After winning the PA Region 2 Tournament a couple of weeks ago, Pennridge went on a tear through the first few days of the PA State Tournament. They won their first three games, securing an automatic bid to national regionals and the state championship round.
Since then, the newly crowned PA runner-up has dropped three contests in a row. The first two came at the hands of the eventual state champion, Spring City. That second loss jettisoned the team into the Great Lakes Regional out in Mattoon, Illinois. By luck of the draw, Pennridge was placed in the second game of the day against the Ohio state champions from Tuscarawas County.
Things didn't start off well for Pennridge, and they didn't get much better from there. A single, double, and wild pitch to open the game led to a runner at third and a run scored before starting pitcher Ryan Trauger had a chance to settle his nerves. A walk and an rbi double made, sandwiched between another wild pitch, made it 2-0. The seven hole hitter, Kyle Widder, drilled a three run homerun and the Ohio champs never looked back from their five run lead.
They got another run in the second, and three more in the fourth before Pennridge finally answered with three of their own. They did it the hard way, as they manufactured runs and capitalized on Tuscarawas' mistakes. The first run came on a wild pitch, the second an rbi groundout off of reliever Adam Mizer, and the last one came on another wild pitch.
Tuscarawas County tacked on three more before Pennridge plated their final run in the seventh on yet another wild pitch. The Ohio champions got one more in the eighth to end the scoring.
Final score: Tuscarawas County, OH 13, Pennridge, PA 4.
Tuscarawas County advances to game 8 of the tournament tomorrow night, while Pennridge will play again at approximately 1:30pm eastern time.
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