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Millionaires stopped early in return to state tournament

KATELYN HIBBARD/Sun-Gazette Williamsport's Ethen Stryker (16) is tagged out at third by Perkiomen Valley's Dylan Boyd (24) Monday in the PIAA Class AAAAAA baseball playoffs.

ALMEDIA — One look at Williamsport players leaving the Central Columbia baseball field Monday really said everything.

Every player looked sad and several shed tears. This was a passionate team that hated losing as much as it loved winning and it truly believed its season would end next week at Penn State’s Medlar Field. That belief existed until Perkiomen Valley left fielder Ryan McCourt caught a game-ending flyout and brought the curtain down on a stellar Williamsport season.

The Millionaires outhit Perkiomen Valley but the Vikings scored two, two-out fifth-inning runs and Tyler Strechay threw a complete-game six-hitter as they blanked Williamsport, 2-0 in the opening round of the Class AAAAAA tournament. The Millionaires (15-5) won their first district championship since 2011 last week and have a strong core back next year but that provided little comfort following the game.

“It’s unfortunate it ended the way it did, but I’m extremely proud to be a member of this program, this community and this team,” second-year Williamsport coach Ryan Miller said. “We had a great crowd here tonight and the community was excited to see that.”

What the community liked as much as Williamsport winning was how it played. The Millionaires were an old-school team that relentlessly competed and routed two straight district opponents to put the program back on the statewide stage.

Two years ago, Williamsport won just seven games. It won 15 games and lost in the district semifinals last year and took another step forward this season. The journey continues and an excellent foundation has been laid.

“It was definitely a great experience with the seniors and I’m going to miss them a lot,” third baseman Joe Fagnano said after going 3 for 3 with two doubles. “We always believe in each other. We’re always hoping and believing until the last out. It just didn’t happen, but we’ll be back.”

“We’ve asked a lot of this group. In the two years this staff has been here we’ve put these guys through some grueling stuff and expected so much of them,” Miller said. “To get to this point and to be playing that kind of baseball at the end of the year I couldn’t be happier with them. I’m so thankful to be able to coach these guys.”

PV (16-8) advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals and will meet District 1 champion and rival Pennsbury which beat Parkland, 2-1. Williams­port made the Vikings earn it and especially pressured them early, but Strechay allowed just two hits over the last five innings after the Millionaires delivered four in the first two.

Tanner Esposito and Jalen Jackson pitched strong games for Williamsport, combining on a 4-hitter but PV broke through in the fifth inning when Matt Szczensky hit a two-out RBI single. He moved to third when the ball was misplayed and scored a batter later on an error as PV took a 2-0 lead.

Esposito threw consecutive playoff shutouts and his remarkable playoff scoreless streak that dated back to last year finally ended at 26 2/3 innings. It was the longest by an area pitcher in the postseason in the 2000s. The right-hander who received an offer from West Virginia last week allowed just one earned run and struck out six.

Jackson threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, leaving the bases loaded after entering with two outs in the sixth and then stranding another runner at third in the seventh. Strechay, though, retired Williamsport in order in the seventh, clinching the win.

The Millionaires opened the game strong with Jesse Cornell blasting a leadoff double to deep center field. The coaches sent Cornell and tried stretching into a triple but he was thrown out. An inning later Fag­nano hit a lead-off double, but Strechay left runners at the corners with one out. Williamsport mounted its final rally in the sixth as Jackson reached on a two-out error and Fagnano singled, but Strechay recorded an inning-ending strikeout.

“We definitely learned a lot,” Fagnano said. “Now we know what it’s like to be on top in districts and now we know what it’s like to be in states. We’ll be back and be better.”

Williamsport had two doubles and four hits those first two innings and was a hit or two from possibly and drastically changing the game’s complexion. Strechay prevented that from happening, growing stronger as the game progressed and repeatedly fighting off a team that has proven as resilient as it is talented the last two seasons.

“This was that kind of team. They were very passionate all year. There’s a lot of energy with them,” Miller said. “I don’t take it lightly when I say that I believe this team could have won a state title. I believe they had the components to do it. The reality is at the end of the year out of the 16 teams that make this tournament one team is going to be happy, but they battled and worked hard all season long.”

Perkiomen 000 020 0-2 4 1

Williamsport 000 000 0-0 6 5

Tyler Strechay and Matt Szczensky. Tanner Esposito, Jalen Jackson (6) and Michael Weber. W-Strechay. L-Esposito, (6-3).

Top PV hitters: Szczensky 2-4, RBI; Dylan Boyd 1-3. Top Williamsport hitters: Joe Fagnano 3-3, 2 2Bs; Jesse Cornell 1-3, 2B; Quentin Brown 1-3; Esposito 1-3.

Records: Perkiomen Valley 16-8. Williamsport 15-5.

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