Timely hitting, defense gives NEB win over Williamson.
By: Chris Manning | Towanda Daily Review | May 26, 2016
2016 NTL and District 4 News
LERAYSVILLE — Anybody could forgive Northeast Bradford if they had some first inning jitters.
Wednesday was only the second time they'd hosted a district game and quickly found themselves down 3-0 after the first inning.
But after tightening up their defense they grouped together enough hits to come back and beat Williamson 5-3 in the District IV, Class A quarterfinals.
"It feels great, it feels great," said Panther coach Brian Pifer. "We battled, we did what we had to do. We made adjustments and we had the key hits when they mattered."
The Warriors jumped out on NEB pitcher Brian Horton in the first inning, using an error and back to back hits to take a first inning lead.
"The first inning Brian threw 28 pitches," remarked Pifer. "He threw 82 pitches through five so he really buckled down and the defense tightened up."
Horton went five innings with five strikeouts, no walks, one hit batsman and two earned runs but didn't get the win.
That distinction went to Joby Leiser, who pitched the top of the sixth inning, allowing one hit and one walk.
It wasn't until the bottom half of the sixth that NEB took a lead as a Derrick Newman triple broke a 3-3 tie.
"I was just trying to see the ball and crush it," Newman explained about his big hit.
Then in the seventh Nate Chilson got the save, allowing one walk.
At the plate NEB pounded out eight hits to Williamson's three. The Warriors were able to scatter them in the middle innings but it became too much in the end.
"We just kept hitting the ball and eventually it would find some grass," said Newman. "That's what we hope to do every game, hit the ball hard and hope to find some gaps."
Number nine batter Max Cooper had the big night, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Nik Geiser and Newman both had triples, Garret Smith and Chilson each knocked out doubles while Tyler Emick and Grant Allis also had hits.
Newman, Allis, Leiser and Smith each had RBI. Newman scored twice with Geiser, Allis and Tyler Devonshire also crossing home.
For the Warriors Matt Learn did much of the work at the plate and on the mound.
He was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI at the plate and went five innings with four strikeouts, seven hits, five earned runs, one hit batsman and one walk on the mound. Learn scored the loss.
Chase Austin pitched one inning with two strikeouts and one hit.
Austin was 1-for-3 at the plate with an RBI while Wyatt Gorg had an RBI as well.
Jon Daley, Colin Heilbrun and Learn all scored.
Right off the bat Williamson showed they came to play.
Daley reached after being hit while two batters later Heilbrun got on off an error.
Back to back singles by Learn and Austin scored those two. Learn then scored on a Gorg sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
NEB responded in the bottom of the second as Newman reached with one out after being beaned. He stole second then scored on an Allis single.
Two batters later Cooper hit Allis in with a single of his own to cut it to 3-2.
In the bottom of the third Geiser led off with a triple to right field. A Smith sacrifice fly brought him in to knot the game up at 3-all.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth when Chilson led off with a double.
Devonshire came in to run for him and he got hit in on Newman's triple to give NEB a 4-3 lead and knock Learn out of the game.
Austin got the next batter to strike out but a Leiser ground out scored Newman for the Panthers' insurance run but they wouldn't need it.
After the first inning Williamson struggled to get runners on. They put the bat on the ball but couldn't seem to get away from the NEB defense.
In the top of the sixth Learn hit a 1-out double but would ultimately be stranded on third.
The Warriors got some offense going in the seventh as lead off batter Jared Stermer reached on an error.
Williamson would get runners on first and second with one out but Chilson got a fly-out and a ground out to end the game.
"It's a big honor," Newman said about getting a playoff win and moving on to play at Historic Bowman Field. "It's our first district win at home here."
Despite the loss Williamson saw a big improvement this year from 2015, doubling their win total as they made districts for the first time in nine years.
"We had seven ball games (this year) that we lost by two runs or less," Warrior coach Jack Sackett said. "That's tough but at least were competitive this year."
The first year coach is hoping that this year's success will translate into more enthusiasm for the program going forward. Williamson high school gave the baseball team a send off before they boarded their bus for NEB.
"That was a big plus for us," Sackett remarked.
Northeast Bradford also knows the struggles of reaching district play. This was their first playoff game since 2009 and the first time they've been in the semi-finals in 10 years, when in 2006 they were finalists.
Now the Panthers face another familiar foe in Sayre on Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. start.
"We've got to tighten up on defense," Pifer said. "Sayre's a good team. They're strong defensively and they've got good pitching so we just have to be sharp, at the top of our game."
NEB nearly beat the NTL Division-II champions at home while the Redskins won easily at Riverside Park.
"We're going at Sayre hard and fast," Newman said. "We're all on the table for them. You know it's hard to beat a team three times in a row."
Northeast will find out this weekend if the third time's the charm.
