Oley Valley takes on Tyrone for PIAA Class 3A baseball crown

Rich Scarcella, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·4 min read

Jun. 16—Nate Reed's philosophy during his first season as the Oley Valley baseball coach has been to be more concerned with his team than its opponent.

It's been no different in preparing the Lynx (21-5) to face District 6 runner-up Tyrone (21-4) in the PIAA Class 3A title game Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Penn State's Medlar Field.

"I've told them to play free and easy," Reed said. "Play clean. Slow the game down. Don't let the game get bigger than it is. It's still just a baseball game. Go out and do what you're supposed to do."

Oley Valley finished second in Division III of the Berks League, reached the Berks semifinals for the first time since 2013, won its second straight District 3 championship and advanced to its first state final since 1989.

The Lynx have had a knack for winning close games, going 10-2 in ones decided by two runs or less. They beat Lake-Lehman 2-1 Monday in the semifinals, scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh inning on Paul Petersen's single, Lucas Myford's double and a throwing error.

"I think it's going to be a really close game," senior Eddie Standhardt said of the state final. "I think it's going to go all the way down to the seventh inning. Both teams are going to give everything we have because it's our last game no matter what."

Oley is making its fifth consecutive appearance in the PIAA Tournament. Tyrone, on the other hand, is in states for only the third time and the first since back-to-back appearances in 1992-93.

The Golden Eagles never had won a state playoff game until this year. They've beat Bedford 6-4, Hopewell 8-1 and Central 4-2 in the semis before almost 2,500 fans at Altoona's PNG Field.

It was the fourth meeting between Tyrone and Central, which won the Mountain League title and defeated the Eagles 11-1 in five innings for the District 6 crown.

Senior right-hander Rodney Shultz pitched 6.2 innings for Tyrone Monday, and junior left-hander Aiden Coleman got the final out.

With Shultz ineligible because he threw 105 pitches, Coleman is expected to start against Oley. A Penn State commit, he's 8-1 with a 2.39 ERA, two saves, 88 strikeouts and 36 walks in 52.2 innings. Sophomore Ross Gampe, nephew of former Schuylkill Valley boys volleyball coach Bill Gampe, will pitch in relief, if necessary.

"We have to execute our plate appearances," Myford said. "We have to do the little things right. In the field, we have to make sure we know where we're going with the ball and what we need to do to get guys out. It's not going to be an easy game."

Senior Brandon Lucas, Tyrone's top hitter, is batting .417 with eight doubles, two triples, 18 RBIs and 26 runs. Shultz (.355), senior Blaine Hoover (.318) and Gampe (.316) are all hitting over .300.

Standhardt (4.16 ERA) probably will start for Oley. He threw the PIAA opener against String Theory before Garet Blankenbiller started in the quarterfinals and semis. Blankenbiller is not eligible to pitch Thursday.

The Lynx played without an error against Lake-Lehman after committing three in an 8-6 win over Scranton Prep in the quarterfinals.

"We have to play solid defense," senior center fielder Matt Knowles said. "We finally put together seven innings of defense against Lake-Lehman. The hits didn't come Monday, but we had 14 the game before. We're just looking to put a full game together."

Oley also is looking for its fourth PIAA title and the first for a Berks League team since Conrad Weiser in 2010.

"When we were young, I thought we were going to be something special when we got older," senior Evan Solley said. "Although we had a rocky start this season, we came back and now we're here. We're a little public school that can take on anybody. I've believed in us forever."