Lancaster Catholic Leads Mounts

NOTE: This game is scheduled to be completed on Monday May 12th at 4:00 PM.

Reaching as high as 95 mph on the radar gun with his blazing fastball, Lancaster Catholic right-hander Willie Burger struck out the side in the first two innings and limited Ephrata to one hit over three frames as the Crusaders claimed a 3-0 lead in a suspended L-L baseball quarterfinal late Saturday afternoon at Ephrata’s War Memorial Field.

The third of four playoff games scheduled in Ephrata on Saturday, the game was suspended by heavy rain after three complete innings. It will be resumed Monday at 4 p.m. in Ephrata with Catholic batting in the top of the fourth. The Lampeter-Strasburg vs. Hempfield game, originally scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, was rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday in Ephrata.

Monday’s winners advance to Tuesday’s semifinals, set for 7 p.m. in Ephrata. Annville-Cleona and Northern Lebanon won their respective quarterfinals played earlier Saturday and will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Wenger Field in Lebanon County.

The title game is Thursday night at 7 in Ephrata.

One of the hardest throwers in the league, Burger’s fastball climbed into the mid-90s Saturday as he fanned seven over three innings. In the second inning he struck out the side on 12 pitches, 11 of which were strikes. He fired 55 pitches over three frames, 37 of which were strikes. Burger yielded one hit, Bobby Nye’s leadoff double in the second, and two walks.

Burger’s battery mate, Tyler Peters, staked his pitcher to 1-0 lead when he drove a 1-2 offering from Austin Lowrey into the left-field bleachers. The Crusaders tacked on two more runs in the third against Lowrey, who began the game with sterling numbers: a 4-0 record and 0.85 ERA. Chris Schreder and Casey Regan roped run-scoring singles that gave the reigning L-L champions a 3-0 lead before the rains came. Schreder and Regan are both 2 for 2 thus far in the game.

PRE-GAME CAPSULE:

The Mountaineer offense boasts hot bats in Nate Fassnacht (.467), Andre Good (.421), Charlie Warden (.375), Chase Weik (.333) and Brady Sipe (.321). Morgan Stauffer (5-0, 1.26), Austin Lowrey (40, 0.85), Gavilan Fogarty-Harnish (4-2) and Matt McGillan (3-1) key the Mounts’ mound corps.

Willie Burger (.385, 20 RBIs), Brandon McCafferty (.350), Chris Schreder (.339) and Casey Regan (.320) front the defending L-L champion Crusaders’ offense. Sophomores Andrew Debord and Shawn Henry are a combined 5-1 and join with Burger (1.44, 55 Ks), one of the hardest throwers in the league, to help key Catholic’s staff.

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