Hopewell certainly has the top pitcher in the tournament, their ace literally hasn't lost a game since last year; while Boyertown may very well have the deepest pitching staff in the state again this year. Their unsung number two starter Steve Price turned in the top pitching performance of the tournament thus far.
Price went eight innings, yielding just three base hits while shutting out the Region 6 champions. Hopewell entered the game with high aspirations, as many believed them to be the top team in Boyertown this week. They couldn't get anything going though, and a lackluster fielding performance ultimately did them in.
Boyertown got their first run in the bottom of the first when lead-off hitter Ryan Schwager snapped out of his hitting drought with a long double. He stole third and ended up scoring on an errant pickoff throw by the catcher.
The Bears got four runs in a third inning that Hopewell would like to forget. Two errors apiece by the pitcher and third baseman in the inning led to the scoring. In fact, the two errors attributed to the third basemen came in back to back at-bats.
Boyertown has won many tournaments this way, playing their patented style of small ball and capitalizing on the mistakes of their opponents. They used some dazzling defensive plays to back Price and their reliever who finished up the ninth with a relatively quiet inning.
Hopewell drops into the loser's bracket where they will have an interesting face-off with Region 3 champion Spring City. Considered two of the top teams in the state, one of these very good teams will be going home early. That game is slated for 4pm.
Boyertown takes on Pennridge in an all Region 2 winner's bracket final at approximately 7:30pm.
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