DUBOIS — Facing the persistent and high octane offense of Bellefonte, the St. Marys baseball team could not contain their opponents, being shut out 14-0 in five innings and eliminated just one game away from a state tournament berth.
After beating Clearfield in the District 9 Class 4A championship, the Dutchmen entered the sub-regional bracket, facing off against D8 champs Carrick. Downing Carrick with a comfortable 10-2 advantage, they then moved to the Red Raiders, a team that won their previous four games by a combined score of 44-7.
“We knew they were going to hit the ball so we were looking to minimize the damage and try to be careful,” said St. Marys head coach Jesse Beimel. “I mean, seven of (Bellefonte’s) guys are hitting over .300, one kid over .500, so it was trying to just minimize the damage early on.”
The Red Raiders got to work early, finding four hits and four scores in their first six batters. After going up eight early, Bellefonte’s defense would quickly close out the first inning without letting up a hit. A three-run homer from Bellefonte would put them up 12 in the second, only allowing the Dutch one hit in 17 total batters.
“They hit the ball incredibly well. Everything that was hit to us we fielded but (Bellefonte) hit a lot to the gaps and over the fence,” said Beimel. “It was one of those things where the gameplan went well, we pitched how we wanted to pitch but they hit some great pitches into some gaps.”
The lone St. Marys hit on the day came from Vinny Lenze, who batted a single in the bottom of the fourth.
“The main take today, especially with the seniors but really with everybody, was that this game didn’t end the way we wanted but we’re not going to forget about where we started and where we ended,” said Beimel. “We replaced nine seniors from last year, we won the Elk County tournament, we won a district title. This year we did things we haven’t done in 20 years, like win a postseason game. It was a great season and one game won’t change that.”
St. Marys:
Bellefonte:
Bellefonte 3, St. Marys 2
DUBOIS — A dominant season for the Lady Dutch led to a nail-biter in the Class 4A Sub-regional against Bellefonte.
At season’s end, St. Marys took on No. 2 Clearfield and clinched the District 9 Class 4A Championship on May 29th. Winning the title allowed the team to move forward into the Class 4A Sub-regional against District 6 champion, Bellefont. The winner of the matchup would get a PIAA state tournament berth, a reality that St. Marys hasnt faced in over 10 years.
The matchup began with an early lead from Belfonte, as they scored off of a home run in the top of the second inning. Things got interesting in the fourth inning, as both teams scored two runs, with the Lady Dutch’s scores coming from a line drive double from G Surra and a single from L Reiter.
With St. Marys trailing by a single score, neither team was able to score another point, resulting in the win for Belfonte.
K Young pitched for the Lady Dutch, throwing an impressive 13 strikeouts and allowing only five hits.
The Lady Dutch played an excellent regular season, finishing with a record of 15-3. Nine of the team’s wins were blowout victories where the opposing team were left scoreless; often defeating teams by 15 point spreads or more.
