Domaracki pitches Seals to title game
May 24—SELINSGROVE — Josh Domaracki etched another passage in Selinsgrove baseball lore Friday, pulling a Houdini in a tough early spot and pitching five-plus scoreless innings of relief to send the Seals back to a subregional championship game.
The senior left-hander was called on just one out into the game, with the bases loaded and Wallenpaupack leading by a run. He quickly ended that inning and five more, with the Buckhorns stuck on one run all the while.
"I was prepared to come in," said Domaracki. "I like relieving. I like the adrenaline. It's just fun."
Selinsgrove broke open a tight game with a four-run rally keyed by a Tucker Teats infield single, Ben Gearhart added a late homer, and the Seals won 10-3 in the Districts 2/4 Class 5A semifinal.
Two-time defending champion Selinsgrove (18-2), the No. 1 seed, will play third-seeded Pittston for the subregional title 6 p.m. Tuesday at PNC Park in Moosic. It is a rematch of the Seals' 5-3 win a year ago. The Patriots beat second-seeded Abington Heights 10-0 in five innings in Friday's other semifinal.
Domaracki will be eligible to start the title game after three days' rest, but Selinsgrove coach Brent Beiler may prefer to use him in relief after the week he's had.
The Frostburg State commit threw the final 3 1/3 innings of Tuesday's quarterfinal win, blanking Shikellamy on two hits and striking out nine while the Seals rallied.
On Friday, Gearhart got off to a bumpy start with a leadoff walk, an errant pickoff throw and a one-out single that put the Buckhorns on the board. He hit a batter and walked another to fill the bases, prompting Beiler to make a pitching change.
"Ben has been very successful this year," Beiler said of the senior right-hander who was 6-1. "Little off today, and he may have been tired from the other day — he had 64 pitches (Tuesday)."
Domaracki entered with a 1-0 count to Wallenpaupack DH Thomas Kierstad, a .321 hitter who hit a soft liner to shortstop. Eli Peifer, who struck out 10 in a nine-inning two-hitter Tuesday, then launched a ball to the warning track in left-center field that Declan Abrahims caught to end the inning.
"It was great. We limited the damage, and we knew we had to get one (run) to win anyway," said Domaracki. "I'm pretty used to that situation from pitching over the years, but it doesn't happen that often."
Wallenpaupack (12-10) had back-to-back singles with two outs in the second, and got its leadoff runner on base in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but advanced only one to third base against Domaracki, who struck out six without walking a batter.
"We've given him the ball in so many pressure situations," Beiler said. "He's does well under pressure. I don't know if he likes it, but he does well with it."
Selinsgrove tied the score in the second when Mason Richter singled, went to third on an errant pickoff throw and scored on a groundout. Hits by Abrahims, Domaracki and Gearhart (RBI), along with a bases-loaded walk to Owen Santiago, put the Seals in front 3-1 after three innings.
Abrahims, who entered in the first-inning pitching change, sparked another threat with a one-out single in the fourth. Caleb Hicks followed with a hit, and Domaracki worked a walk to fill the bases. After a strikeout, Teats scorched a 2-1 fastball to deep shortstop and beat the throw on a dead sprint to score Abrahims.
"It's a tight ballgame and there's no room for slouching," said Teats. "I know my capability with the speed, and I didn't hit it very well at all, but I knew I had a chance to beat it out. I busted my butt all the way, right down the line."
Teats' infield single kept the inning alive for Richter, who lofted a 2-2 pitch high to right field that landed just inside the foul line. Three runs scored for a 7-1 lead.
"When (Teats) beat that out ... I mean, that bases-clearing triple never would have happened," said Beiler. "It's huge."
Griff Parker singled to start the fifth and scored on Hicks' two-out single. Gearhart drilled an opposite-field homer to left to open the home sixth, capping a 12-hit attack.
"Clutch for Mason to come and get a triple. That was kind of the nail in the coffin," Teats said. "It was close in the beginning, but our sticks have been good all season. Props to the whole team. Bottom of the lineup was hitting well, too. They kept putting runners on the bases, and good things happen when you put the ball in play."
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DISTRICTS 2/4 CLASS 5A BASEBALL
SEMIFINAL
NO. 1 SELINSGROVE 10, NO. 5 WALLENPAUPACK 3
Wallenpaupack;100;000;2 — 3-6-1
Selinsgrove;012;412;x — 10-12-3
Jake Holbert, Cameron Lynch (4) and Jordan Santiago. Ben Gearhart, Josh Domaracki (1), Griffin Parker (7), Gavin Hoot (7) and Caleb Hicks.
WP: Domaracki. LP: Holbert.
Wallenpaupack: Gannon Decker 1-for-3, run; Mark Nilsen 1-for-4; Holbert 1-for-4, run, RBI; Santiago run; Thomas Kierstad 1-for-3, RBI; Eli Peifer 1-for-4; Chris Doty 1-for-2; Nick Borer RBI.
Selinsgrove: Hicks 2-for-4, run, RBI; Domaracki 1-for-3; Jake Beddall 2 runs; Gearhart 3-for-4, home run (6th, solo), run, 2 RBIs; Tucker Teats 1-for-3, 2 runs, RBI; Mason Richter 2-for-3, triple, run, 3 RBIs; Owen Santiago RBI; Parker 1-for-4, run, RBI; Declan Abrahims 2-for-3, 2 runs.
