DRUMS — Greater Pittston Twp. will have to take the long road if it hopes to win a Pennsylvania State baseball title.
Bellefonte and Vicinity jumped out to a three-run lead after one inning and held GPT to just two hits in an 8-0 loss Monday afternoon in the opening round of the Pennsylvania State 8-10 Baseball Championship at the Valley East Little League in Drums.
GPT falls into the elimination round, and will begin its road back Tuesday at 10 a.m. against Lionville, which lost to Mount Lebanon, 2-1.
It was a tough start for the locals.
Thomas Terza scored on a wild pitch, and a two-run single by Crew Cunningham scored Kobie Urbanik and Jameson Kyle as Bellefonte jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one inning.
The Section 3 champ kept tacking on runs throughout the game.
Urbanik’s single scored Terza to increase the edge to 4-0 after three, and Isaac Heverly’s run-scoring single in the fifth boosted it to 5-0.
Bellefonte scored two in the fifth, and tacked on its eighth run in the sixth after Kyle scored on a wild pitch.
GPT, the District 16 and Section 5 champion, was held to just two hits — pokes by Joe Basile and Anthony Cortese.
GPT tried to spark a rally in the sixth as Anthony Cerasaro drew a walk and Cortese’s hit put two on with no outs. But two good plays by Cunningham at second got the first two outs, and catcher Caroline Albright threw out a runner going to third to end the game.
