La PLUME, Pa. – Keystone baseball will once again play a deciding-game No. 3 after splitting Friday's doubleheader with Wilson, 2-11 and 6-3, in a best-of-three series for the Colonial States Athletic Conference Championships at Christy Mathewson Field.
Second-seeded Wilson powered its way to an opening-game win before the Giants rebounded to even the series and force a rubber match Saturday starting at noon.
The Giants are looking for their 17th straight conference title for what would be their 13th consecutive CSAC Championship.
The last time Keystone went to a game No. 3 in the conference championship series was 2018 against Gwynedd Mercy.
Wilson, whose inaugural season was in 2019, is chasing its first conference trophy.
Game 1: Wilson 11, Keystone 2
Wilson came hot out the gates with a Brandon Cook single, Michael Marrale double and Gerald Buchanan home run to score three runs in the opening frame of the game.
The Phoenix added another run an inning later with Brady Andre's single and Alex Seidleck's RBI double before the Giants got a run back in the bottom of the second with a Jason Thomas (Miami, Fla./Barbara Goleman) single to bring Pedro Abreu (Bronx, N.Y./Santa Teresa) home from first base.
2022 CSAC Player of the Year RJ Gouldsbury (Throop, Pa./Mid Valley) got the best of Pitcher of the Year Cam Nolet with a solo homer in the bottom of the third to make it a 4-2 ballgame, but Wilson eventually unleashed the bats in the top of the sixth inning highlighted by Dean Mercer's three-RBI home run to left field to take an eight-run lead.
Nolet remained undefeated on the season after improving to 9-0 with 7.0 innings of work, eight strikeouts, four hits given up and just two earned runs allowed.
Game 2: Wilson 3, Keystone 6
Brandon Valles (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) made his fifth start on the rubber for the Giants and had a quick three-up, three-down inning to start the game.
Keystone wasted no time getting on the scoreboard with Vince Montone's (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Township) RBI single to plate Bobby Pokorney (Margate, Fla./J.P. Taravella) from second base, after he lead off the innings by reaching on an error.
Both teams tied the score twice over the next few innings before the Giants rallied for three hits in the bottom of the third to plate three runs, highlighted by an RBI single from Chris Hadsall (Lehman, Pa./Lake Lehman) and a two-run single by JD Barrett (Moosic, Pa./Dallas).
Montone put the icing on the cake with a solo home run in the fifth inning for the final eventual score of 6-3.
Patrick Adamski (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) came out the bullpen in the top of the sixth inning as the Keystone defense held the fort down with two turned-double plays as well as an inning-ending throw out at home plate from right field by Montone in the top of the seventh.
Inside The Box Score
- Nate Hinkley was the losing pitcher in game No. 1, falling to 9-3 on the season with his first loss since the Giants' regular-season matchup with Wilson back at the end of March. The senior right hander went 6.0 innings with two strikeouts but 15 hits allowed for six earned runs.
- Thomas was busy in center field, recording 12 total putouts in both games.
- Pokorney recorded three putouts and five assists at shortstop. Friday's games were the first time the sophomore batted in the leadoff spot since the April 18 series against Valley Forge.
- Gouldsbury now sits at 99 career hits while Montone's total is at 96.
- Every Phoenix starter recorded a hit in game No. 1.
- Wilson's Seidleck enjoyed a combined 4-for-9 day at the plate with two RBIs and three runs scored.
- Buchanan had four combined hits with two RBIs and three runs scored while totaling eight putouts in right field.
What's Next
- Game 3 of the 2022 CSAC Championships final will be Saturday, May 14 with first pitch at noon at Christy Mathewson Field.
- NCAA Division III Selection Show will be Monday, May 16 at noon on NCAA.com.