NTL BASEBALL: SAYRE TOPS BLOOMSBURG; ADVANCE TO CLASS AA TITLE GAME (5 PHOTOS) (2019-05-22)

Valley Sports Report
MONTGOMERY "” Junior Quinn Hanafin pitched 5 1/3 innings of brilliant relief, and six different Sayre players collected at least one RBI in an 8-5 win over Bloomsburg in the semifinals of the District 4, Class AA baseball playoffs.

The Redskins, who won District 4, Class A titles in each of the last two years, will play top-seed South Williamsport in the Class AA championship game Tuesday at Bowman Field in Williamsport.

Sophomore Zach Moore and Hanafin each worked walks, sandwiched around a single to right field by junior Camden Wheeler, to load the bases to start the game. Freshman Brayden Horton pulled a sacrifice fly to right field to plate the game's first run, and senior James Esposito followed with another sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

Senior Jon Cron walked to lead off the second inning, and sophomore Jake Burgess followed with an opposite-field single to right field. After a passed ball moved the runners up, freshman David Northrup ripped a two-run double to left field to extend the lead to 4-0. With two outs, Hanafin belted an RBI double to make it 5-0.

The Redskins were poised to add more runs after Horton was intentionally walked, and Esposito was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Bloom starter Evan Long registered a strikeout to end the inning.

Bloomsburg sandwiched four singles around a key Sayre error to plate four runs in the home half of the second. Hanafin relieved with one out and runners on first and second, and was able to pitch around a walk to end the inning without any more damage.

After Wheeler led off the top of the fourth inning with a line-drive double, Hanafin was intentionally walked, and Horton was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

With one out, a comebacker to the mound resulted in a throwing error that allowed two runners to score, giving the Redskins a 7-4 lead. Following a walk to Cron, Burgess delivered another run with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-4.

Bloomsburg scored a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Hanafin was able to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the score at 8-5.

Hanafin pitched around a one-out double in the sixth inning, and a seventh-inning walk and hit batsman to preserve the win.

Wheeler doubled and singled, and scored two runs, and Burgess singled twice, scored one run, and drove in one run to pace Sayre's offense, which also took advantage of eight base on balls issued by Bloom pitchers.

Northrup doubled, scored one run, and had two RBI in the win, while Hanafin doubled, scored one run, and knocked in one run, Moore singled and scored one run, Horton scored one run and drove in one run, sophomore Nic Ficarro drove in two runs, Esposito drove in one run, and Cron scored one run.

Sayre improves to 12-8 on the season.

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IN PHOTO 1: Sayre's Camden Wheeler. ... PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRETT OLIVER.