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Meghan Armstrong’s heavy hitting leads Holy Redeemer past Kutztown in state softball quarterfinals

<p>POTTSVILLE &#8212; Mark Popson&#8217;s shot back up the middle ticked off the pitcher&#8217;s glove. Just enough to take away a play in the infield for a base hit.</p><p>One last bit of Wyoming Valley West mojo.</p><p>The hit brought the tying run to the plate for the Spartans with two gone in the bottom of the seventh. But that&#8217;s where their bid to return to the state title game ended.</p><p>Valley West&#8217;s bats couldn&#8217;t get enough going against Boyertown pitcher Pat Hohlfeld and the Spartans fell 4-2 in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals at Pottsville Area&#8217;s Steidle Field.</p><p>Tyler Yankosky drove in fellow senior Ryan Hogan with doubles in the fourth and sixth innings to account for Valley West&#8217;s runs, but the District 1 Bears had already built a 4-0 lead before holding on to win.</p><p>Hohlfeld gave up just four hits and only walked one while striking out seven.</p><p>&#8220;He worked fast, he was throwing strikes,&#8221; Spartans coach John Milius said. &#8220;He had good velocity. He had that cut fastball that has a little break on it. My hat&#8217;s off to him.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;He stayed composed in tough situations,&#8221; Boyertown coach Todd Moyer said. &#8220;He came back and made tough pitches and just minimize the damage.&#8221;</p><p>At the plate, the Bears were also opportunistic, as three of their runs came with two outs.</p><p>&#8220;That hurt us. &#8230; They got the hit when they needed it, and we couldn&#8217;t do it,&#8221; Milius said. &#8220;Too little, too late. We just couldn&#8217;t get it down on the ground and get something going.</p><p>&#8220;We put the ball in play &#8212; things happen. But we were popping up. We were trying to pull it instead of riding it and staying in the zone with him.&#8221;</p><p>In the top of the second, it was catcher Ryan Weller taking a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left to make it 1-0.</p><p>In the next inning, Ben Longacre doubled in another run and scored on a Mitch Peers single. Boyertown added an insurance run in the top of the fourth on a sac fly.</p><p>&#8220;Last week we got shut out twice and we had nine runners stranded,&#8221; Moyer said. &#8220;Today we came through with some big hits. And it&#8217;s a different ballgame when that happens.</p><p>&#8220;I think we were just a little more disciplined in the strike zone. He came inside and kept the ball down and we didn&#8217;t (chase) high.&#8221;</p><p>Down 3-0 in the third, Valley West starter Grant Powell looked to be in trouble, especially as the Bears loaded the bases and the senior fell behind the next batter 3-0.</p><p>A mound visit from assistant coach Charlie Whited did the trick and Powell recovered to pick up an inning-ending strikeout.</p><p>&#8220;The home run sort of knocked the wind out of him for awhile,&#8221; Milius said. &#8220;He was trying to overthrow. He got a little shook. There&#8217;s no two ways about it. But he bounced right back.</p><p>&#8220;His mechanics are good and once he got the ball out &#8212; his hand out in front &#8212; he was good. I thought the last inning was the best inning he threw.&#8221;</p><p>Indeed, Powell kept the Spartans alive, putting up a zero in three straight innings to set the stage for one last rally attempt in the seventh.</p><p>After two outs, Popson gave Valley West some hope with his seeing-eye single to bring it back to the top of the lineup. But Hohlfeld buckled down for one more strikeout to send the Bears through to Monday&#8217;s semifinals against Cumberland Valley.</p><p>The loss ended an impressive two-year run for the Spartans&#8217; senior class, most of which won four state tournament games &#8212; five for Hogan, who was with the varsity squad as a freshman.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a little disappointed, of course,&#8221; Milius said. &#8220;But nobody (around the state) gave us a chance to be this far.</p><p>&#8220;We had great chemistry this year. Hopefully it&#8217;ll carry over to next year.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Boyertown 4, Valley West 2</strong></p><p><strong>Boyertown`AB`R`H`BI</strong></p><p>Pinder 2b`3`1`2`0</p><p>Kreitz 3b`1`0`0`1</p><p>Jacobs lf`4`0`0`0</p><p>Longacre 1b`4`1`1`1</p><p>Hohlfeld p`0`0`0`0</p><p>Peers dh`4`0`1`1</p><p>Randall pr`0`0`0`0</p><p>Melchior rf`3`0`2`0</p><p>Demartino rf`1`0`0`0</p><p>Weller c`2`1`2`1</p><p>Shustack cf`2`0`0`0</p><p>Raineri ss`3`1`1`0</p><p><strong>Totals`27`4`9`4</strong></p><p><strong>Valley West`AB`R`H`BI</strong></p><p>Montalvo cf`4`0`0`0</p><p>Sott rf`3`0`0`0</p><p>Hogan ss`3`2`1`0</p><p>Vought c`2`0`0`0</p><p>Yankosky 1b`3`0`2`2</p><p>Ruff pr`0`0`0`0</p><p>Bayo lf`3`0`0`0</p><p>Powell p`0`0`0`0</p><p>Pollick dh`3`0`0`0</p><p>McCue 3b`3`0`0`0</p><p>Popson 2b`3`0`1`0</p><p><strong>Totals`27`2`4`2</strong></p><p><strong>Boyertown`012`100`0`&#8212;`4</strong></p><p><strong>Valley West`000`101`0`&#8212;`2</strong></p><p><strong>2B</strong> &#8212; Longacre, Hogan, Yankosky 2; <strong>HR </strong>&#8212; Weller</p><p><strong>Boyertown`IP`H`R`ER`BB`K</strong></p><p>Hohlfld (W)`7.0`4`2`1`1`7</p><p><strong>Valley West`IP`H`R`ER`BB`K</strong></p><p>Powell (L)`7.0`9`4`4`2`3</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Boyertown&#8217;s Tyler Krietz (28) slides underneath Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Mark Popson for a stolen base in Thursday&#8217;s state quarterfinals. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_ValleyWest1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Boyertown&#8217;s Tyler Krietz (28) slides underneath Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Mark Popson for a stolen base in Thursday&#8217;s state quarterfinals. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_ValleyWest2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Boyertown&#8217;s Mitch Pinder (left) arrives safely at first while Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Tyler Yankosky stretches for a ball on Thursday in Pottsville. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_ValleyWest2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Boyertown&#8217;s Mitch Pinder (left) arrives safely at first while Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Tyler Yankosky stretches for a ball on Thursday in Pottsville. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_ValleyWest3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West pitcher Grant Powell (left) throws to first baseman Tyler Yankosky (24) for an out against Boyertown Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_ValleyWest3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wyoming Valley West pitcher Grant Powell (left) throws to first baseman Tyler Yankosky (24) for an out against Boyertown Thursday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_ValleyWest4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West starter Grant Powell went the distance for the Spartans on Thursday, striking out three. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_ValleyWest4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Wyoming Valley West starter Grant Powell went the distance for the Spartans on Thursday, striking out three. </caption3><photoCredit3>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_ValleyWest5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Valley West center fielder Justin Montalvo scoops up a Boyertown single in Thursday&#8217;s PIAA quarterfinals in Pottsville. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_ValleyWest5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Valley West center fielder Justin Montalvo scoops up a Boyertown single in Thursday&#8217;s PIAA quarterfinals in Pottsville. </caption4><photoCredit4>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Valley West baseball falls in state quarterfinals