EASTON — The chances were there, but the timely hits were not.
That was the story for Hazleton Area on Thursday afternoon. The Cougars had several chances to do some damage against Pennsbury but came up empty in a season-ending loss.
Hazleton Area stranded 11 runners on base while Pennsbury did just enough to punch its ticket to the PIAA Class 6A semifinals with a 2-0 win over the Cougars at Easton High School.
Three times the Cougars loaded the bases against Pennsbury pitching, including once with one out and once with nobody out.
Each time, the Falcons found the answer to keep those bases loaded and prevent Hazleton Area from scoring in a game where runs were at an absolute premium.
“Especially that first inning there, bases loaded with nobody out, not to push a run across is tough,” Hazleton Area coach Russ Canzler said. “But you tip a cap to the guy on the mound for Pennsbury, he had a good fastball up in the zone that we had trouble getting on top of.”
Pennsbury starter Quinton Shaffer, an imposing figure on the hill at 6-foot-4, struck out 10 over 4.1 scoreless innings.
He was hurt by the free pass — Hazleton Area drew six walks off him and seven in total — but when it came time to make a big pitch, Shaffer was ready.
In the first inning, he got an infield fly and two strikeouts to leave the bases loaded. In the fourth, he stranded the bases loaded again with another infield pop-up and a strikeout.
Pennsbury didn’t have much more success against Hazleton Area starter Jack Esposito in terms of run production, but a boost from the bottom of its order was enough to put the Falcons over the top.
Finn Burke, the ninth hitter in the Pennsbury lineup, led off the top of the third with a double and came around to score two batters later.
In the seventh inning, Burke reached on error and came around to score a crucial insurance run for the Falcons. Burke reached all four times he went to the plate with two hits and two walks while scoring both of his team’s runs.
“We’ve been saying it all year, we hit up and down the lineup,” Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci said. “Finn has been phenomenal in the second half of the year, he’s had some big extra base hits like that.”
Esposito scattered 10 hits but allowed just the two runs (one earned) in a complete game performance for Hazleton Area.
The Cougars got Shaffer out of the game in the bottom of the fifth and loaded the bases once again, but reliever Owen Hawkes picked up right where Shaffer left off, leaving all three runners stranded.
A great diving grab turned into a double play by Pennsbury left fielder Henry Garlits ended Hazleton Area’s chances in the sixth.
In the seventh, Chris Knelly and Dom Marino led off the inning with singles, but Knelly was picked off second and Burkes was able to get the last two outs to end Hazleton Area’s season.
The Cougars finish the year with a 19-6 record and a District 2 championship, the eighth in a row for the program.
Pennsbury will play Neshaminy, the District 1 fourth seed, in the state semifinals on Monday. The two teams most recently met in the District 1 semifinals, a 12-7 win for Pennsbury on its way to the district championship.
PIAA Class 6A Quarterfinals
Pennsbury 2, Hazleton Area 0
Pennsbury`AB`R`H`BI
C.Crane ss`4`0`2`1
Perry dh`4`0`1`1
Zuckerman rf`3`0`0`0
D.Crane rf`1`0`0`0
Lee c`3`0`1`0
Sogness 2b`3`0`0`0
Seidler cf`3`0`2`0
Garlits lf`3`0`2`0
Kolanko 1b`3`0`0`0
Burke 3b`2`2`2`0
Totals`29`2`10`2
Hazleton Area`AB`R`H`BI
Hearity ss`4`0`1`0
Knelly c`4`0`2`0
Marino dh`2`0`2`0
Hidalgo 3b`3`0`0`0
Spare pr`0`0`0`0
Eckert 1b`2`0`0`0
Corrado 1b`2`0`0`0
Cunniffe lf`2`0`0`0
Rinker cf`1`0`0`0
Glickert rf`1`0`0`0
Serra ph`1`0`1`0
Masias 2b`2`0`0`0
Totals`24`0`6`0
LOB — Pennsbury 7, Hazleton Area 11. 2B — Burke, Garlits. SB — Knelly.
Pennsbury`001`000`1 — 2
Hazleton Area`000`000`0 — 0
Pennsbury`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Shaffer (W)`4.1`3`0`0`6`10
Hawkes (S)`2.2`3`0`0`1`1
Hazleton Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Esposito (L)`7`10`2`1`1`7
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