigers scored three runs in the sixth inning, but couldn’t get any closer.

Maplewood out-hit Saegertown 10-7 and had two less errors. The Tigers walked 13 batters to Saegertown’s seven, which was the biggest difference in the game.

Saegertown is 12-2 overall and 10-1 in the region. The Panthers will play at Youngsville on Wednesday.

Maplewood is 6-5 overall and 5-5 in region action. The Tigers will play at Cambridge Springs today.

Cardinals beat region leading Panthers 7-3

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

COCHRANTON — The Cochranton Cardinals beat Saegertown 7-3 in a Region 3 battle on Friday.

Cochranton out-hit the Panthers 7-6 and made fewer errors. Cochranton sophomore Ben Field was 3-3 with one run and one RBI. Brayden Burnette was 2-3 with two runs and one RBI.

The Cardinals scored three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-1 lead. Walker Carroll hit an RBI double to score Burnette. Carroll scored on a groundout and on the same play Jack Rynd came home on a Saegertown error.

Sophomore Andrew Albert got the win on the mound. He struck out six batters in six innings of work with two earned runs. Carroll pitched one inning of relief and had two strike outs.

For Saegertown, Sully Zirkle had a solo homer in the top of the second inning. Henry Shaffer and Jon Grundy each had two hits. Shaffer struck out seven in four innings of action.

Saegertown is 11-2 overall and 9-1 in the region. Despite getting their first region loss of the season, the Panthers still lead Region 3. Saegertown is scheduled to host Maplewood on Monday.

Cochranton is 6-7 overall and 7-4 in region action. The Cardinals are scheduled to play at Cambridge Springs on Monday.

COCHRANTON - SAEGERTOWN

Saegertown (3) (AB-R-H-BI) Burchill 4-0-0-0, Young 4-1-1-0, H. Shaffer 3-1-2-0, W. Shaffer 3-0-0-1, Manning 3-0-0-0, Zirkle 3-1-1-1, Jon Grundy 2-0-2-0, Joe Grundy 2-0-0-0, Crawford 1-0-0-0, Gardner 2-0-0-0. Totals 27-3-6-2. 

Cochranton (7) (AB-R-H-BI) Foulk 3-1-0-0, Brunette 3-2-2-0, Carroll 3-1-1-1, Rynd 4-1-1-1, Long 4-0-0-1, Field 3-1-3-1, McDonough 3-1-0-0, Albert 3-0-0-0, Goodge 2-0-0-0, Hill 1-0-0-1. Totals 29-7-7-5. 

Saegertown 010 020 0 — 3 6 6 

Cochranton 103 021 x — 7 7 3 

BATTING

2B: S — Shaffer, J. Grundy; C — Carroll. HR: S — Zirkle 

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) S — H. Shaffer LP 4-4-4-2-7-2, Gardner 2-3-3-2-2-3; C — Albert WP 6-6-3-2-6-2, Carroll 1-0-0-0-2-0. 

Records: Saegertown 11-2, Cochranton 6-7.

Panthers win both in doubleheader

SAEGERTOWN — The Saegertown baseball team beat Rocky Grove 11-1 and 17-1 in a doubleheader on Thursday.

In the first game, the Panthers outhit the Orioles 14-1 in the five-inning contest. Joe Grundy earned the win on the bump.

Henry Shaffer was 3-3 with a double and Wyatt Burchill was 2-3 with a triple.

In the second contest, the Panthers totaled 15 hits. Burchill had two doubles. Zully Zirkle, Gabriel Jordan and Conner Shaw each had a double.

Saegertown is 11-1 overall and 9-0 in Region 3 play. The Panthers are scheduled to play at Eisenhower on Saturday.

Panthers too much for Bears

SAEGERTOWN — The Saegertown Panthers used an eight-run opening inning to beat Region 3 foe Union City 9-4 on Wednesday.

Wyatt Burchill earned the win on the bump with six strikeouts in three innings. In relief, William Shaffer fanned nine in four innings.

