Given its flow, the contest certainly didn’t have the feel of a ten-run, mercy-rule game. That is until Annville-Cleona sent 11 hitters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning and scored eight times to extend its 3-1 edge.

  Josh Speraw and Cameron Freeman each smashed two-run safeties during the Little Dutchmen rally, and for Speraw it was his second hit of the inning. Also driving home A-C runs were Andrew Long and Conor Williams.

 “He’s a very good pitcher,” said Miller, of Brave starter Adryan Yothers. “He’s a playoff pitcher. That’s what we’re going to see in the playoffs. You’re going to see a hard thrower with a nice curve. So the more we see it, the better off we are. The game unfolded pretty much the way I thought it would. We eeked out some runs.

 “This was probably one of our most complete games of the season,” Miller continued. “We pitched well, we hit well, we fielded well and we advanced runners – and it was the whole team. That’s what we’re looking for. Everybody has a job, and they did it tonight.”

 “We started off pretty good,” said Biondollo. “I was in a groove, then I got a little tired. But once I got a lead, I was able to work with it. Later on, we just put our nerves aside. We got ahead and kept putting up runs.” 

 Biondollo, a right-hander, was lights-out from the start. He retired the first nine Pequea Valley batters he faced and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning, before Zack Lynch’s RBI-single broke it up and pulled the Braves to within 2-1 of the lead.

 Protecting a 3-1 advantage in the sixth, Biondollo was aided by a double play, after Pequea Valley’s first two hitters reached on a single and an error. But Biondollo counted 88 pitches, whiffed a dozen – including the side in the second and third innings – issued no walks and yielded just two hits.

 “He was throwing hard,” said Miller of Biondollo. “That’s a credit to (pitching coach Scott) Mr. Shyda. He’s (Biondollo) in great shape. We try to keep him from pitching too much. Rest is important, and now he’s strong at the end of the season.

 “He’s consistent,” Miller added. “What you see is what you get. He’s always around the plate. He’s drawn our best competition, but every game is about the same. He’ll keep us in games.”

  “For the most part, it was pretty good,” said Biondollo of his outing. “I was able to locate most of my pitches. I over threw sometimes, but I tried to work with my catcher (Adam Long) and let the defense do its job. If I kept the fastball elevated, they (the Braves) didn’t touch it.

 “I’ve had a pretty solid season,” continued Biondollo. “I’m just trying to make improvements every start and trying to make adjustments. I’m trying to get better and gain experience, and just savor the moment.”

 Annville-Cleona’s ability to perform a little two-out magic staked Biondollo to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Three-hole hitter Adam Long doubled, before Jeremy Seyfert drove him home with a single.

 “I don’t know if it’s exactly what I expected, but it’s pretty close,” said Miller of the campaign to date. “We always want to win more games than we lose. I think we have a lot of baseball left in us. We think we can make a run in districts.

 “We’ve got a good group of kids,” Miller continued. “They’re all contributing. It’s a team effort, and we’re having a good time as a coaching staff.”

 It was Williams’ suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the third inning which pushed A-C’s lead to 2-0. Adam Long helped generate the small-ball run by singling and then stealing second and third.

 Then in the bottom of the fifth, Adam Long knocked in the Little Dutchmen’s third run. His run-producing single scored Tyler Long, who had led off with a double before being sacrificed to third by Andrew Long.

 “It’s been a pretty successful season,” said Biondollo. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but I think we’re going to stay locked in and keep playing our game. If we focus on each game, we’ll finish strong.”

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2019 Annville-Cleona Baseball Results

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 PIAA District Three

 Class AAA Power Rankings

 

AAA	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	TWPW	OWPW	TWPL	OWPL
1	Biglerville	14-	4-	0	0.636223	0.782609	0.457307	14.4	143.0	4.0	169.7
2	Oley Valley	12-	5-	0	0.598341	0.690691	0.485469	11.5	139.5	5.2	147.8
3	Lancaster Catholic	13-	5-	1	0.591913	0.714364	0.442252	13.1	147.2	5.2	185.7
4	Annville Cleona	12-	6-	0	0.557985	0.668605	0.422784	11.5	141.0	5.7	192.5
5	Brandywine Heights	9-	7-	0	0.482975	0.539216	0.414237	8.3	115.8	7.1	163.8
6	Pequea Valley	8-	9-	0	0.456994	0.461059	0.452026	7.4	144.2	8.7	174.8
7	Trinity	4-	9-	0	0.407499	0.302041	0.536392	3.7	148.5	8.6	128.4
8	Tulpehocken	5-	11-	0	0.389201	0.285276	0.516221	4.7	167.1	11.7	156.6
9	Schuylkill Valley	5-	10-	0	0.386747	0.282392	0.514291	4.3	138.6	10.8	130.9
10	Columbia	6-	12-	0	0.371450	0.312139	0.443941	5.4	146.1	11.9	183.0
11	Susquenita	4-	12-	0	0.314893	0.203390	0.451176	3.6	138.2	14.1	168.1
12	Lancaster Mennonite	2-	16-	0	0.274762	0.088757	0.502101	1.5	167.3	15.4	165.9
13	Hanover	0-	17-	0	0.245329	0.000000	0.545176	0.0	178.0	17.0	148.5