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First Posted: 6/5/2014 SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP. &#8212; Gino Cara had one last message for his players.
&#8220;Heads high,&#8221; the Hazleton Area coach said as the Cougars left the dugout for one last time. &#8220;Heads high.&#8221;
The fans and family members who stuck around Thursday night at Parkland High School gave the Cougars applause as they left the field, one-by-one, after a season-ending 3-1 loss to La Salle College High.
Hazleton Area&#8217;s season ended in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals, having surrendered only an RBI groundout in the first and two bases-loaded walks in the fifth.
After the Cougars had rallied late to win their state tournament opener on Monday, Cara politely laughed off the notion that his was a team of destiny
But when the Cougars loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh on Thursday, it had the feeling of a second straight walk-off victory.
&#8220;I thought,&#8221; Cara said, &#8220;we were going to gap one. I think everyone was (expecting it). &#8220;
Mitch O&#8217;Donnell and Dave Klein each drew a walk with one out. Two batters later, the Cougars got the break they were looking for when Dante Biasi&#8217;s grounder was booted at short to load the bases.
Down to the final out, Robbie John sent one back to nearly the same spot on the left side. But the ball never reached a fielder, instead hitting Klein on the leg as he broke for third.
And with that stroke of bad luck, the season &#8212; arguably the most successful in program history &#8212; was over.
&#8220;I&#8217;m so proud of these guys,&#8221; Cara said. &#8220;A 3-1 game, nothing to be ashamed of. We left it out there. Battled all year. Just told these guys you&#8217;ve got to walk out of here with your head held high. That&#8217;s all you can do.&#8221;
The Cougars did the most damage in the third inning after falling behind 1-0 after one. Jeremy Budgeon led off with a single and took second on a sacrifice. Joe Baran delivered with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1.
With two men on and two outs, John put a nice charge into the first pitch he saw, but the line drive was right at the left fielder to end the threat.
Hazleton (18-5) had another chance to go on top in the fourth when Sal Biasi found his way to third with one out after a leadoff single. But Explorers starter John Scheffey (complete-game victory, 6K) left him stranded, getting a strikeout and a groundout to keep it at 1-1.
That score held up until the top of the fifth when the Explorers took the lead for good on a series of near-misses for the Cougars.
Adam Arcadia&#8217;s bunt down the line caromed off a Hazleton player for an infield single. After a strikeout, La Salle got a bloop hit and another infield single to load the bases.
Starter Dante Biasi stayed in to face clean-up hitter Dom Cuoci, a St. Joseph&#8217;s recruit, and set him down swinging on a full count for the second out.
Stuck in the same situation against five-hitter Nick Dermo, Biasi&#8217;s payoff pitch was just a hair inside for ball four, bringing home what proved to be the winning run. Baran then came on in relief and the next batter, Brian Buckley, also laid off a 3-2 pitch for an RBI walk.
A few inches on either pitch could have extended the game and the season. Instead, the Cougars had a sendoff for a group of seniors led by Penn State-bound Sal Biasi.
That group set the tone for the players like Baran and Dante Biasi, who will look to make another trip to states in 2015.
&#8220;Hopefully we can give the town another run like that,&#8221; Cara said. &#8220;We brought some enthusiasm back to Hazleton &#8212; there&#8217;s no doubt about it.&#8221;
***
La Salle College 3, Hazleton Area 1PIAA Class 4A quarterfinalsLa Salle College`AB`R`H`BI`2B`3B`HR
