Frederick’s two-way play keys Dock Mennonite’s PIAA-1A quarterfinal win over Northeast Bradford
BLOOMSBURG >> Dock Mennonite powered its way around the bases and right hander Zach Frederick settled deep into a groove, as the Pioneers earned an impressive 11-2 victory over Northeast Bradford Thursday in a PIAA-1A Quarterfinal out at Central Columbia High School.
“I think everybody was firing and we were ready to get out here and win another game,” said Frederick, who got the win on the mound and contributed three runs and an RBI. “We got two more. But we’re gonna take each one as it comes.”
The victory sends the District One Champs to a semifinal game Monday against DuBois Central Catholic (runner-up from District 9). A tremendous season came to a close for District Four Champion Northeast Bradford.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the first (Nate Lapp reached on an error and would later score on a passed ball), Dock broke the game open in its second and third at-bats.
Cooper Brannon singled on a hard-hit chopper and Lapp hammered a triple to right center, each driving in runs to widen the gap to 4-0.
In the third, singles by Deven Ross, Frederick and Matt Miles as well along with a double by Lapp built the Pioneer advantage to 9-0.
“That’s what we have to do. We have to come out and swing the bats, barrel it up,” said Dock coach Erik Kratz. “At this point, teams aren’t gonna just give you stuff. They’re not gonna just let you walk around the bases and they’re not gonna make too many fielding errors. You gotta hit the ball hard.”
Right hander Clay Wiggins, who pitched into the third, took the loss for the Panthers.
Frederick took control. The Dock righty retired the first eight batters he faced, striking out the side in the second.
“It’s been kind of an on and off season for me thus far but I had a good warm-up and I’ve been feeling good all week,” said Frederick, who had six strikeouts in his three and a third innings of work. “And that kind of transferred into the game today.”
The Panthers had trouble catching up to Frederick’s fastball. He didn’t allow a hit until Josh Stanton led off the fourth with a single.
After Northeast Bradford plated two runs that inning, Dock pushed its lead to 10-2 in the bottom half on a line-drive single by Zach Neff. Matt Miles’ RBI single in the sixth capped the scoring for the Pioneers, now in the midst of a run reminiscent of those Dock squads of the past.
“Everybody’s contributing and we’re putting up some runs,” Frederick said. “It’s been a while since we even won a game in states so it feels like we’re due. And hopefully it continues.”
Said Kratz of Frederick’s performance on the mound: “That’s exactly why we have him on the mound to start the game. And exactly why we want him to continue to be able to pitch for us the rest of the way. He came out and he threw strikes.”
PIAA-A Quarterfinals
Dock 11, Northeast Bradford 2
4-1 Northeast Bradford 000 200 0 – 2 1 4
1-1 Dock 135 101 x – 11 14 1
WP: Zach Frederick (31/3IP, 2R, 2ER, 1H, 6K, 3BB, 1HBP).
LP: Clay Wiggins (21/3IP, 6R, 5ER, 4H, 2K, 1BB, 1HBP).
3B: D-Nate Lapp; 2B: D-Lapp.
Multiple hits: D-Lapp 3-for-5, R, 3RBI; Frederick 2-for-3, HBP, 3R, RBI; Zach Neff 2-for-4, 2R, 2RBI; Matt Miles 2-for-3, BB, 2R, 2RBI; Cooper Brannon 2-for-4, R, RBI; Josh Massieo 2-for-4, R, RBI.
