But fall to Episcopal Academy 5-4 in tough loss

            Between clinching the league title and opening the Pennsylvania Independent

Perkiomen School third baseman John Crane catch- es a relay thro from pitcher Zach Smith on a swinging during the fourth inning Saturday, agains Episcopal Adademy.  The runner, who slid in safely, eventually scored on a hit.

School State Tournament, Perkiomen School's baseball team discovered its confidence in a win over The Hill School, according to Sam Glavin. The Panthers rallied from a four-run deficit against the Blues top pitcher to post a 9-5 victory.

            "We tattooed him," Glavin said. "At that point, we realized we could hit any pitcher."

            With a renewed feeling of confidence, Perkiomen School posted a pair of victories in the state tournament to advance to the semifinals last weekend at Upper Perkiomen High School. However, the season ended in a 5-4 loss to Episcopal Academy on May 26.

            The No. 6 seeded Churchmen scored twice in the bottom of the fourth inning to overcome a 4-3 deficit. The second run, off Panthers pitcher Zach Smith, was unearned.

            Glavin finished with a game-high four RBI for Perkiomen School, which scored twice in the second and third innings. John Crane added two hits.

            "This is the way I expected this team to play all season," head coach Ken Baker said. "I feel like we've always had this kind of ability."

            Two weeks earlier, the team overcame a 5-1 deficit with four runs in the third inning against Hill's ace Brennan Keil. Chris Pow finished with three hits and three RBI. Glavin contributed three hits.

            The No. 7 seeded Panthers (17-9), carried that confidence into the state tournament, starting with a 3-2 victory over Germantown Academy on May 23. David Smith tossed 5 1/3 innings to earn the victory. Carlos Torres tossed the final two 1 2/3 to post the save at Baker Field.

            They scored all their runs in the bottom of the third inning with two outs to overcome a 2-0 deficit. Glavin opened the rally with an RBI double. Crane followed with a two-run single.

            On Thursday, May 24, Perkiomen School banged out nine hits in a 5-4 win over Mercersburg Academy, the No. 2 seed. Urbina went 3-for-3 and Glavin added two hits for their team, which scored twice in the third inning three times in the fifth to overcome a 5-4 deficit.

            In the semifinals of the state tournament, the Panthers fell behind 2-0 in the first inning against Episcopal Academy, the No. 2 seed. However, they forced a 2-2 tie in second inning on consecutive RBI hits by Jayden Kemp and Torres. The next inning, they added two more runs on Glavin's double to right and a Crane's two-base hit to go ahead 4-3.

            However, the Churchmen scored twice in the bottom of the fourth inning. An infield error on a popup led to the second run, which scored on a bloop single to center.

            Though the Panthers managed just one hit over the final three inning, Baker said his hitters swung the bat with confidence.

            "We all hit the ball well," said Glavin, a senior. "We did a better job putting the ball in play, which is the biggest thing."