Fleetwood’s season ended by powerhouse Monsignor Bonner in PIAA opener

The Fleetwood Tigers knew they faced a tremendous challenge in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A Tournament Monday.

Turns out District 12 champ Monsignor Bonner was as good as advertised, ending the Tigers season with an 8-1 victory at Lincoln High School.

The Friars (25-1) scored three times in the second and four times in the fourth to take command. They took advantage of six errors, leading to five unearned runs.

Liam Hilburt doubled and scored in the fifth, giving the Tigers (10-14) their only run.

Bonner advances to meet District 4 champ Montoursville, a 5-2 winner of Wyoming Area, in the state quarterfinals Thursday.

Fleetwood’s unlikely playoff run is over. The Tigers were 3-8 at midseason after six straight losses but qualified as the No. 9 seeds for districts, then proceeded to knock off top-seeded West Perry in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Susquehanna Township in the third-place game.

The Tigers had trouble producing runs in districts; they scored six runs over four games. Monday they got just four hits. Bonner starter Harry Carr struck out seven over five innings, allowing three hits.

Fleetwood starter AJ Knoll allowed nine hits and seven runs, three earned, over four innings.

Bonner’s Austin Cannon had a single, double, two RBIs and scored twice. Irvin Fisher drove in two runs and scored twice. The Friars had 11 hits.

Fleetwood was in the state tournament for the first time since 2008.

Bonner reached the state semifinals last year. It brought back its entire starting lineup, including three Division I players. It has not lost to a Pennsylvania team this season.

The Tigers opened district play with a 3-1 win over Octorara and a 2-0 win at West Perry. They fell to fifth-seeded Littlestown 4-0 in the semifinals before winning a do-or-die game against Susquehanna Township, 1-0.

“I’m happy for the kids to get a taste of district and now state playoff baseball, (to see) what it’s really like,” Tigers coach Rolland Green said after winning the state-qualifier. “For the seniors, and for the young kids that are in the program, hopefully that’ll benefit us going forward. Right now there’s a lot of excitement, so it’s nice to get that back into the program.”

In 2008, the Tigers opened state play with a 1-0 win over District 1 champ Sun Valley at West Chester University. They were eliminated in the state quarterfinals by District 11 champ Blue Mountain, 9-3 in 10 innings.