Bald Eagle Area pulls victory from near defeat

By rscaife
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Updated: April 15, 2018

By Kenny Varner
WINGATE – Things looked very grim for the Bald Eagle Area baseball team as they went in for their final at bats Saturday against Penns Valley.
Trailing 7-3 going into their last at bats, the Eagles would have to get hot at the plate in a hurry if they wanted even a punchers chance.
A good team knows how to pull together against all odds and Bald Eagle Area did just that, plating five runs in the bottom of the seventh for the nail biting 8-7 walk off victory.
Picking up the victory was Trent Donley while the Rams’ hurler Aaron Tobias took the loss.
“I’m really happy for the kids that they could dig deep down and clutch up and come through a lot there in that last inning in order to get that done,” said Bald Eagle Area coach James Gardner. “Up until that point I didn’t think that we played a very good game. It’s probably the flattest we played all year. We’ve had a good confident approach at the plate all year and today for whatever reason we seemed a little unsure of ourselves until that last inning. But hand it to them, they got it done.”
Going into the top of the seventh, things seemed to be going the Rams way, leading 4-3.
Leading the way offensively for Penns Valley were Cam Shaffer 2-for-4,two runs , Logan Snyder 2-for-2 two runs and Matthew Tobias 2-for-3 RBI.
Shaffer got its offense started once again with a single into left field.
With one out, Clayton Upcraft singled Shaffer to third with a single to right centerfield.
Logan Snyder loaded the bases with a walk.
Matthew Tobias sacrificed Shaffer home, upping the the Penns Valley advantage to 5-3.
Both Upcraft and Snyder moved up a base via a wild pitch, putting runners on second and third.
Both scored when Aaron Tobias’ grounder to the pitcher was thrown over the head of the first baseman, making it 7-3.
However, the Eagles were able to flip the switch in their last at bats.
Bald Eagle Area’s offense were led by Grant King 4-for-5 two RBIs, Trent Donley 2-for-3, two runs, two RBIs and Jordan Jones 2-for-4.
Garret Barnhart led off the inning with a sizzler down the third baseline. He moved up to second.
Kael Gardner brought his team one step closer, blasting a ground rule double that one-hopped over the centerfield wall, making it 7-4.
Hunter Brooks blazed an RBI single into the outfield, scoring Gardner.
Jaden Jones kept the Bald Eagle hopes alive, reaching on a Rams miscue.
King, who was a spark plug at the plate, continued the inning with a single.
With two outs, Donley and Matt Reese were able to pick up the singles they needed to end the game in walk-off fashion, 8-7.
Bald Eagle will be back in action Monday as they battle rival Bellefonte.