The Cardinals swept York Township on Saturday, while Conrads defeated top-ranked East Prospect.
Meet Annie! One of two new therapy dogs at York Day Early Learning in York City
Meet Annie! She is one of two new therapy dogs at the York Day Early Learning Center in York City, seen here on Friday, August 2, 2024. The dogs will work full-time at the center beginning in September.
Windsor and Conrads will battle for the Susquehanna League playoff championship after both teams claimed surprise semifinal victories on Saturday morning.
The No. 3 seed Cardinals beat second seed York Township, while the No. 5 seed Conrads pulled off an upset win over regular season champions and defending playoff champions East Prospect. Both teams improved their playoff record to 4-0 after posting road wins in Game 1 and home wins in Game 2 on Thursday.
Windsor left no room for doubt on Saturday, pulling away with a 13-2 victory and securing its place in the championship series when Zach Gettys’ walk-off grand slam triggered the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth inning. Conrads, meanwhile, escaped a tight bases-loaded situation in the seventh inning to secure a 2-1 victory and bring East Prospect’s season to a stunning conclusion.
The best-of-five Susquehanna League championship series begins Tuesday in Windsor, with Game 2 scheduled for Thursday at Conrads. Game 3 is next Saturday morning in Windsor, Conrads will host Game 4 on Sunday morning if necessary, and a possible Game 5 would be back in Windsor the same afternoon.
Aim high: The Cardinals put together a dominant series, beating York Township 4-0 on Thursday before hitting the ground running on Saturday. Windsor (26-14) held a 4-2 lead through four innings in Game 2 but then scored four runs in the fifth and five in the sixth, capped by Getty’s game-winning grand slam to right field.
Gettys finished the game 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored, while Cole Daugherty added a three-run home run in the fifth inning that gave him four RBIs and gave him a 2-for-2 mark. Leadoff man Tyler Stabley was 3-for-4, Bryce Avery scored three times and Connor Dewees scored two runs while crossing the plate twice. Starting pitcher Conner Barto struck out 10 batters and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits in five innings.
Barto started the scoring with a two-run single in the first inning, and after Township (24-14) scored on an error in the second, RBI singles by Stabley in the second and Daugherty in the third gave Windsor a 4-1 lead. Phillip Longnecker got York Township closer with a single in the fourth inning, but the visitors got no closer. Dewees’ sacrifice fly and Daugherty’s three-run blast got things going in the fifth inning, and Dewees’ walk with the bases loaded preceded Gettys’ slam in the sixth.
In Game 1, Sean Glatfelter threw five scoreless innings before Gettys completed the shutout. The Cardinals led 1-0 after six innings, but were buoyed by Daugherty’s home run in the seventh inning, scoring two more runs that inning. York Township’s Ethan Saxe pitched 6 2/3 innings and struck out 11 batters in the loss.
Windsor lost its final two games of the regular season to Township and dropped to third place, but the Cardinals won comfortably 11-1 and 8-5 against Jacobus early in the playoffs and then took revenge.
Cinderella Rise: It would have been easy to write off Conrads, which lost three of four meetings with East Prospect during the regular season and finished 7 1/2 games behind the Pistons in the regular season standings, but the Red Lion team built an early lead in a 7-3 victory on Thursday before prevailing in a pitchers’ duel on Saturday.
Nolan Boushell’s RBI single in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 stalemate, and Steve Lehman entered the mound in the seventh inning, trying to give Conrads (24-16) a complete-game victory. But after taking two consecutive batters out of the game, Cody Wise came in to put out the fire. He allowed a two-out single by Drake Renn that loaded the bases, but James Becker’s flyout to Gavin Constein in center ended the threat.
Constein hit a home run in the bottom of the third for Conrads after the Pistons (28-12) scored on an error in the top half. The Penn State York standout finished 2-for-4 and was the only player with multiple hits. Lehman allowed just one hit and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings. East Prospect left-hander Dylan Stoops allowed two runs on five hits while allowing six walks and five fannings in a complete game over six innings.
Thursday’s game featured an early statement from Kevin Keesey, who hit a three-run home run in the first inning and finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Hunter Williams threw 137 pitches in 6 2/3 innings to defend a six-run lead.
Conrads has won eight games in a row, starting with four wins at the end of the regular season and continuing with 2-1 and 8-5 playoff victories over Hallam. Now they have a chance to win the league title.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
These playoffs run on a slightly different schedule, as both semifinal series began on Saturday following a pair of first-round wins on Thursday. Manchester stole the show with a 2-0 Game 1 victory at York County champion Stoverstown, while Mechanicsburg battled its way to a 14-7 home victory over Mount Wolf.
Both second games are scheduled for Sunday, 2:00 p.m. (weather permitting).
Manchester 2, Stoverstown 0: Jordan Nichols pitched a four-hit shutout for the Indians (20-11-1), who scored their two runs in the fourth inning on a single by Adam Kipp and a sacrifice fly by Kyle Welch. Nichols had nine strikeouts and four walks on 109 pitches; three of the four hits he allowed went to Joe Yourgal, who also pitched a complete game for the No. 1 Tigers (23-7-2), allowing two runs on four hits while making five strikeouts.
Mechanicsburg 14, Mount Wolf 7: In a back-and-forth match, Mount Wolf led 4-3 after the first inning before the No. 2-ranked Cardinals (21-6-2) pulled away 8-5 in the second. A five-run lead in the sixth gave Mechanicsburg a seven-run lead. AJ Wenrich hit a three-run home run in the second inning and finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs; Braden Kolmansberger also hit a home run in the second inning and finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs; Matt Ilgenfritz hit a home run in the fifth inning as part of a 3-for-5 day; and Kaden Schoenly added a blast in the sixth inning. Steve Pokopec opened the slugfest with a grand slam in the first inning for the No. 3-ranked Wolves (19-10-2).
Christian Foltz rebounded from the early blow and threw a complete game of 137 pitches for Mechanicsburg, allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits, seven walks, three hit batsmen and 10 strikeouts.
