Northern Cambria grinds out win over Conemaugh Valley in 6-1A baseball
NORTHERN CAMBRIA, Pa. – Brady Hoover struck out four and allowed one run in Northern Cambria's 6-2 victory over Conemaugh Valley in the quarterfinals of the District 6 Class 1A baseball playoffs Monday. A big four-run first inning for the Colts, followed by Hoover's strong five innings on the bump, kept the Blue Jays out of reach for most of the contest.
Zach Cavallo started Northern Cambria's offense with a pop fly that floated into no-man's land behind first base for a double. He was then driven home with a base hit to left field by catcher Parker Shutty. Hoover joined Shutty on base after a hit to center field.
Both runners crossed the plate when Reece Wagner blasted a line drive over the center fielder's head for a triple and a 3-0 lead. The early burst of offense arrived at a much-needed time for Northern Cambria. The Colts' offense struggled in recent weeks, coach Skyler Eckenrode said.
That was evident in their recent 2-0 loss to the Blue Jays May 7. "We really hit that hard in practice here this last week," Eckenrode said. "Having that week off was pretty nice.
We really hit the ball early, jumped on them and I think we really put them back on their heels. " The Blue Jays were forced to make a very early pitching change and brought in Kyron Fields. The sophomore allowed a sacrifice fly and recorded his first of eight strikeouts to close the lopsided inning.