After thrilling wins, narrow losses, Deer Lakes baseball remains in playoff hunt
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Thursday, April 28, 2022 | 5:47 PM
Deer Lakes’ Josh Branngan scores past Derry pitcher Nate Papuga on a wild pitch Monday.
Deer Lakes’ Danny Geis scores against Derry on Monday.
Deer Lakes pitcher Evan Kijowski throws against Derry on Monday.
Deer Lakes pitcher Justin Brannagan delivers against Derry on Monday.
Though the baseball season hasn’t quite gone as planned, Deer Lakes remains in the thick of the WPIAL Class 3A baseball playoff race as the climax to the regular season approaches.
After some disappointingly close losses, the Lancers thought they had a strong momentum shift with a thrilling, come-from-behind victory against Derry on Monday. Deer Lakes scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a 13-12 win, scoring three of the runs with two outs.
But after Tuesday’s game at Derry was postponed, the teams played Wednesday and the Trojans posted a 9-3 victory. Deer Lakes is now 4-4 in Section 3-3A, 6-8 overall. The top four section teams make the playoffs.
The Lancers are in a third-place tie with Mt. Pleasant at 4-4, but the Vikings swept the season’s series from Deer Lakes, should tiebreaker rules prevail at the end of the section season.
The Lancers can clinch a playoff berth by defeating Valley at home Monday and in New Kensington on Tuesday. The magic number for Deer Lakes to clinch the playoffs is two. Any number of Deer Lakes victories and Ligonier Valley losses totaling two puts the Lancers in the postseason.
But after going 7-3 in section play last season and returning a considerable number of players in 2022, the Lancers were hoping not to be worrying about magic numbers in May.
Deer Lakes is looking at one-run road losses to Ligonier Valley (7-6) and East Allegheny (2-1).
“At East Allegheny, we walked a guy to load the bases. We got out of it, but we didn’t produce at the plate,” said Lancers coach Josh Tysk. “Great job by their pitching staff. I thought that was a momentum-shifter that could have gotten us going, offensively, but it didn’t.”
Monday’s 13-12 win over Derry can’t be minimized. A loss there would have really put the postseason in doubt.
“I’m pleased about the fight our guys had,” Tysk said moments after the win. “This is the ultimate high. You walk away after a great ending.”
And a great ending it was.
Down 12-7 to start the seventh, Jacob Danka led off with a home run and Wayne Love followed with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Ryan Cochran was hit by a pitch, Bryce Robson scored on a wild pitch, and Danny Geis came home on a misplay on a ball hit up the middle by Danka.
Love ended it with his second hit of the inning to score Anthony Smith and set off a celebration.
“It was really good to have a big hit like that at a big moment, coming back from that big of a deficit,” said Love, a sophomore. “I was mainly trying to get any sort of hit in the outfield and get that run in.”
Tysk is one of many coaches who like the idea of back-to-back games.
“I love it,” he said. “I think it makes you a complete high school team. You can’t just run one horse out there in a bunch of games. I really pleased with the WPIAL and the way they’re doing it. You have to strategize now.”
The playoffs are tentatively slated to begin the week of May 16.
Tags: Deer Lakes
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