Burchill and Gabriel Jordan each hit a double. Henry Shaffer was 2-3 with one run scored.

Saegertown is 9-1 overall and 7-0 in the region. The Panthers are scheduled to host Rocky Grove today at 3 p.m. in a doubleheader to make up a weather-canceled game from earlier this season.

SAEGERTOWN - UNION CITY

Union City (4) (AB-R-H-BI) Shuman 4-1-1-1, Magee 4-1-2-0, Capela 4-1-1-1, Drayer 4-0-1-0, Klakump 4-0-0-0, Doutt 2-00-0, Racop 3-0-0-0, Post 3-1-2-0, Post 2-0-0-0. Totals 30-4-7-2. Saegertown (9) (AB-R-H-BI) Burchill 3-2-2-2, Young 2-1-1-2, H. Shaffer 3-1-2-1, Shaw 1-0-0-0, W. Shaffer 3-1-1-1, Manning 2-1-1-0, Crawford 1-0-0-0, Zirkle 3-1-1-1, Joe Grundy 3-0-0-0, Jordan 2-1-1-0, Gardney 2-1-0-0. Totals 25-9-9-7. 

Union City 004 000 0 — 4 7 3 

Saegertown 800 001 x — 9 9 4 

BATTING 2B: UC— Post, Magee; S — Burchill, Jordan.

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) UC — Post LP 5-9-9-5-5-2, Racop 1-0-0-0-1-0; S — Burchill WP 3-4-4-2-6-1, W. Shaffer 4-3-0-0-9-1.

Records: Union City 3-7, Saegertown 9-1.

Panthers blow out Eagles 8-0

SAEGERTOWN — The Saegertown baseball team beat Youngsville 8-0 behind Henry Shaffer’s two-hit performance on the mound.

Shaffer fanned 12 batters and walked one. He was 1-4 with two runs scored at bat. Wyatt Burchill was 2-3 with a triple. Joe Grundy and Sully Zirkle each had two hits.

Saegertown is 8-1 overall and 6-0 in Region 3. The Panthers are scheduled to play at Eisenhower on Monday.

SAEGERTOWN - YOUNGSVILLE

Youngsville (0) (AB-R-H-BI) Johnson 3-0-0-0, DeSimone 3-0-1-0, Lucks 3-0-0-0, Manning 2-0-0-0, Mesel 3-0-1-0, Dalrymple 3-0-0-0, Manusco 3-0-0-0, Mesel 2-0-0-0, Senz 2-0-0-0. Totals 24-0-2-0. 

Saegertown (8) (AB-R-H-BI) Burchill 3-1-2-0, Young 2-2--0-0, H. Shaffer 4-2-1-1, W. Shaffer 1-1-0-1, Manning 4-0-1-0, Zirkle 3-1-2-0, Crawford 3-1-0-0. Joe Grundy 4-0-2-1, Jordan 2-0-0--0. Totals 26-8-8-3. 

Youngsville 000 000 0 — 0 2 5 

Saegertown 302 201 x — 8 8 2 

BATTING

3B: S — Burchill.

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) Y — Luck LP 3.2-7--7-3-2-2, Johnson 2.1-1-1-1-2-2; S — H. Shaffer 6.1-2-0-0-12-1, Joe Grundy 0.2-0-0-0-0-0. 

Records: Youngsville 6-2, Saegertown 8-1.

Saegertown wins on the road

ERIE — The Saegertown baseball team beat Iroquois 7-1 in a Region 3 game on Wednesday.

Wyatt Burchill and Sully Zirkle each scored two runs in the game. Joe Grundy and Everett Gardner were each 2-4.

Saegertown is 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the region. The Panthers will host Youngsville on Friday.

Panthers too much for Tigers

RANDOLPH TOWNSHIP — The Saegertown baseball team beat Region 2 foe Maplewood 13-1 on Friday.

