Bobcats Down Serra Catholic In PIAA State Class-1A Baseball Opening Round Game; Will Face Greensburg Central Catholic In Quarterfinals On Thursday (June 5th); (Ticket Info At Bottom Of Article)

Photo courtesy of Brinley Kiskadden-BK Media – Teammates and coaches celebrate with Derek after his three -run homer

The District Nine number 2 seed, Clarion Area Bobcats downed the District 7 (WPIAL) champion Serra Catholic Eagles with a thrilling 3-2 win in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) State Class-1A Baseball opening round on Monday (June 4th) at Norwin High School.

There was no scoring in the game until the Eagles plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth.

Then in the top of the fifth, with Dylan Smail on second and Noah Harrison on first, Derek Smail launched the ball over the fence in centerfield, giving the Bobcats a 3-2 lead that would stand, with neither team scoring a run the rest of the way.

Video of Derek’s home run:

https://www.facebook.com/640077379/videos/pcb.10162660577077380/1450555469436532

The Bobcats were in a pitching duel all game,with Serra Catholic’s Tyler Skaggs, who went the distance, with the Bobcats posting two hits and the Eagles with four hits for the game.

Derek was the starting pitcher and picked up the win for the Cats. He went 4 2/3 innings, giving up just the 4 hits, while walking five. Dylan went the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing 1 hit while striking out four.

Bobcats’ Coach Rob Jewett had this to say, “It was an awesome team win.

“This team never gives up!

“We didn’t hit that great, but Derek and Dylan did tremendous on the mound along with great defense behind them to keep us in the game. Dylan and Noah found a way to get on base, which was huge as Derek clutched up and hit a monster home run off an 0-2 pitch, pretty much the only mistake Serra Catholics’ pitcher made.

“Really proud of the fight these young men have. It’s really fun, and stressful, to watch!”

The Bobcats will now face the Greensburg Central Catholic Centurians, the WPIAL 5th seed, in the Class-1A quarterfinals on Thursday (June 5th) at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park. Game time is scheduled for 2:00 P.M. The game is part of a doubleheader, with Redbank Valley face WPIAL champion Freedom, in a matchup of Bulldogs, in the Class-2A quarterfinals, at 11:00 A.M.

Tickets are available by going to Store on the PIAA website.

(Let’s Go, Cats and Redbank Valley Bulldogs!! Thanks to Brinley Kiskadden-BK Media for her photo and to Jami Smail for the video link!!)