Cedar Cliff cools off Wilson, claims District 3 Class 6A baseball championship
(This story will be updated with additional details and postgame reaction.)
Cedar Cliff unleashed a powerful hitting attack and drove Wilson ace Matt VanOstenbridge out of the game in the fourth inning en route to a 7-1 victory in the District 3 Class 6A championship game Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The fifth-seeded Colts (18-6) broke the game open with six hits and five runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead.
VanOstenbridge, who entered with a 1.60 ERA, had not allowed that many hits in a single game all season, let alone a single inning. The junior left-hander was removed with one out into the third after allowing 10 hits and seven runs, all earned. He walked one and struck out two.
The seventh-seeded Bulldogs (19-8) did not get their first hit until center fielder Rafael Fernandez led off the fifth with a bloop into right field, just beyond first base.
The Colts finished with 11 hits.
Wilson avoided the shutout in the seventh inning when Evan Gabaldon walked with the bases loaded, forcing home Rafael Fernandez, who had two of the Bulldogs’ four hits.
Jordan Negley earned the win, going 6 1/3 innings. He allowe dfour hits, walked three and struck out four. He was charged with the Wilson run.
Wilson will open the PIAA Tournament June 5 against the District 1 champion, which won’t be determined until Thursday. Cedar Cliff will open the tournament against the sixth-place finisher from District 1.
Wilson was bidding for its first district championship since 2021 and fourth overall. The title was the fifth for Cedar Cliff.
The Bulldogs entered the game on a roll, having won 12 of their previous 13 games. They were 11-1 in May. The Colts have won 10 of their last 11.
Wilson had not allowed as many runs as seven runs since a 9-7 win over Muhlenberg on May 1. It allowed seven or more four times previous to that, losing each.
| Wilson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Cedar Cliff | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | x | – | 7 | 11 | 1 |
| Bulldogs | AB | R | H | RBI | Colts | AB | R | H | RBI | |
| T. Hunsicker, 3b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Grube, ss | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Gabaldon, dh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Frey, 2b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Van Ostenbridge, p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Secrest, c | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Kulp, p/1b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bender, 1b | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| C. Hunsicker, 1b/p | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Esser, pr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ruiz, pr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tarnoci, rf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Sekulski, rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Niemiek, dh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Fiorini, lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Minium, cf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fernandez, cf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Negley, p | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Shutter, c | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Anastasi, cr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Frantz, cr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Enders, 3b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Gabel, 2b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Boblick, lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bilodeau, ss | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Crocona, ph | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Totals | 24 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 26 | 7 | 11 | 7 |
E: Bilodeau; Enders. 2B: Enders, Secrest, Bender. 3B: Bender. SF: Bender. DP: Wilson 1, Cedar Cliff 2. LOB: Wilson 8, Cedar Cliff 11.
| Bulldogs | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | Colts | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| VanOstenbridge, L (6-4) | 3 1/3 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | Negley, W (4-2) | 6 1/3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Kulp | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | Wagner | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| C. Hunsicker | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
WP: Kulp. HBP: Crocona (by Negley).
