Prep Baseball Report

2015 PIAA State Championships Recap



By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

It wouldn't be a PIAA state championship day without a weather delay or extra inning game, so Mother Nature and the teams in the nightcap were happy to oblige as the 2015 high school season officially came to a close. Congrats to the four teams that emerged victorious yesterday and to all teams and players from around the state for another successful and entertaining spring!

Class A: Lancaster County Christian 8, Eisenhower 0

Lancaster County Christian (24-4) scored two quick runs in the first inning and never looked back on their way to capturing the first state title in school history. Liberally employing their bunt-and-run game, the Lions scored in five of seven half innings. Junior right-handed pitcher Kyle Ebersole authored an efficient complete game two-hitter with six strikeouts.

Class AAA: Knoch 7, Abington Heights 5

Following a rain delay that briefly halted play, four straight two-out hits in the bottom of the sixth inning provided the winning margin for Knoch (23-2), which won the first state title for any team sport in the history of the school. Junior left-handed pitcher Cole Shinsky picked up the complete game victory, capping a stellar stretch on the mound for he and fellow junior Alex Stobert. Shinksy helped his own cause by going 2-4 with two RBI.

Class AA: Neshannock 9, Neumann-Goretti 0

While some may have though that the talent-laden semifinal between Neumann-Goretti and back-to-back state champ Loyalsock Township was a de facto title game, Frankie Fraschetti had other ideas. Neshannock's junior right-handed pitcher struck out eleven in a stellar a three-hitter. The Lancers (20-5) blew the game open with a six-run top of the seventh inning. The title is the second in program history, with the other coming in class A.

Class AAAA: North Penn 4, Wyoming Valley West 3 (8 inn)

North Penn (23-4) captured its second state crown in the past three seasons (and third since 2009) behind James Witner's complete game. The winning run scored on a throwing error from the pitcher that allowed the pinch runner on second base to come all the way around. The Knights answered every challenge from the Spartans, who battled back to tie the game at two in the bottom of the fifth (after a lengthy weather delay) and again at three in the seventh inning.

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