Hamburg falls a few feet shy of PIAA title berth in 3-0 loss to Selinsgrove
BLOOMSBURG >> Down three runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Hamburg Hawks needed a miracle to save their season.
They nearly got it.
But Owen Zimmerman’s bid at a walk-off grand slam fell a few feet shy of the fence in left field at Central Columbia High School. With it, the Hawks fell one step shy of playing for a state title in a 3-0 loss to Selinsgrove in a PIAA Class 4A semifinal Tuesday evening.
Hamburg’s season comes to a close at 21-8. The Seals (20-5) will make their inaugural state title game appearance on Friday at Lubrano Park in State College, where they’ll take on WPIAL outfit Beaver, which defeated East Pennsboro 7-5 in Tuesday’s other 4A semifinal.
Zimmerman fell behind 0-2 to Selinsgrove reliever Ryan Reich before getting a belt-high fastball that he just missed crushing, for what would have been a dream ending worthy of Milton Bradley. The Hawks had looked listless all afternoon until their final hacks, when a walk to Tarik Feick loaded the bases one out after Colby Gromlich and Ethan Naftzinger had clocked consecutive singles off Reich, with one away.
“It sucks, being the last pitch of the season,” Zimmerman said, of his near-heroics. “No one ever wants to be the final out. Down 0-2, I was just trying to find a gap, score all three runs. (The pitch) was a little high but I’ve been served those before; I just got under it a little too much. I hit it and I was hoping ‘get out’ but then I saw the kid was camping under it.”
Hamburg was also attempting to qualify for its first state title game. The run fell tantalizingly short, but it reinforced what Hawk baseball has become in the three full seasons since a District 3 3A championship in 2016 under skipper Nick Evangelista kicked it all off.
“This group (seniors) has played in district finals, twice, and this today,” Evangelista said, “and it’s a testament to their hard work and their trust in the coaching staff and our belief and our philosophy of the game and the way to play it. I told them how proud I am of them. There’s not another program in state that hasn’t heard of Hamburg baseball and I think that’s something to be proud of.”
The listlessness of Hamburg’s usually potent offense Tuesday was credited largely to Selinsgrove southpaw starter Logan Hile, whose deceptive delivery made it difficult for the Hawks to time him, even a couple times through the lineup card. Hile went five full and allowed just two base hits, while striking out seven. Hile hit the pitch limit at exactly 105 offerings to end the fifth and was forced to leave the game in favor of Reich.
“(Hile) was hiding the ball well as a lefty,” Zimmerman said. “He hid the ball until he was letting go of it. And then, you have less reaction time. So it was just hard finding the ball as quickly as possible. He didn’t give us many pitches to drive.”
Evangelista on Hile: “He’s a very good pitcher. He hides the ball well, has a lot of sink to his fastball. He doesn’t light up the radar gun, but it appears a lot harder for the hitters. We tried to simulate it the last couple of days and it’s tough to simulate.”
It’s not as though Hamburg didn’t square up Hile, at least on the pitch count front. The Hawks drove the number up with several pesky at-bats featuring a healthy dose of foul balls. They had the chance to chase him early and did just that.
“At the same time, we had him right where we wanted him,” Evangelista said. “He was at (71 pitches through three innings) and we knocked him out with two innings to go. We just needed a big hit, to capitalize somewhere. Wind’s blowing the other way, we’re going to State College on that last pitch.”
Two of Selinsgrove’s three runs were unearned. Normally-stout Hamburg defense blew some holes Tuesday evening.
Infield errors on consecutive plays with two out allowed Selinsgrove to push across the first run of the game, in the top of the fifth. It set the Seals up with runners at first and third against Hamburg starter Colby Gromlich. The back end of the delayed double steal was booked as a 2-4-2 safe at home; Ben Heim crossed with the game’s first run.
“It was reminiscent of the District 3 title game (a loss, versus East Pennsboro), in which we had five-to-10 minutes of a mental lapse here or there that let us down,” Evangelista said. “But at the end of the day, we didn’t come here thinking we’d put up zeroes across the board.” The opposition, in contrast, played flawless defensive ball.
Selinsgrove doubled its lead in the sixth when Blaise Zeiders blasted a shot to deep center field that Brady Adams appeared to be tracking. Adams slipped on the lip between the grass and warning track, however, and landed hard on his wrist. As he writhed in pain, prone on the outfield grass, Zeiders — who had looked dangerous at the dish all day long — rounded the bases for an inside-the-park home run to give the Seals a crucial 2-0 edge.
Selinsgrove drove home a third run in the top of the seventh, set up by an errant pick-off toss to first from Gromlich. The two-base error, coming with two out, allowed Evan Hoke to scored the game’s third run — though a solid peg from Hamburg left fielder Jared Sterner cut down the trail runner at the dish attempting to do the same.
Gromlich was solid on the hill for the Hawks, the recipient of some tough luck. He struck out six and walked one in his complete-game setback.
“Unbelievable again,” Evangelista said of his starter. “Five or six starts now since he’s been 100-percent healthy. In command of the game, kept them off-balance.”
PIAA Class 4A semifinal
at Don Engle Memorial Field, Central Columbia HS
Selinsgrove 3, Hamburg 0
S – 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 — 3 4 0
H – 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 4 3
WP: Logan Hile LP: Colby Gromlich
S, Hile (Ryan Reich 6) and Wyatt Metzgar; H, C Gromlich and Austin Gromlich
HR: S, Blaise Zeiders (6th, none on, 1 out)
