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Somerset fends off Bedford in District 5/8/9 Class 3A baseball semifinals

adam ripple, the daily american
·4 min read

SOMERSET — For the second time in three seasons, Somerset will play for a District 5/8/9 Class 3A baseball championship.

The top-seeded Golden Eagles rallied then held off No. 2 Bedford 5-3 in Thursday's semifinal at Somerset.

"We knew coming into the game that Bedford was a scrappy team," Somerset coach Jimmy Mayer said. "We knew they had a good lefty. He had good stuff. We had some good at-bats. I was very proud of the way we came back after giving up two runs in the first inning then scoring a run. That settled us down and then we did what we did all year ‒ got timely hitting and played great defense."

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Somerset (16-5) trailed 2-0 after one on RBI singles by Ty Decker and Owen Horne. However, starting pitcher Braeden Flower limited the damage, striking out Owen Tedrow to end the inning and strand three.

Flower pitched six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, one walk and struck out three.

"Braeden Flower has been a horse for us all year long," Mayer said of the sophomore. "He competes harder than any kid I've ever coached. He's done it all year and he did it today. He might not have had his best stuff, but he pitched well. Having a guy like that on the mound is comforting as a coach."

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Flower, who transferred from West York High School, picked up his eighth win of the season. He has a miniscule 1.23 ERA in 12 appearances.

"This means a lot," Flower said of the win. "It was hard to make friends and everything, but I came here and met the best guys. They became brothers. We are going to win a district championship and head to states."

Somerset's Kahne Foltz hits a single during a District 5/8/9 Class 3A baseball semifinal against Bedford, May 23, in Somerset.
Somerset's Kahne Foltz hits a single during a District 5/8/9 Class 3A baseball semifinal against Bedford, May 23, in Somerset.

Somerset junior Kahne Foltz recorded two hits and scored two runs in the game. He scored on a groundout by Zane Hagans in the first to trim the deficit to a run.

The Golden Eagles took the lead for good in the home-half of the third. Foltz reached on an infield single. Flower followed with a single to shallow right. With one out, Lane Lambert delivered an RBI single to left. With two down and runners on first and third, the southpaw Decker tried a pickoff attempt at third base. The throw went out of play, allowing courtesy runner Cole Lucas to score.

Somerset freshman Garrett Reese hit a leadoff single in the fourth. Following a Cole Johnson sacrifice bunt, No. 9 hitter Carter Dunmyer delivered a single to put runners on the corners. Foltz came up clutch with a sacrifice fly to pad the lead.

Somerset courtesy runner Jake Stoy slides safely into home during a District 5/8/9 Class 3A baseball semifinal against Bedford, May 23, in Somerset.
Somerset courtesy runner Jake Stoy slides safely into home during a District 5/8/9 Class 3A baseball semifinal against Bedford, May 23, in Somerset.

Hagans hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth off reliever Kris Diehl. The Golden Eagles did not record a hit in the frame but held a 5-2 advantage.

Bedford (11-10) trimmed the deficit in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Gaston Watkins. Flower coaxed a groundout on his final batter of the game to end the inning and strand a runner at third.

The Bisons threatened in the seventh with back-to-back one-out hits off Reese. However, a Bedford runner was hit by a batted ball for the second out. Reese ended the game with a strikeout.

"I put a 14-year-old kid out there in the seventh inning," Mayer said. "It takes a lot of guts to go out there for us. I'm so proud of Garrett Reese. He battled for us and got the save."

Somerset will meet Punxsutawney at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Showers Field in DuBois.

"I am just happy for the kids to experience it," Mayer said. "We won it two years ago at the same place. Punxy is a great program. We're going to have to play a really good game. I know we are going to bring it. The biggest thing for us all year has been our defense. I'll take our defense over anyone. If we play good defense and get timely hits, we're going to be there in the end."

Adam Ripple is the Daily American sports editor. He can be reached at 814-444-5926. Follow him on X @ARipple_DAsport. Follow Daily American Sports on Facebook and @dailyamericanmedia on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset headed back to district title game for 2nd time in 3 years