Valley Sports ReportATHENS — Once you fall into the consolation brackets, it's all about surviving and advancing, and that's exactly what Athens did here Monday night with a 5-4 win over Tioga-Lawrenceville in the consolation bracket semifinals.
Athens will host Wellsboro Wednesday in the consolation bracket finals at 6 p.m., with the winner advancing to play Elk Lake on Friday.
Athens, playing as the visiting team, took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on RBI singles by Easton Hubbard and Carter Johnson, and an RBI double by Jacob Keene, but Tioga-Lawrenceville rallied.
T-L scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, and two more in the second to take a 4-3 lead.
From that point on, reliever E.J. Glielmi shut T-L down.
Athens couldn't get much going offensively either until Keene led off the fifth with a base on balls.
With one out, Rowan Morales stroked an RBI single to tie the game at 4-4.
After a pitching change and a passed ball, Jace Smith singled up the middle to give Athens a 5-4 lead.
Glielmi retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings, striking out the final five batters he faced, to preserve the win.
Glielmi earned the win with four innings of no-hit relief. He fanned nine and walked one.
Keene started for Athens, allowing three runs — one earned — on no hits, with three walks and three strikeouts. Hubbard allowed an unearned run on two walks and two strikeouts in 2/3 innings of relief.
Wyatt Raupers doubled and singled to pace Athens' seven-hit attack, while Keene doubled, scored one run, and drove in one run, Morales and Hubbard each singled, scored one run, and knocked in one run, and Johnson singled and had one RBI.
Glielmi and Connor Robinson each scored one run in the win.
