Northeastern rallies fall short against Paxton in Region 4 finals
Northeastern had won three straight elimination games to make it to the final day of the Region 4 Legion baseball tournament.
But on Wednesday afternoon, the York County champion ran into the same team that put it in the losers’ bracket in the first place, and the results were rather similar.
Paxton won its fourth consecutive Region 4 title with an 11-4 victory over Northeastern at Waynesboro High School. In Saturday’s opening round, Paxton had downed Northeastern 10-5.
Had Northeastern won, an extra game would have been needed to decide the champion of the double-elimination tournament.
After the first inning, that was a realistic possibility, as Brinden Floyd hit in Derek Gross with a single to centerfield for a 1-0 lead.
But Paxton scored four runs in the top of the second to go ahead for good. Northeastern left-handed starter Zachary Bortner had retired Paxton 1-2-3 in the first, but Paxton took advantage of two hit batters, a walk and a throwing error to go up 4-1 in the next frame.
More:Northeastern Legion made it to the Region 4 finals. Brinden Floyd was a big reason why.
Northeastern had a couple opportunities to get back into the game, and though runs were scored, the large rally that was needed never materialized.
In the bottom of the third, down 6-1, Floyd drove in Gross again with a single to get within four runs. Northeastern put runners on second and third with one out, but a pair of strikeouts ended the rally.
In the bottom of the sixth, now down 9-2, Northeastern loaded the bases with no outs. Ethan Reibold singled in Moser to make it 9-3 and keep the bags full. Garrett Baker lined out to shortstop for the first out. Then Konner Reeser hit a deep fly ball to right that was caught foul. On the play, Quinn Shindler tug up and scored, but Reibold was thrown out at second base.
Bortner finished with two strikeouts and three walks. Donovan Blake pitched one inning of relief with no strikeouts or walks.
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By the numbers
Facing two right-handed Paxton pitchers, Nick Keane and Alex Yarrish, Northeastern’s left-handed batters were 0-for-7 with four strikeouts.
Paxton kept busy on the basepaths, stealing five bases without being thrown out, and taking four additional bases on errant pickoff attempts.
They said it
“I don’t know if there was any air let out of the bag [falling behind early]. We lost to them in the first game here, giving up four runs in the first two innings, but we came back to tie it 5-5.” – Northeastern head coach Dave Shindler
“Our arms have been a little depleted, and we have some other arms that are not feeling the best. Some of our pitchers have college showcases and other events, so we wanted to take care of them. Legion is important, but their futures are more important.” - Shindler
What’s next
Northeastern’s season came to a close. For Paxton, the state tournament awaits, where it will in competition with six other regional champs and host team Latrobe.