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The Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils came out strong in their semifinal game against Penn Cambria and defeated the Panthers 5-0 to advance into the championship.

The Blue Devils have not brought home a gold medal from Districts since 2003.

Even though the weather was chilly and misty, that did not stop the amazing performance of the Blue Devils.

Chad Luensmann’s pitching performance was on the ball and he was not giving in.  He tossed a four-hit shutout, striking out 11 batters and walking just one.

“Chad has been dominant all season long.  Each time he takes the mound, we feel that we can win.  It gives the other players confidence knowing that he is going to be throwing,” said Blue Devil coach Steve Conlon.

The game earned the Blue Devils, who are third-seeded, a spot in next week’s District 6-AA championship game against Richland, which is eighth-seeded.  It will be played at 7 p.m.  at People’s Natural Gas Field, home of the Altoona Curve.

“After having lost last year in the semi-finals in the last inning with two outs, it feels great to make it to the finals.  The kids have worked hard to get where they are at.  We are playing pretty good baseball and hope to continue in the final game, and carry it over to states,” said Colon.

Senior Trenton Creppage also smacked his 100^th career hit with a double that scored a run in the first inning.

“It’s a big goal for all high schoolers,” said Creppage.  He added, “I wasn’t thinking about my 100^th hit, just about getting the run in.

“It feels awesome, last year we were one pitch away from the District championship so it feels great for senior year.”

“Trenton has worked hard for four seasons.  Getting 100 hits in high school is a great accomplishment for him,” said Conlon.

Randy Zitterbart hit a triple and Noah Burns hit a double.

The Blue Devils had 5 RBI’s: 2 from Sawyer Kline and one each from Jordan McCracken, Zitterbart, and Creppage.

The baseball team’s record is now 20-4.