PIAA Class 2A baseball championship preview: Freedom vs. Faith Christian

By: Don Rebel
Thursday, June 12, 2025 | 6:36 PM

The PIAA has been deciding a champion in Class 2A baseball for more than 45 years.

The first 2A baseball state champion was West Perry from District 3 in 1979.

WPIAL teams have captured 12 PIAA 2A crowns with Riverside leading the way with four. Others from District 7 to win it all in 2A include Northgate (1982), Riverview (1983), Ford City (1987), Center (1990), Washington (1998) and Ellwood City (2003).

Wilmington, now a District 10 team, was the first WPIAL team to win a 2A title in 1981 and Neshannock was the most recent in 2015.

Faith Christian is trying to become only the second District 1 team to win PIAA 2A gold. Phoenixville won it all in 2001.

Here is a look at the fourth of six PIAA baseball championship games at Penn State that will begin Day 2 on Friday morning.

Class 2A

Freedom (18-7) vs. Faith Christian (21-2)

10:30 a.m. Friday, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park at Penn State

Broadcast: Video on PCN-TV, audio on Trib HSSN

Coaches: Dan O’Leary, Freedom; Nick Koffel, Faith Christian

Path to Penn State: Freedom defeated District 6 runner-up Bishop McCort, 5-3, in the first round; District 9 champion Redbank Valley, 7-6, in eight innings in the quarterfinals; District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep, 2-0, in the semifinals. … Faith Christian knocked off District 12 champion Julia R. Masterman, 16-1, in four innings in the first round; District 4 champion South Williamsport, 11-4, in nine innings in the quarterfinals; District 6 champion Mount Union, 2-0, in the semifinals.

District postseason: Freedom eliminated Apollo-Ridge, 12-2, in the first round; Neshannock, 3-0, in the quarterfinals; Laurel, 8-7, in the semifinals; Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 1-0, in the WPIAL championship game. …Faith Christian ousted MAST Charter, 15-5, in five innings in the semifinals; Delco Christian, 7-0, in the District 1 championship game

Players to watch

Freedom: Junior pitcher Boden Hilliard has played a big role in the Bulldogs’ ride from the No. 8 seed in the WPIAL playoffs to playing for state gold. He is 4-0 in the postseason, including wins in the WPIAL title game and in the state semifinal shutout of Mercyhurst Prep in which he pitched a complete game with three hits allowed and one walk while striking out 10. For the season, he was 8-2 with a 1.91 ERA. Juniors Zach Kuntz (3-3) and Xavier Robbins (2-0 with two saves) have also contributed on the mound. Senior Tommy Ward is batting .451 with two homers and 22 RBIs. In the semifinals, the Bulldogs catcher was 2 for 3 and drove home both Freedom runs. Hilliard and Robbins are both hitting .379 with 22 and 21 RBIs respectively.

Faith Christian: Senior Reid Miller was dominant on the hill for the Lions in their semifinal shutout of Mount Union. In a complete game effort, Miller allowed only one hit with two walks and 10 strikeouts. Miller also won in the quarterfinals against South Williamsport. Miller was the winning pitcher in the 2024 Class A title game win over Eden Christian Academy and is expected to start again Friday. Senior Chase Gieser started in the first round win over Masterman and also pitched 1⅓ innings in the second round as well.

Streaks: Freedom has won eight games in a row since losing 5-4 to Shenango on May 7. The Bulldogs have won 11 of their last 12 games. … Faith Christian has won eight games in a row since losing 6-2 to Oxford on May 1. The Lions have won 16 of their last 17 contests.

Quotable: “Hard work and focus pays off, but this run is so much deeper than that,” Freedom coach Dan O’Leary said. “This group of talented and resilient young men is proving that you only have to believe in yourselves and each other. That ‘teammate’ and ‘family’ are powerful words that can make magic happen. As a coach, I ask the team after every practice, did you get better today? I remind them that they have to be honest with themselves in answering that because I sure will. This season has been incredible. It’s a dream come true. It really hasn’t sunk in because it’s not over yet. It has brought a community closer together. The love here is real. The support is amazing. I can only hope that the youth of our community dream about repeating this someday.”

Factoids

• Freedom is 3-2 all-time in the PIAA baseball playoffs in its third appearance. This will be the Bulldogs’ first state championship game. In the program’s two previous trips to the PIAA postseason, the Bulldogs lost in the first round to Bedford in 2006 and to Bishop McCort in 2017.

• Faith Christian has an all-time record of 8-3 in the PIAA playoffs in this, its fifth appearance. This is the second straight year the Lions have reached the state championship game. Last year in the Class A title game, Faith Christian defeated Eden Christian Academy, 4-1.

• Freedom is looking for the school’s first PIAA state championship in any sport. The Bulldogs girls soccer team lost to Southern Columbia in the 2018 2A state finals in overtime, 3-2. The Freedom girls basketball team lost to Neumann-Goretti in the PIAA 2022 Class 3A title game, 55-49.

• The Lions have won seven consecutive PIAA baseball playoff games. Prior to last season, Faith Christian reached the state playoffs in three straight season from 2017-2019, going a combined 1-3 with the lone victory coming in the 2018 first round over GAMP, 8-2.

Tags: Freedom