Conemaugh Township rolls into District 5-1A title game with rout of Rockwood

DAVIDSVILLE — Conemaugh Township baseball coach Sam Zambanini will have an opportunity to add a 10TH district title to his lengthy list of accomplishments before he closes out his illustrious career at the end of the season.

Zambanini's club earned a berth in the District 5 Class 1A championship game with a 13-2 semifinal triumph over visiting Rockwood on Thursday afternoon.

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“We were pleased with the way the guys swung the bats today,” said Zambanini, whose top-seeded squad will take on second-seeded Southern Fulton for the district crown at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Everett.

Conemaugh Township (19-4) tallied 13 hits in the contest, which was shortened to five innings by the mercy rule.

“We had a little lull in the end of the regular season and the Heritage Championship, but they’ve come alive in the district playoffs, and that’s a great time for that to happen,” Zambanini said.

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Conemaugh Township has exploded for 28 runs in its last two contests compared to a combined three runs in the two games prior to the start of the District 5 playoffs.

A dynamic effort by the top two hitters in the Conemaugh Township batting order set the tone for the offensive outburst. Sophomore second baseman D.J. Bambino finished 4-for-4, scored twice, and also drove in a run.

“We’ve been in kind of a slump, so it helps when I can get on as the leadoff hitter and get things rolling for the rest of the order,” said Bambino.

Senior first baseman Larry Weaver had three hits in three trips to the plate. He scored three runs and drove in a pair.

That set the table for cleanup hitter Colin Dinyar. The sophomore third baseman finished 3-for-3 with a double and five runs batted in.

“I haven’t been hitting lately, so I switched up my batting stance," said Dinyar. "I got a lot of curveballs today and put them the other way."

It was tough sledding for the Rockets after falling behind.

“We got down early and had a couple of mistakes,” said Rockwood coach Steve Barto. “Coach Zambanini is a class act, and his team is the same way. Just a great group of guys that play the game the right way.  We had a rough day, but we’ll bounce back next year.”

Center fielder Carson Brown had two of Rockwood’s four hits on the day.

Conemaugh Township took control of the game by tallying three runs in each of the first two innings. After the Rockets were retired in order to start the game, a leadoff single by Bambino was followed by a Weaver double.

Zack Petree’s run-scoring groundout put his team on the board. Dinyar followed with an RBI single to right and later came home on a throwing error to make it 3-0.

Petree also picked up the win on the mound for Conemaugh Township, surrendering three hits and two runs with three strikeouts and a walk in four innings pitched.

After Kaden Valentine’s double to lead off the bottom of the second, Bambino’s one-out single plated the next Conemaugh Township run.  Dinyar’s two-out, two-run double subsequently opened up a six-run advantage.

The Rockets tried to chip away in the top of the fourth.  Brown led off with a single, and one out later Nathan Show was hit by a pitch.  Conner Handwerk lined a single to center that drove in Brown and moved Show to third.

Davis Breuning’s sacrifice fly pulled Rockwood within 6-2, but Conemaugh Township effectively sealed the outcome with seven runs in the bottom of the frame.

Conemaugh Township sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning, which was highlighted by two-run singles from Dinyar and Valentine. Three Rockwood errors also aided the Conemaugh Township outburst.

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This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Conemaugh Township upends Rockwood in District 5-1A baseball semis