HOMER CITY — The PIAA baseball and softball finals are set to begin Thursday at Penn State University and for the first time in 34 seasons, the DuBois Beavers are playing for a state title.
The Beavers advanced to Friday’s PIAA Class 5A Championship game at Penn State’s Medlar Field against District 3 third-place finisher Greencastle-Antrim at 4:30 p.m.
The last and only time the Beavers reached the finals was way back in 1992 when the Jim Pittsley-led Beavers lost in the Class 3A final — two-class system — to Montoursville by a 4-1 score at Shippensburg University. Pittsley was a first-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals that year.
The Beavers advanced to the finals with Monday’s 4-1 win over District 6 champion Hollidaysburg at Homer City’s First Commonwealth Field in the second game of a doubleheader that saw Elk County Catholic, the D9 Class 1A champion, lose 5-1 to WPIAL champion Eden Christian Academy.
In other championship games scheduled for this week:
BASEBALL
THURSDAY
Class 2A: Southern Columbia (D4 runner-up) vs. Mercyhurst Prep (D10 champion), 10:30 a.m.
Class 4A: Holy Ghost Prep (D1 champion) vs. Indiana (WPIAL champion), 1:30 p.m.
Class 6A: Neshaminy (D1 fourth place) vs. Butler (WPIAL champion), 4:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
Class 1A: Dock Mennonite (D1 champion) vs. Eden Christian (WPIAL champion), 10:30 a.m.
Class 3A: Bermudian Springs (D3 runner-up) vs. South Park (WPIAL runner-up), 1:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
THURSDAY
Class 1A: Union-New Castle (WPIAL champion) vs. Holy Cross (D2 champion), 11 a.m.
Class 3A: Pine Grove (D11 champion) vs. Sharon (D10 champion), 1:30 p.m.
Class 5A: Abington Heights (D2 champion) vs. Shaler (WPIAL champion), 4 p.m.
FRIDAY
Class 2A: Laurel (WPIAL-3) vs. Chartiers Houston (WPIAL-4), 11 a.m.
Class 4A: Blackhawk (WPIAL runner-up) vs. Valley View (D2 champion), 1:30 p.m.
Class 6A: Hempfield (WPIAL champion) vs. Owen J. Roberts (D1 champion), 4 p.m.
THE BEAVERS IMPROVED TO 21-4 with their win over the Tigers as Beavers ace Noah Farrell struck out 10 in six hitless innings before Grady Galicynzski relieved him after he hit the 105-pitch limit and allowed a hit in a scoreless seventh to nail down the semifinal win.
Farrell, a UConn commit, walked two and gave up the Tigers’ run in the first inning after they loaded the bases with no outs with a walk, fielder’s choice with no out recorded and an infield error. The damage was minimized to just one run much to the credit of a diving stop by shortstop Samson Deeb in getting a forceout play at second with the Tigers’ lone run of the game scoring.
The Beavers got two homers from Brandon Knouse and Mason Dinkfielt. Knouse tied the game with his solo blast over the center field fence for his first homer of the season in the second inning. Then in the third, Dinkfelt hit his eighth homer of the season, a two-run shot, and second in as many playoff games. Adam Drahushak singled in a run later in the third for the 4-1 advantage that stood the rest of the game.
Greencastle-Antrim (24-3) appears in its second-ever final and first since losing to Huntingdon 9-7 in the 2000 Class 2A final. The Blue Devils finished third in the District 3 playoffs, losing to Lower Dauphin in the D3 semifinals 4-3 before claiming third with a 9-3 win over New Oxford.
In the PIAA playoffs, they won two one-run games, 2-1 over Upper Perkiomen and 6-5 over Pittston, before dumping West Chester-Rustin 11-5 on Monday after trailing 5-0 going into the fourth inning.
The Blue Devils’ pitching staff is led by juniors Ryder Lin (8-1, 2.35 ERA in 50 2/3 innings, 51 strikeouts, 17 walks) and Jaxson Bostick (7-1, 1.65 ERA in 51 innings, 52 strikeouts, 21 walks) and senior Avery Horst (7-1, 1.82 ERA, 35 strikeouts, 8 walks).
Sophomore Cam Rakaczewski (.482, 36 RBIs, 15 extra-base hits) leads the offense along with Horst (.410, 9 doubles) and junior Nolan Sullivan (.380).
The Beavers, with head coach Josh Johnson, will have Farrell (8-0, 0.54 ERA, 52 1/3 innings, 98 strikeouts, 18 walks) available on three days of rest as well as Galiczynski (2-2, 4.31 ERA, 16 innings, 26 strikeouts, 14 walks).
Offensively, the Beavers are led by Delaware-bound catcher Trey Wingard (.600, 16 extra-base hits, 32 RBIs), Dinkfelt (.432, 15 extra-base hits, 8 homers, 34 RBIs) and Drahushak (.358, 11 doubles).