A.J. Grezeszak ss`4`0`1`0`0`0`0
Brad Schneider 2b`4`2`2`0`0`0`0
Jim Herron cf`4`0`2`0`0`0`0
Dom Cuoci 3b`3`0`0`1`0`0`0
Aidan O&#8217;Neill pr`0`0`0`0`0`0`0
Nick Dermo c`3`0`0`1`0`0`0
Brian Buckley 1b`2`0`0`1`0`0`0
Ryan Coonahan rf`3`0`0`0`0`0`0
Ian McIntosh lf`3`0`1`0`0`0`0
John Scheffey p`0`0`0`0`0`0`0
Adam Arcadia dh`2`1`1`0`0`0`0
Totals`28`3`7`3`0`0`0
Hazleton Area`AB`R`H`BI`2B`3B`HR
Dave Klein rf-cf`3`0`0`0`0`0`0
Joe Baran cf-p`4`0`2`1`0`0`0
Dante Biasi p-rf-lf`3`0`0`0`0`0`0
Robbie John c`3`0`1`0`0`0`0
Sal Biasi 2b`3`0`1`0`0`0`0
Chris Panzarella ss`2`0`1`0`1`0`0
Kyle Rogers 1b`3`0`0`0`0`0`0
Seth Porpiglia 2b`0`0`0`0`0`0`0
J. Budgeon lf-3b`3`1`1`0`0`0`0
M. O&#8217;Donnell 3b-1b`1`0`0`0`0`0`0
Totals`25`1`6`1`1`0`0
La Salle College`100`020`0 &#8212; 3
Hazleton Area`001`000`0 &#8212; 1
La Salle College`IP`H`R`ER`BB`K
Scheffey (W)`7.0`6`1`1`2`6
Hazleton Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`K
D. Biasi (L)`4.2`7`3`3`2`5
Baran`2.0`0`0`0`2`2
S. Biasi`0.1`0`0`0`0`0
__________PIAA BASEBALL PLAYOFFSAll teams are listed by (district-seed)CLASS 4AFIRST ROUNDMethacton 4, George Washington 0
Spring-Ford 2, Parkland 1
La Salle College 6, Boyertown 3
Hazleton Area 4, Hempfield 3
Conestoga 3, Cedar Cliff 2
Red Land 10, State College 2
Seneca Valley 4, Moon 2
DuBois 9, Baldwin 3
QUARTERFINALSThursday&#8217;s gamesSpring-Ford 3, Methacton 2
La Salle College 3, Hazleton Area 1
Conestoga 10, Red Land 6
Seneca Valley 8, DuBois 0
SEMIFINALSMonday, June 9&#8226; Spring-Ford (1-4) winner vs. La Salle College (12-1), TBA
&#8226; Conestoga (1-3) vs. Seneca Valley (7-1), TBA
CHAMPIONSHIPFriday, June 13&#8226; Semifinal winners at Medlar Field, State College, 1 p.m.
__________CLASS 3AFIRST ROUNDPope John Paul II 3, West Perry 1
Northeastern 3, Archbishop Wood 1
Tamaqua 12, Franklin Towne 2 (6 inn.)
Jersey Shore 4, Abington Heights 3
Harriton 9, Northern York 8
Blackhawk 4, Somerset 3
Punxsutawney 3, West Allegheny 2
Cathedral Prep 9, West Mifflin 2
QUARTERFINALSThursday&#8217;s resultsPope John Paul II 4, Northeastern 1
Tamaqua 4, Jersey Shore 3
Harriton 2, Blackhawk 1
Cathedral Prep 9, Punxsutawney 2
SEMIFINALSMonday, June 9&#8226; Pope John Paul II (1-1) vs. Tamaqua (11-1), TBA
&#8226; Harriton (1-2) vs. Cathedral Prep (10-1), TBA
CHAMPIONSHIPFriday, June 13&#8226; Semifinal winners at Medlar Field, State College, 6 p.m.
__________CLASS 2AFIRST ROUNDNeumann-Goretti 5, Berks Catholic 3
Bloomsburg 8, Lakeland 3
Notre Dame-Green Pond 6, Springfield Township 5
Loyalsock Township 6, Bald Eagle Area 1
Bedford 10, Steel Valley 4
Northwestern 7, Karns City 6
Franklin 7, Seton LaSalle 2
Central 4, Quaker Valley 1
QUARTERFINALSThursday&#8217;s resultsNeumann-Goretti 1, Bloomsburg 0
Loyalsock Township 4, Notre Dame-Green Pond 0
Northwestern 8, Bedford 1
Central 17, Franklin 7 (6 inn.)
SEMIFINALSMonday, June 9 &#8226; Neumann-Goretti (12-1) vs. Loyalsock Township (4-1), TBA
&#8226; Northwestern (10-2) vs. Central (6-1), TBA
CHAMPIONSHIPFriday, June 13&#8226; Semifinal winners at Medlar Field, State College, 10:30 a.m.
__________CLASS AFIRST ROUNDDevon Prep 8, York Catholic 5
Canton 11, MMI Prep 1 (6 inn.)
Schuylkill Haven 12, Jules Masterman 2 (5 inn.)
Juniata Valley 2, Lancaster County Christian 1
Cranberry 2, California 1
Bishop McCort 5, Eisenhower 0
Carmichaels 5, Southern Fulton 4
Elk County Catholic 3, Sewickely Academy 2
QUARTERFINALSThursday&#8217;s resultsDevon Prep 12, Canton 1Schuylkill Haven 12, Juniata Valley 5
Bishop McCort 7, Cranberry 2
Elk County Catholic 10, Carmichaels 0 (5 inn.)
SEMIFINALSMonday, June 9&#8226; Devon Prep (1-1) vs. Schuylkill Haven (11-1), TBA
&#8226; Bishop McCort (6-1) vs. Elk County Catholic (9-1), TBA
CHAMPIONSHIPFriday, June 13&#8226; Semifinal winners at Medlar Field, State College, 3:30 p.m.

Cougars run ends in quarterfinals