The Panthers led 5-1 after the first inning and with a six-run outburst in the fifth, clinched a mercy-rule victory over the Tigers.

Saegertown’s Luke Young, Joe Grundy and Gabriel Jordan each had a double. Sully Zirkle, Henry Shaffer and Wyatt Burchill each had multiple hits for the Panthers.

On the bump, Shaffer struck out six batters in four innings. The Penn State Behrend commit held Maplewood to one hit.

Saegertown is 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the region. The Panthers are scheduled to host Youngsville, which is 5-0 in the region, today.

Maplewood is 3-1 overall and in region action. The Tigers are scheduled to host Iroquois today.

Gutsy scores

Seventh inning rally pushes Panthers past Cardinals 8-7

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

SAEGERTOWN — The Saegertown Panthers used aggressive base running in the seventh inning to rally past Cochranton on Wednesday.

Saegertown trailed 7-4 entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Henry Shaffer reached first on a Cochranton error and scored on a Garrett Crawford ground out, but the Panthers still trailed by two runs and had two outs.

Sully Zirkle was hit by a pitch to take a base. Jon Grundy followed with a hard grounder and reached first on a fielders choice. Another fielders choice allowed Zirkle to score and put Gabriel Jordan on base. Both Zirkle and Jordan stole at the same time to put runners at second and third.

“Base running is an underutilized tool in high school baseball. We work on it every single day and try to be aggressive on the base paths and get into scoring position,” Saegertown head coach Scott Leslie said. “In that last inning, there was no doubt we would try to double steal to get the tying run off of second base, so we just needed one hit to tie the game.”

With a passed ball, Grundy scored from third base to tie the game. Just a few pitches later, another passed ball allowed Jordan to score and give Saegertown the win. “They just never die,” Leslie said. “You can’t teach that type of thing. We can teach Xs and Os and mechanics, but that type of grit and determination until the 21st out is recorded, you can’t teach that.”

Saegertown won despite being outhit 9-4. Cochranton freshman Walker Carroll fanned 11 batters in five innings of work and allowed one earned run.

Cochranton head coach Scott Barzak wanted to re-enter Carroll into the game when the Cardinals led 7-6, but was unable to. The home team’s scorebook had Carroll at 100 pitches, but Cochranton had him at 99.

“Walker did well on the mound. He had a rough first inning and walked a couple guys, but after that he settled in and threw strikes, which is what we needed. He did a great job,” Barzak said. “We were right where we needed to be going into that seventh inning, we just couldn’t finish it off. We should have been able to bring him back. We had two guys counting pitches and had him at 99.”

Before the discrepancy with the pitch count, Cochranton had two opportunities to get the final out.

“We have to make a play in the infield. We didn’t make a lot of plays there. We needed one more out and we missed the opportunity a couple times,” Barzak said. “That’s what came back to bite us in the end. We should have had the third out before they had the run to come within one.”

Cochranton got multiple hits from Isaiah Long, Ben Field and Brayden Burnette. Carroll had a double and two RBIs.

“We hit the ball well, but our base running was really suspect,” Barzak said. “We had a few where we ran into outs that we shouldn’t have. We will clean that up.”

Cochranton is 2-5 overall and 2-2 in Region 3 action. The Cardinals will host Cambridge Springs on Friday.

Saegertown is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the region. The Panthers will play at Maplewood on Friday. “We’re really young. Their guy, Walker, he did an excellent job. I liked how our guys competed,” Leslie said. “We’re not to where we need to be come playoff time but we got one percent better today. If you add those up over the season hopefully we’re playing our best baseball come playoff time.”

SAEGERTOWN - COCHRANTON

Cochranton (7) (AB-R-H-BI) Long 5-2-3-0, Burnette 2-2--2-1, Carroll 4-0-1-2, Rynd 4-0-1-2, Foulk

3-0-0-0, Field 2-2-2-0, McDonough 3-0-0-1, Hoban 1-0-0-0, Yunik 2-0-0-0, Hill 1-0-0-0, Heald 2-1-0-0, Albert 0-0-0-0.

