Fleetwood Tigers get defensive, squeeze out long-awaited state tournament win
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HARMONY – It was fitting that right fielder Nate Seidel recorded the final out Monday for Fleetwood, throwing the batter out at first base after a line drive that looked like a hit everywhere but the scorebook.
“Our defense is amazing right now,” said Tigers starting pitcher Liam Hilburt after helping his team beat North Catholic 3-2 in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A Tournament at Seneca Valley High School. “Props to them, they make a ton of amazing plays. That’s what’s get us these wins.”
The victory was the first in the state tournament for the Tigers in 16 years, since a 1-0 win over Sun Valley. They returned to the tournament just once since then, losing 8-1 to Bonner-Prendergast two years ago when Hilburt and his classmates were sophomores.
“We knew that going in,” Hilburt said of Fleetwood’s playoff drought. “We just wanted to make history, and that’s what we did; it’s a great feeling. It’s just amazing to get that ‘W’ in the state playoffs.”
Hilburt improved to 9-1 and fired his fourth straight complete-game victory in the postseason but he needed – and got – plenty of help from his defense.
Seidel’s game-ending play was perhaps the biggest.
Had he not fielded the ball quickly and fired to first to retire No. 9 hitter Alex Przybylek the District 7 champions would’ve had two on with the top of the lineup coming up.
“It’s not what we wanted,” said Hilburt. “The top of the lineup was killing us the whole game, so that was a great play by Seidel.
“I thought that kid had a base hit, then Seidel comes up and throws it all the way from right field. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’ He had a great throw to first base.”
Hilburt limited the Trojans (17-6) to five hits and didn’t walk a batter. He also didn’t strike out a batter, the first time that’s happened this season. He was efficient, needing only 70 pitches, 52 of them strikes.
“He’s just chill,” said Fleetwood coach John Chwatek. “He doesn’t worry about much. I don’t think the entire team worries about much. They just go out and they do their job; they know everybody’s standing behind him.”
The Tigers (16-10) advance to the state quarterfinals to meet Montour, a 5-2 winner Monday over District 10 champ Cathedral Prep. Montour finished third in the District 7 Tournament.
Hilburt allowed just one extra-base hit, a double to catcher Blake Primrose, a St. Joseph’s recruit who was batting .444 with a 1.000 slugging percentage and eight homers.
Hilburt took a no-hitter into the fourth before the Trojans got a pair of hits and tied it 1-1 on Owen Beatrice’s sacrifice fly.
Fleetwood took a 3-1 lead with a pair of runs in the fifth off North Catholic starter Caden Williams, who entered the game 7-0 with a 1.69 ERA. Seidel doubled and scored on a single by Nick Noll. Dalton Young’s infield single scored Carson Brey.
North Catholic pulled within 3-2 in the sixth when Primrose hit a 390-foot sacrifice fly to center, scoring Tommy Koroly.
“He smoked three balls,” Hilburt said of Primrose. “One was a double off the fence, and then a sac fly to deep center. I kept him in the park. That was huge for us.”
Fleetwood out-hit North Catholic 10-5, with eight different players collecting a hit. Young and Cane Cromer, whose fourth-inning RBI single scored Hilburt, each had two hits.
Fleetwood finished second to Twin Valley in Division II of the Berks League but showed its grit during the regular season by battling the top teams in Division I to the wire. The Tigers lost to Wilson 1-0 and to Gov. Mifflin 11-10 and then 5-3 in the league semifinals. They beat Muhlenberg 1-0 behind Hilburt in the opening round of the league tournament.
“These guys are just chill,” said Chwatek, the Tigers’ first-year coach. “They just roll with everything. They don’t take anything too much to heart. They just play the game.”
