Time after time, South Williamsport could have fallen upon its youth as an excuse. So many other times, it could have simply looked toward the future, and treated this season as a building experience.
The Mounties never took the bait. It did not matter that so many decorated seniors graduated last June. It did not matter that only one senior returned. It did not matter that the schedule was among the district’s most demanding.
The future was now. And now South is a district champion.
South built on its program’s stellar tradition and captured the District 4 Class AA championship last Tuesday, defeating Montgomery, 8-6. The Mounties (12-10) reclaimed gold after taking silver the past two seasons and reached the state tournament for a fourth straight year. There, they will host District 3 champion Camp Hill Monday afternoon.
“They’re resilient. It’s a resilient bunch of guys. I can believe it, but I’m at a loss for words trying to wrap my head around it,” first year coach Chase Waller said following the thrilling final which featured two lead changes over the final 2 ½ innings. “These guys have been working their butts off since October. A lot of them are playing multiple sports, but they find ways to come over and work and it’s pay dividends. I’m so proud of them.”
MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
South Williamsport’s Jaymes Carpenter is safe at home as Montgomery catcher Lincoln Miller is late with the tag on a Cole Gerber single in the fourth inning.
South was the last team to reach the district playoff field, but no one there could knock it out once in. A squad which was one strike from not making the playoffs, rallied for a dramatic 9-7, nine inning win at North Penn-Mansfield to earn its chance and then cashed in big-time.
The Mounties outlasted heavily favored, top-seeded Southern Columbia in the opening round, winning, 7-4 in eight innings. They then rallied from a run down against Montgomery, going up five and holding off a furious comeback, while defeating the field’s No. 2 team.
After two years of frustration and losing at Bowman Field in the final, South earned those coveted medals, giving the program its fourth title banner in seven seasons. These Mounties may be young, but the kids sure can play.
“We have a ton of grit,” freshman pitcher Cole Gerber said after earning the win against Montgomery and adding an RBI single. “We just know we can do it.”
“It’s crazy. I really wanted it because the last two years we lost, but this year we felt good,” third baseman Marc Molina said after going 2 for 4 with two RBIs. “I knew we had a good chance.”
Early this season, though, the chances did not look so promising. Following a season-opening win against Class A finalist St. John Neumann, the Mounties dropped six of their next nine games and were sitting at 4-6 halfway through the campaign while staring at a run of tough upcoming opponents.
Still, South never wavered it won its next four games to put itself back into the playoff hunt. Entering the regular season finale, the Mounties were 9-10 and needed a win against 14-win North Penn-Mansfield but fell behind 5-2 in the fifth inning. They were still down a run with two outs and two strikes in the seventh when Gerber smashed a game-tying RBI double.
Two innings later, freshman Jax Miller dropped a perfect RBI bunt to break the tie and Chance Quimby closed out the 9-7 win, capping his stellar relief outing. South was in and Gerber dominated in his playoff debut, throwing seven scoreless innings against a potent Southern Columbia team fresh off a win against two-time defending District 4 Class AAA champion Mount Carmel.
Molina then broke a scoreless tie with a clutch, two-out, two-strike, two-run single. That opened the floodgates and South scored seven two-out runs before fighting off a Southern rally and winning, 7-4.
So, when Montgomery turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead entering the sixth Tuesday night, South did not flinch.
“We knew it wasn’t anything we couldn’t come back from,” Molina said. “We’ve been down before.”
Torin Haug ignited the rally with a lead-off single, freshman Cade Lusk tied it with an RBI single and South again erupted two two outs, scoring five times and building an 8-3 lead. Trace Wertz drew a go-ahead RBI walk, Jaymes Carpenter belted a two-run triple and Molina an RBI double as South’s Comeback Kids worked their magic again.
Still, South had to fight off Montgomery’s own tenacious players. The Red Raiders, who also play Monday in states against Mount Union, scored three times and put the tying runners on the corners with two outs.
It seems the higher the pressure, however, the better the Mounties play. That proved true again as freshman reliever Kamdyn Bubb produced a game-ending strikeout. Just like that, a team which seemed poised for an exciting future made the present become pretty special.
“I told the guys that district championships don’t come easy by any means. You have to have a lot of things go your way just to be playing in a district championship, let alone win it,” Waller said. “It takes a lot of hard work and countless hours and these guys put it in.”
Tadd Lusk helped lead the way. While his teammates knew they had more baseball coming next year and beyond, this was his last chance. Together, the Mounties made sure they seized the moment and what a moment they created last Tuesday.
And yet, this team remains unsatisfied. South already has defied the odds and captured district gold so why not go after the biggest prize out there? That is the mindset as states beckon.
Camp Hill represents the latest stern challenge in a season filled with them. Call South underdog if you like, but also call it a district champion who refuses to look toward the future until it has exhausted everything it can from this current season.
“I told them that we’re not done yet. We still have states and we’re playing good ball at the right time and are understanding how intense playoff baseball is and how every play matters,” Waller said. “We set up that schedule to be prepared for playoff baseball. We’ve seen good competition all year and that’s helped make us better suited for when playoffs came around and I think you’re seeing that.”
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