Totals 29-7-9-6. 

Saegertown (8) (AB-R-H-BI) Burchill 2-1-0-0, Young 3-2-1--0, H. Shaffer 4-1-1-1, W. Shaffer 4-0-1-0, Manning 2-0-0-0, Crawford 2-0-0-1, Zirkle 2-1-1-0, Mosbacher 3-0-0-0, Grundy 1-1-0--0, Jordan 3-1-0-1, Gardner 2-0-0-0.

Totals 28-8-4-3. 

Cochranton 012 021 1 — 7 9 5 

Saegertown 200 011 4 — 8 4 2 

BATTING

2B: C — Carroll.

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) C — Burnett LP 1.2-0--5-1-0-3, Carroll 5-4-3-1-11-3; S — Grundy WP 0.2-0-0-0-2-1, W. Shaffer 2.1-6-4-4-1-3, Burchill 4-3-3-2-3-4. 

Records: Cochranton 2-5, Saegertown 5-1.

Saegertown

The Saegertown baseball program had a successful 2022 season. The Panthers won the Class 1A District 10 championship in an 11-1 effort against Kennedy Catholic.

Saegertown won a state playoff game before the Panthers were eliminated by Du-Bois Central Catholic in the state quarterfinal round. It was the last game for longtime head coach Scott Walters, as well as eight seniors, five of which were all-region selections.

This season, the Panthers will be led by Nick Leslie and will have a youthful lineup.

Leslie is entering his 12th season of coaching. He was an assistant at DuBois Area High School, Gannon University, a head coach at McDowell and was a volunteer assistant with Saegertown last season.

“Saegertown has a great baseball tradition and is supported extremely well by the community. It was an easy decision to buy into that culture and build upon what had been started,” Leslie said. “Even though I’m newer to the area, I’m not new to the game. When the position opened, it was an easy decision to jump in and continue what coach Walters had been doing. Plus, we have an excellent group of coaches who stayed on to help.”

Leading the charge this season will be Henry Shaffer. The senior committed to play baseball at Penn State Behrend in February and is the returning region player of the year and pitcher of the year in Region 3.

Leslie expects to lean on Shaffer’s ability and experience this season.

“He’s always been a leader, but in the past he’s been able to do it with on-field play. This year he finds himself in a new role, as mentor,” Leslie said. “The younger guys look up to him and it’s going to be important he communicates and talks them through different situations that we are going to face through the season.”

Also returning are Joe Grundy and Wyatt Burchill. Guys who will be in the mix to see significant playing time are Torre Mosbacher, Garrett Crawford, Jon Grundy, Gabriel Jordan and Connor Shaw.

The expectations this year are the same as last season.

“Each one of our student athletes are trying to get one percent better every day. It doesn’t matter if we are practicing, playing or weightlifting. We are focused on improving our individual and team skills,” Leslie said. “Add those one percents up over the course of the year and we will be much better at the end of the season than the beginning.”

Saegertown dominates Union City

UNION CITY — The Saegertown baseball team opened its region schedule with an 11-1 mercy-rule win at Union City on Tuesday.

On the mound, senior and Penn State Behrend commit Henry Shaffer struck out seven batters in three innings and allowed one earned run. He also scored two runs.

Wyatt Burchill, Joe Grundy and Luke Young each had multiple hits for the Panthers.

Saegertown is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Region 3 action. The Panthers are scheduled to host Rocky Grove today.

Panthers lose season opener 7-4

The Saegertown baseball team lost its season opener 7-4 to Northpoint Christian Academy on Thursday on its spring trip.

The Panthers registered three hits in the loss. Wyatt Burchill, Henry Shaffer and Garrett Crawford each recorded a single.

Burchill, Luke Young and William Shaffer combined to pitch seven inning and strike out 13 batters.

Saegertown will play Saint Anne High School today.