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Perfect state baseball debut for CB West; Wood rolls to first-round playoff win

tom moore, bucks county courier times
·4 min read

Monday's roundup of PIAA first-round state playoff games:

Class 6A

June 5

District 1-1 Central Bucks West 3, 3-2 Wilson West Lawn 0

The Bucks' PIAA state playoff debut was, in a word, perfect. Senior Julio Ermigiotti only needed 80 pitches, 59 of which were strikes, retiring all 21 batters to toss a perfect game with nine strikeouts for 20-6 Central Bucks West. The Bucks will face District 12/Catholic League champ Father Judge, a 6-2 winner over Plymouth Whitemarsh, on Thursday afternoon at 4 at Plymouth Township (Villanova Stadium) in the quarterfinals.

Central Bucks West senior Julio Ermigiotti makes his pitch during the District One semifinal victory over North Penn.
Central Bucks West senior Julio Ermigiotti makes his pitch during the District One semifinal victory over North Penn.

CB West head coach Brian Weaver called Ermigiotti's performance "historic. Just literally watching school history." Ermigiotti referred to it as "definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Senior Kevin Bukowski had a two-RBI single in West's three-run bottom of the fourth inning at Plymouth Township. Senior Matt Carr, junior Quinn Illig and sophomore Alex Valdes had hits and scored runs for the District One champions.

CB West takes title: Bucks earn first district baseball championship

West, which was seeded 14th for districts, defeated the top three seeds — No. 3 Methacton (10-0), No. 2 North Penn (14-1 in five innings) and No. 1 Spring-Ford (4-0 in the title game) — in the district playoffs.

1-3 North Penn 10, 2-1 Hazleton 0 (five innings)

The 20-5 Knights rolled to victory behind sophomore pitcher Trevor Lugara, who threw a four-hit shutout with no walks and five strikeouts. Senior James Mangine hit a grand slam in the first inning on the way to a 2-for-3 afternoon with five RBIs. Senior Justin Egner, junior Henry Wetzel and sophomore Brady Dolder went 2-for-3 while junior Ben Farley added a pair of RBIs.

North Penn pitcher Trevor Lugara delivers during the District One semifinal game against Central Bucks West.
North Penn pitcher Trevor Lugara delivers during the District One semifinal game against Central Bucks West.

North Penn will face the Bethlehem Liberty, a 6-5 winner over Avon Grove in nine innings, on Thursday (4) at Boyertown's Bear Stadium.

3-1 Cedar Cliff 9, 1-6 Abington 0

Cedar Cliff upended Abington to end the 13-10 Ghosts' terrific season in which they reached the state playoffs for the first time in school history. Bill Degen's team loaded the bases on the top of the sixth inning but was unable to score.

Archbishop Wood's Patrick Gozdan reacts after reaching third base during the Vikings' nine-run first inning in a 15-5 PIAA state playoff win over Pope John Paul II on Monday.
Archbishop Wood's Patrick Gozdan reacts after reaching third base during the Vikings' nine-run first inning in a 15-5 PIAA state playoff win over Pope John Paul II on Monday.

Class 4A

June 5

12-1 Archbishop Wood 15, 1-1 Pope John Paul 5 (five innings)

Senior outfielder Joey Gale was called upon in relief with two outs in the top of the first inning with the Vikings trailing 2-0 and two runners on base, got the Vikings out of the inning and went the rest of the way. He also keyed Wood's nine-run bottom of the first with a double and RBI triple. The 17-6 Vikings will face Montoursville, a 7-5 winner over Blue Mountain, on Thursday (noon) at Wenger Field in Fredericksburg.

"You never know what's going to happen," said Gale with a smile. "You can be down 2-0, then you come back and do a thing like that. Our team's been coming from behind all year."

Junior Braden Kelly (3-for-3, three RBIs) contributed a two-run homer, while junior Patrick Gozdan, who had a two-run single in the first frame, added a solo shot and senior Brian Klumpp had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs for Wood, which faced four Pope John Paul pitchers. Neither starter made it to the second inning.

Wood reached the state semifinals in Class 5A a year ago.

Family ties at Archbishop Wood: Connections run deep on Vikings baseball team

Class A

June 5

1-1 Dock Mennonite 7, 11-1 Marian Catholic 2

While the Pioneers have won eight consecutive district titles, Dock hadn't won a state playoff game since taking the Class AA title in 2010. That changed Monday, meaning the 20-3 Pioneers will face Northeast Bradford in a quarterfinal contest Thursday (4) at Central Columbia High in Bloomsburg. Dock scored five runs in the second inning and two in the fourth.

Senior Nate Lapp (2-for-3, two runs) struck out 11 in 5⅔ innings to pick up the victory, with sophomore Brayden Kratz getting the final four outs. Kratz added two hits, including a double, and two RBIs, while junior Sam Laux contributed two RBIs and senior Cooper Brannon had a double and two RBIs.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Perfect state debut for CB West; Wood rolls to first-round playoff win