Upper Perkiomen's bid to reach the Pioneer Athletic Conference title game fizzled during the seventh inning Monday night. Pope John Paul II rallied for a 6-3 victory in the Final Four at Spring-Ford High School.
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Upper Perkiomen catcher Ryan Cairns, right, tags out Pope
John Paul II basrunner Kayden Witter at the plate during the
seventh inning Monday at Ram Stadium.
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The No. 4-seeded Panthers scored four runs off Jack Rieg and Benjamin Godshall to overcome a 3-2 deficit. A leadoff walk sparked the rally at Ram Stadium.
"The hardest thing about this is that the players put 100 percent effort into winning a conference championship," head coach Bobby Saeger said. "Not getting it hurts. They wanted it in the worst way."
The No. 1-seeded Indians (16-4), who reeled off nine straight victories to earn the program's initial Frontier Division title, nearly overcame early wildness by their starting pitcher.
Rieg, the team's usually reliable high-leverage reliever, tossed two scoreless innings before struggling in the seventh. Consecutive doubles by Carson Glose and Billy Tighe propelled Pope John Paul II into Wednesday's conference title game against Owen J. Roberts.
"It was a bad time to have a bad half-inning," Saeger said. "We did some things that didn't occur during our winning streak."
Rieg, who started the fifth inning on the mound with a 3-2 advantage, opened his outing with two shutout innings. He worked around a leadoff triple in the fifth before catcher Ryan Cairns picked off Tony Tosco at second base to end the sixth.
In the seventh inning, Pope John Paul II's initial five hitters reached base safely. Saeger described the rally as glaring.
Gavin Gross worked a walk and Sam Buckey followed with a single to right. Then Glose – described by Saeger as the conference's top hitter – lined a double to deep center field that scored Gross with the tying run.
"You have to tip your hat to him," the coach said. "We did a good job holding him down all season."
Rieg walked Tanner Tindall to load the bases before Tighe's decisive two-run double down the left field line off Godshall. Alex Blouse's sacrifice fly capped the scoring.
The Indians nearly overcame some early command issues by starting pitcher Lincoln Fijalkowski. He left after four innings despite not allowing a run in his final three. According to Saeger, the coaching staff contemplated sending him out to start the fifth inning.
"Lincoln battled his face off," the coach said. "He fought through his early issues."
Fijalkowski allowed two hits, three walks and hit four batters. The Panthers scored twice in the first inning after their initial three hitters reached base safely. Glose and Tyler Tyndall delivered run-scoring hits to put them ahead 2-0.
Solid defense helped the Tribe stay within two runs early. Cairns threw out a potential base stealer to end the first inning. Rieg's diving catch of a bunt along the third-base line erased a walk leading off the top of the second inning.
Fijalkowski played a major role in his team's offense. He scored a run in the bottom of the second after working a leadoff walk, stealing second and moving to third on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly by Benjamin Sands drove him in.
In the third inning, Fijalkowski delivered a two-run single off Tindall, the Pope John Paul II starter, to put his team ahead 3-2. The two-out hit scored Zane Saeger, who reached on an error, and Brody Weiss.
Nate Schram and Weiss delivered the only other hits for the Indians, who stranded six runners, including three leadoff walks. Cole Graf added a steal.
According to Bobby Saeger, Upper Perkiomen will need to quickly flush the effects from the loss in preparation for next week's District One Class 5A Championships. The team has likely earned a bye in the tournament, scheduled to begin Monday.
The Indians, who are currently No. 3 in the power rankings, will likely open play on Wednesday, May 20, at Bonekemper Field. Seeds will be announced on May 14.
