Propelled by Landon Hamer’s second inning homer and Dylan Ewing and Carter Price’s combined pitching performance of 7IP, 6H, 4K, 1ER (2R), and only one walk, Tyrone opened the playoffs with a 9-2 win against Philipsburg-Osceola on Monday.
Tyrone had previously ten-run-ruled the Mountaineers in their regular season matchup in five innings. Still, P.O. posted a regular season record of (13-4), and is consistently a threat in the Class AAA playoffs. In a lose-and-go-home playoff format, there can be no mistakes.
When asked about the gravity of these games, senior Ashton Walk commented, “We have to go into each game realizing that it could be our last, and play have to make sure it’s not.”
Tyrone jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first. Aggressive baserunning highlighted the Golden Eagles’ energy in the game. Tyrone scored two in the second. Senior catcher Landon Hamer left the yard for a two-run homer. They also scored three more runs in the fourth and one in the fifth.
P.O. would score their earned run off Ewing in the fourth inning off a double from sophomore Nick Desimmone. Ewing would come out after the fourth, and Carter Price was given the rock to close the door. He did just that, striking out one in three innings of work.
Offensive highlights for the Golden Eagles were a three-RBI game from Ashton Walk and Owen Oakes, who went 1-2 on the day with a single.
With the victory, Tyrone will travel on Friday, May 23rd to face the (13-5) Rangers, who remain the 1 seed in the district. Forest Hills ten-run ruled 8-seeded West Shamokin in their playoff opener.
The semifinal game begins at 4:00 PM at Forest Hills. The winner will advance to next Wednesday’s district championship game at Vets Field in Altoona.
“We’ll be the underdogs from here on out,” Tyrone Head Coach Kevin Soellner said. “(Forest Hills) has some good bats in its lineup, and two very good pitchers. They will definitely be tough.”
BOX SCORE
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (2): McDonald 2b 300, Baughman p-3b 313, Lamb ss 300, White 1b 300, Peterson 3b-cf 311, Yoder cf-p 300, Nyman c 000, Shaw dh 300, Desimond rf 302, Law lf 300. Totals – 27-2-6.
TYRONE (9): Hamer c 413, Stroup cr 010, B. McClure 2b 411, Walk ss 312, Kustenbauder 3b 210, Ewing p 000, Oakes dh 201, Shirey lf 301, C. McClure 1b 200, Jones ph 100, Miller rf 311, Parsons cf 131. Totals – 21-9-10.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Philipsburg-Osceola 100 100 0–2-6-2
Tyrone 320 310 X–9-10-1
E–McDonald, Desimond, Kustenbauder. 2B–Baughman, Petreson, Desimond, Hamer, Walk, Parsons. HR–Hamer. RBI-White, Desimond, Walk 3, Hamer 2, Ewing. SF–Oakes. SB–Kustenbauder 2, McClure, Miller, Walk, Parsons. CS–Walk (Nyman to Peterson); Parsons (Yoder to White to Lamb). LOB–Philipsburg-Osceola 6, Tyrone 3. HBP–Parsons (by Baughman); Kustenbauder (by Yoder). DP–Philipsburg defense turned one (McDonald unassisted to White); Tyrone turned one (B. McClure to Walk to C. McClure).
PITCHING
Philipsburg-Osceola: Baughman (L) 4IP, 8H, 7R, 4ER, 0BB, 0S0; Yoder 2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 3SO.
Tyrone: Ewing (W) 4IP, 4H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 3SO; Price (SV) 3IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1SO.
Umpires: Steve Oakes (plate); Logan Barkman (first base); John Garritano (third base).
Records: Philipsburg-Osceola (13-5); Tyrone (15-5).
