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Lewisburg baseball defeats South Williamsport, playing for the 1st time in 11 days

By Chris Masse 6 min read

Forrest Zelechoski felt the same emotions he often experiences each opening day.

In a way, that is exactly what Thursday at South Williamsport was. Call it a second opening day, anyway. Lewisburg had not played in 11 days and rarely was able to even practice outside.

One could hardly tell.

Backed up a super defense, Zelechoski threw a masterful two-hit complete game and Lewisburg produced an eye-opening 6-1 win against South. The Green Dragons (4-2) scored six times in the fifth inning, erasing a 1-0 deficit and looked more like a team which has been doing this every day, rather than one removed from competition for nearly two weeks.

"I didn't want us to be stagnant and not ready to come out and play, so it was amazing to come out this way," Zelechoski said. "We knew we wanted to be ready to play and we turned it on at the right time."

Zelechoski pounded the strikezone, the defense made no errors and Lewisburg did all the little things right. That included Kaiden Wagner hitting a two-run single that highlighted the big fifth inning, Derek Asche dropping a key sacrifice bunt and Lewisburg running the bases well.

Players and coaches were frustrated with inclement weather costing them playing opportunities those past 11 days. Looks like they sure made the most of that time.

"We got tired of looking at each other, so looking at opposite faces was fantastic. We came out and played well. I was super impressed with the boys," Lewisburg coach Greg Girton said. "I wanted to see a clean game. I know we're a good team and to play like this after the way we did in our last game 11 days ago, I'm pretty happy."

Zelechoski was a big reason Lewisburg remained happy all afternoon. The senior leader threw one of the best games of his scholastic career, surrendering only two third-inning singles and two walks. He threw an efficient 92 pitches, struck out six and induced 11 groundouts.

After DJ Gantz hit a single, stole second and scored on Kaiser Kistner's two-out, third-inning RBI single, Zelechoski went into shutdown mode and did not let another runner reach second base. He did not overpower South, but brilliantly hit his spots and mixed his pitches, keeping South off-balance.

When South did hit the ball hard those last four innings, Zelechoski's defense made every play. That included Wagner turning a double play and going Ozzie Smith in the sixth inning, jumping as high as possible to rob Kaden Shay of a sure leadoff single. An infield wet from pregame showers had no impact on Lewisburg which helped Zelechoski find his comfort zone early and often.

"They pieced me up a lot and my infield and outfield made great plays. They helped me a lot," Zelechoski said. "My thing is always I like to throw strikes to trust my infield and outfield because I know they can do it. That makes me more comfortable on the mound."

Grant Bachman and Noah Turner also threw well for South (4-2), combining on a five-hitter. Zelechoski said that strong pitching helped keep him dialed in as well, with it looking for a while like one or two runs might win the game. That changed when Lewisburg took advantage of two walks, two hit batters and a two-run error to score six times in the fifth inning.

Logan Heyman's fielder's choice tied the game and a wild pitch gave Lewisburg its first lead. Wagner (2 for 4) then delivered the big blow, scorching a two-run single into center field. From there, Zelechoski and the defense took over and gave Lewisburg and early signature win against a District 4 Class AA title contender.

"It sets a barometer. I know now," Girton said. "We beat the teams we should have beaten and lost to the teams we should have lost to (HAC-I heavyweights Selinsgrove and Central Mountain), but we played with them. South Williamsport has a great team and a great coach, so this is a really good win."

South lost its second game in two days, but coach Casey Waller was not discouraged. He knows as well as anyone that baseball is an unpredictable sport and even the best teams often go through rough stretches.

Right now, it's a matter of fine-tuning things and correcting some mistakes from the past two games. The big picture remains in focus and South firmly believes it has a group which can make this a memorable season.

"I told these guys one or two games won't define our season. I'll take this team any day. I'm excited for this team; I'm excited for the playoffs when they get here, but we have a lot of work to do," Waller said. "I don't like losing and our guys don't like losing. We need more energy and more communication. The good thing is we play Saturday and then play four games next week so you don't have time to dwell on this."

Outside of one inning, South's pitching was as outstanding as Zelechoski's. Bachman took a shutout into the fifth inning and threw just 52 pitches during that time while striking out four. Turner took over in the fifth and showcased the staff's depth, surrendering just two singles in his first 2 2/3 innings this season.

Turner had not pitched since the preseason, but looked mighty sharp. The sophomore struck out three, stranded runners on second and third in the seventh inning and gave South opportunities at making a comeback.

"Grant pitched a great game and Noah came out and competed," Waller said. "Noah is an awesome kid. He will give you everything he's got, so I was happy for him."

Lewisburg 000 060 0--6 5 0

South 010 000 0--1 2 1

Forrest Zelechoski and Shea Girton. Grant Bachman, Noah Turner (5) and Kayne Jones. W: Zelechoski. L: Bachman.

Top Lewisburg hitters: Kaiden Wagner 2-4, 2 RBIs; Tony Burns 2-2, BB, run; Max Mitchell 1-3, BB, run. Top South hitters: Kaiser Kistner 1-2, RBI; DJ Gantz 1-3, run.

Records: Lewisburg (4-2), South (4-2).

Starting at /week.