Prep Baseball Report

Game Recap: YAIAA Championship



By Mark Chimel
PA Area Scout

In a former Aflac Insurance commercial, Hall of Famer Yogi Berra says, ???And they give you cash, which is just as good as money.??? So it is only fitting that, on the former Yankee???s ninetieth birthday, Cash Gladfelter (top right) was just as good as money for West York in the YAIAA final. With runners on second and third and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning in a tie ballgame, the senior laid down a perfect bunt to bring in the winning run on a suicide squeeze. If that wasn???t enough, the Misercordia commit???s relief efforts on the mound also earned him the victory.

In the championship match-up between West York and Eastern York, it was a pitchers??? duel early as neither starter allowed a run in the first three innings. West York would then get out to a 2-0 lead after scoring a run in each the fourth and fifth innings off of Eastern???s Colby Shimmel (bottom right). The runs were brought in via RBI extra base hits from Logan Stover and Gladfelter.

West York???s Brett Kinneman threw five innings of shutout baseball before he was relieved by Gladfelter with one out in the sixth. The NC State signee struck out six and scattered five hits in 5.1 innings of work. Eastern York did not get on the board until the top of the seventh inning when a West York error plated two runs to tie the score two. 

The two runs in the top half of the inning forced the Bulldogs to have to bat in the bottom of the inning and set up Gladfelter???s final heroics. The inning was started with a lead-off single from Brandon Sheffer. The walk signaled the end of the night for Shimmel as he gave way to semifinal winner Brandon Knarr. Knarr then walked the next batter before registering a strikeout, but not before the Bulldogs executed a double steal to put two runners in scoring position. Gladfelter then got the walk off bunt down to earn the 3-2 victory.

In 1.2 innings of work on the mound, Gladfelter struck out four and allowed no earn runs tod up the win. Shimmel took the tough loss for Eastern York, but struck out six in six plus innings of work and scattered eight hits. Gladfelter and Sheffer split four of those eight hits. The Eastern York offense was led by doubles from Taten Tyson and Bobby Hedrick and two singles from Drake Renn. 

After capturing the YAIAA title, West York will continue its season in District 3 play next week. Meanwhile, Eastern York appears to be on the outside looking in at the district playoff picture and their season is likely over.

+ The Pennsylvania Scout Blog contains measurable data on some of the top prospects in action during the course of the evening.

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