Thunderbolts strike late, finish off Hawks

Tristan Baer put Hamburg up three runs with a first-inning home run but he and Hawks couldn’t hold off two late rallies in a 6-4 loss to Littlestown Thursday in a District 3 Class 4A quarterfinal at Miller Field in Hamburg.

The fourth-seeded Hawks (14-8), who had a first-round bye, are eliminated. The top three teams in the district advance to the PIAA Tournament.

The fifth-seeded Thunderbolts (13-6) got a big effort on the mound from Bradin Peart (3-1), who pitched a five-hitter, striking out eight. After Baer’s three-run shot in the first, which scored Connor Licklider and Luke Bensinger, he yielded just three more hits the rest of the way.

Littlestown tied the game 3-3 with three runs off Baer in the fifth and went ahead with a three-run seventh, against two Hamburg relievers.

Baer, an All-Berks pick, went six innings, allowing four hits and three runs, just one earned. He struck out seven before being removed after reaching the PIAA pitch count limit.

The Hawks committed four errors, leading to five unearned runs.

Baer went 3-for-3 and scored two runs.

Littlestown’s Ryan Jones, who came in with a team-leading .407 batting average, had a double, drove in two runs and scored twice. Colby Hahn, a .396 hitter, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Littlestown will host ninth-seeded Fleetwood in the semifinals Tuesday.

Hamburg went 9-3 in Berks III play to win the division title. Scottie Dunleavy, Brayden Kamp, Austin Miller and Licklider were all-division picks.

The Hawks were 11-2 in late April and challenging for one of the top two seeds in the district before ending the season with six losses in their final nine games.