Matt Remick sets the tone as Kutztown makes quick work of South Williamsport
PINE GROVE – Matt Remick told one of his Kutztown teammates before Thursday’s PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal against South Williamsport that the Cougars were going to put up a pair of first-inning runs.
The prediction was far from a bold one. After all, the Cougars are averaging more than a run per inning and with Remick leading things off their chance to score expands exponentially.
Remick drilled the first pitch he saw into left for single and quickly came around to score, setting the tone for Kutztown’s 9-0 romp against the overmatched Mountaineers at Stump Stadium.
“I think he’s is the best leadoff hitter in the county,” said Kutztown coach Tim Mertz of Remick, his senior shortstop. “He’s a table-setter. He gets on base and (the way) he sees (so many) pitches, it sets things up for the rest of the guys. He does an awesome job at it.”
Remick reached base reached base four times and scored three runs, the last in a bat-around, six-run fifth inning that broke open the game and paved the way for a trip to the semifinals Monday against District 6 runner-up Mount Union, a 16-1 winner Thursday over District 1 champ Calvary Christian.
Remick, who jacked his on-base percentage to a ridiculous .570, took second base on a wild pitch, tagged up and went to third on Kole Schuler’s fly ball to center and scored on Bryce Schafer’s groundout to short for the first run.
Nick Hugo slammed a two-out double down the left-field line, scoring Dalton Furst from first for a 2-0 lead.
“That’s what we do,” said Furst, who collected three of Kutztown’s 10 hits, scored twice and stole a pair of bases. “When we get out early, we have good confidence; that’s how we felt tonight.”
Schafer, who threw a complete game in the district final against Halifax, made those early runs stand up. He went six innings, allowed just three hits, walked only one and, along with Hugo, his catcher, kept the Mountaineers’ running game at bay.
“He’s been great,” Remick said of Schafer. “He’s digging deep for us. We have a lot of heart on this team and it starts from the top with him, and all the other seniors. He’s giving everything he’s got this year and I’m so proud of him.”
The District 3 champion Cougars (19-6) played flawlessly in the field, without an error, and gave the Mounties nothing to work with. Remick made several nice plays at shortstop and ended the game by starting a double play.
The District 4 runner-up Mountaineers (15-6) saw only one runner move into scoring position against Schafer (6-2), when Kaden Shay reached on a force out in the fourth and stole second and third bases. He was stranded at third when Schafer struck out Kaiser Kistner and got Tadd Lusk to ground out to end the inning.
The Mounties finished with just five hits, collecting two in the final inning off Furst.
The Cougars knocked South Williamsport ace Noah Turner (8-2) from the game during the fifth, when they went up 9-0. Turner allowed eight hits and six runs, five earned, over 4 1/3 innings and did not strike out a batter. He entered with a 3.10 ERA and 50 strikeouts over 58 2/3 innings.
Kutztown got an RBI single from Dominick Pizzelanti and a two-run single from Ashton Dunn during the fifth. One run was forced home when Colin Diehl was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded; another scored when Remick reached on an error.
Schafer had an RBI single to cap the big inning; he drove in runs in the first and third innings with groundouts.
“We’re strong through the lineup,” said Remick, “so anybody can set the tone. Pretty much all of were hot today; it worked out in our favor.”
The win was the fourth straight and 10th in 11 games for the Cougars. Since the start of the District 3 playoffs they have outscored their opponents 33-6.
Kutztown is one win away from reaching the PIAA championship game Friday at 10:30 a.m. at Penn State’s Medlar Field. The Cougars’ only appearance in the championship game came in 2007, when they fell to Bald Eagle 6-1.
“It’s surreal that (in) your senior year you’re making a run to the state championship (game),” Remick said. “We’re gonna keep on chugging.”
“This was one of our two goals at the beginning of the season,” said Furst, “district title and . . . I’m not gonna say it, but we have two more games.
“I’m definitely feeling it. I know it’s coming close, but we’ve got to stay humble, keep our heads high. We know what we’ve got to do.”
| S. Williamsport | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Kutztown | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | x | – | 9 | 10 | 0 |
| Mountaineers | AB | R | H | RBI | Cougars | AB | R | H | RBI | |
| Neidis, 3b/p | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Remick, ss | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Shay, ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Schuler, 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kistner, 2b/p | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Schafer, p/1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| Z. Lynn, ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ott, cr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wertz, dh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Furst, lf/p | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Beck, lf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Hugo, c | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Minier, cf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Pizzelanit, 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Orosco, ph | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Hamm, dh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jones, c | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Mathias, 1b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hostrander, ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Gilbert, dh/lf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Turner, p/3b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Diehl, rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| J. Lynn, rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dunn, cf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Totals | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 28 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
E: Shay, Lusk. SB: Shay 2; Furst 2, Dunn. CS: Minier; Diehl. LOB: South Williamsport 4, Kutztown 6.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |||
| Turner, L (8-2) | 4 1/3 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | Schafer, W (6-2) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Neidis | 1/3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Furst | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Kistner | 1 1/3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
WP: Turner 2, Neidis. B: Turner, Neidis. HBP: Hugo (by Turner), Diehl (by Neidis).
