B-A Drops Heartbreaker to BEA in D6 Semifinals
Blue Devil senior Casey Gray unloads a pitch against Bald Eagle Area in the District 6-AA semifinals. BA lost 6-5 in Bald Eagle’s last at-bat.
Something that became a trend towards the end of the season turned out to be the reason the Bellwood-Antis baseball team was eliminated from the District 6-AA playoffs.
The Blue Devils lost to Bald Eagle Area yesterday in Wingate 6-5, with BEA rallying in its last at-bat to take the win.
It was the third time this year that B-A lost in its opponent’s final at-bat. Bellwood finished 19-4, and all four losses came by one run.
Bellwood-Antis went up 3-0 in the top of the first with a big hit by Tanner Snyder. Bald Eagle tied things up with a homer by Ryan Dyke in the bottom of the inning. B-A eventually took the lead 5-4 in the 6th on a sacrifice by Chad Luensmann.
In the seventh, two big hits from Bald Eagle Area scored two runs, giving the Eagles the 6-5 win.
The Blue Devils missed out on opportunities to capitalize, stranding 10 runners.
Luensmann was very upset by the loss.
“It’s pretty tough since we were two strikes away from the championship game,” he said. “But every loss has been like that. Three heartbreakers is a lot for one season. It’s tough because we felt we were the better team but didn’t come out on top.”
Coach Steve Conlin saw the game as another missed opportunity, despite a strong performance from Casey Gray, who allowed only four hits.
“We just couldn’t get a clutch hit,” he said.
