Blackhawk Advances to Final Round in PA American Legion Baseball Tourney

For five innings it looked as though it was going to be one of those days for Blackhawk American Legion in the opening round of the Pennsylvania American Legion State Tournament in West Lawn.

The Cougars found themselves trailing 2-0 on the scoreboard but had an 8-3 edge in base hits. But after hitting the ball right at people -- leading to two rally-killing, line-drive double plays early on -- the Region 7 champs started to find spaces in the wide-open expanses of Owls Field in Berks County.

They posted four straight base hits in the sixth inning, snagging a 3-2 lead on Red Land Post 974, the Cumberland County champion. Blackhawk went on to post an 11-3 win, advancing to the winner’s bracket match with 23-time state champion Boyertown at 4 p.m. today.

The team includes players from the and school districts.

Starter Brendan McKay was effective foreight innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out eight batters and walking two others. That gave Blackhawk ample opportunity to shake the rust off bats that had a five-day layoff since the team won the regional title. 

Centerfielder Brett Alberti led off the eighth inning with a mammoth blast over the 360-foot sign in left field. He started an inning in which Blackhawk sent 11 men to the dish, scoring six times and salting the game away.

Players of the game: Right-fielder Colin Lofner went 5-for-5 at the plate, scoring 2 runs and driving in three while winding up a round tripper away from hitting for the cycle as he posted three singles, a double and a two-out triple in the fateful eighth inning. 

Other Key performers: Left-hander McKay, whose efforts on the mound kept Blackhawk in the game until the offense got it cranked up, eventually posting 17 hits.

Catcher Matt Emge (2-for-4, 2 run, 2 RBI, double) allowed McKay to use his lethal breaking stuff in the dirt, preventing the ball from getting by him and traversing the 80 feet or so of real estate between the plate and the backstop at Owls Field at Ted Palka Park.

Alberti, whose homerun really got things going for Blackhawk, also went 2-for-5 from the plate with 2 RBIs and two runs scored.    

Inside the lines:“Matt (Emge) is probably the best catcher I have ever coached,” said Blackhawk manager Bob Amalia. “Having a guy back there [who] can allow the pitchers to get guys out on non-strikes and not allow the ball to get by him gives us a huge advantage when there is so much room back there.

"I was very happy with the way we hit the ball today, even early on when we didn’t find the gaps.” 

Say what?“We have been hitting like that since before regionals,” said Alberti. “I got a fastball middle up and was able to get a good swing at it. This is what we wanted to do. To go far in tournaments like this, you really need to win the first two games and stay on the winner side of the bracket for as long as you can. As long as we all keep working at the plate we are capable of putting up a lot of runs.”   

Extra Innings:The six runs posted by Blackhawk in the eighth inning was the biggest single inning by any of the eight teams in the field on opening day.  

Pennsylvania State Tournament bracket at Owls Field at Ted Palka Park  

GAME 1  Tuesday July 26   9:45         Black Hawk 11  Redland 3

GAME 2 Tuesday July 26   1PM         Bristol 12  West Hempfield 1

GAME 3 Tuesday July 26   4PM        Boyertwon 12  Plains 2

GAME 4 Tuesday July 26   7PM        West Lawn 11 Millcreek 8 

GAME 5 Wednesday July 27        9:45          Redland vs  Plains

GAME 6 Wednesday July 27        1PM          West Hempfield vs loser Millcreek

GAME 7 Wednesday July 27        4PM         Black Hawk vs  Boyertown

GAME 8 Wednesday July 27        7PM         Bristol vs  West Lawn