Leechburg baseball closes in on playoff berth with win over St. Joseph

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, April 27, 2018 | 10:00 PM

Leechburg had to wait more than an hour to record the game's final out Friday afternoon against rival St. Joseph. But getting the difficult 21st out put the Blue Devils on the cusp of a WPIAL playoff berth with a 3-2 victory in Section 1-A's battle for fourth place.

St. Joseph had two outs and no one on in the bottom of the seventh when thunder was heard in the distance at Freeport's James Swartz Stadium. After a 63-minute delay, the Spartans loaded the bases with two walks and a single against reliever Jacob Pochiba.

But Pochiba, who took over after starter Corey Kerecz had pitched the first 6 ²⁄₃ innings and reached his maximum pitch count, retired Eli Swierczewski on a drive to center field to end the game.

Leechburg (3-8, 3-5) now has a magic number of one to secure a playoff spot. Any Leechburg victory or a St. Joseph loss the rest of the way sends the Blue Devils to the postseason.

“You never know what's going to happen in baseball,” said Leechburg coach Bob Oberdorf, back for a third coaching stint. “We might be headed for the playoffs, but we're still not playing as well as we had hoped.”

The wait and the wild ending to the game were in contrast to outstanding pitching performances by both starters.

Leechburg's Corey Kerecz struck out 10 and gave up six hits and drove in the decisive runs in the sixth inning.

Spartans sophomore Tyler Wood was even better, striking out 17 Blue Devils, including six in a row early in the game. Three Leechburg batters struck out three times.

“Tyler and me both pitched well,” Kerecz said. “It was a solid pitchers' duel. It came down to the little things that mattered at crucial times.”

Said St. Joseph coach Kurt Krebs: “Tyler's been getting better with each outing. He really commanded the strike zone. He continues to work hard, and I'm very proud of him.”

Leechburg scored in the top of the first when Kerecz doubled and came home on Tyler Leech's single.

St. Joseph answered in the home half of the third when Kenny Zhang singled and reached second on an error. Dom Fellows doubled Zhang home and scored on Glenn Spath's single.

The Spartans loaded the bases with one out, but a strikeout and a foul popup to third ended the threat.

“Corey did a great job, and their pitcher was very, very good,” Oberdorf said. “I knew it was going to be a close game.”

In the Leechburg sixth, Anthony Mangee walked and got to third base on Roman Yurjevich's bunt that was misplayed.

Yurjevich stole second, and both runners came home on a single by Kerecz.

“Both teams played well. Both teams played to the bitter end,” Krebs said. “It's tough for both teams getting back out there.”

St. Joseph will be playing its home games at the historic Freeport facility, thanks to an agreement between the school and Freeport Borough Council, owner of the field.

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Leechburg