Hopewell's great aspirations for the state tournament were put to an end this afternoon, when they dropped a lopsided game against Region 3 champion Spring City. Considered two of the top teams in the tournament, many expected this matchup in the winner's bracket final.
Spring City was never in real danger in this one, as they took advantage of some spotty pitching and a rarely invoked substitution rule to break the game open. Hopewell's manager visited the mound twice in one at-bat to take out his pitcher, but while doing so an assistant coach entered the playing field to talk things over with the rest of the squad. According to Major League Baseball rules, which ALB follows, this results in an automatic ejection.
Hopewell's manager was forced to leave the playing area and the pitcher they had attempted to remove had to finish the batter he was facing. He gave up a basehit which turned into a three run fiasco after a throwing error. That extended Spring City's lead to five, and they never looked back.
Spring City advances to take on Pennridge Friday evening at 7:30pm. If they win, they'll take on the winner of Boyertown-Millcreek with a national regional berth on the line.
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