DISTRICT 11 BASEBALL: Pine Grove bats come alive in rout of Catasauqua

CATASAUQUA - The hair is dyed golden blonde.

The bright red jerseys are out of storage.

And Pine Grove's bats returned in full force from some late-season struggles.

It must be playoff time.

Kobe D'Agostino's RBI triple in the fourth inning sparked the Cardinal lineup and Jed Blankenhorn was economical and efficient on the hill as Pine Grove beat Catasauqua 10-2 in a District 11 Class AA quarterfinal Wednesday afternoon.

Next up for the No. 5 Cardinals is a semifinal date with top-seeded Salisbury. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Friday at Limeport Stadium.

D'Agostino went 3-for-5 with a pair of triples and three RBIs for the defending district champion Cardinals (13-8). His first triple to right-center came on the heels of a sac fly by Blankenhorn. Those hits were part of a five-run inning that gave Pine Grove a 6-1 cushion and chased starter Zach Stopay.

"The first time through the lineup is always just seeing the ball, getting a feel for it, getting the speed, getting his release point," D'Agostino said.

"The second time through, that's when we really ignited. That's when we started swinging the bats better, putting it in play. That's when I had the triple with it. That just started everything. That's all it takes is that little bit of momentum to get everything going."

The hit parade - Pine Grove finished with 10 - was just what the doctor ordered. It's also become an annual occurrence for the Cardinals to get hot at the plate at the right time.

"We were struggling a little bit the last couple games of the season," D'Agostino said. "We're picking it back up. This is the time you need it. It's the same thing that happened last year with us. We were struggling at the end of the year last year, and we just pulled through."

Pine Grove's entire lineup produced quality at-bats against the Rough Riders (12-10). Those at-bats allowed the Cards to take bases via steals, sacrifices and capitalizing on Catty mistakes.

"Kobe had a great offensive night, which was the key," Pine Grove coach Keith Lehman said. "We had other guys that had good ABs. Then we took advantage of some of their mistakes, too, which is a big part of this great game. If they give you an extra opportunity, take advantage of it."

Blankenhorn was the other key for Pine Grove. Although the junior wasn't overpowering, he was efficient.

The left-hander threw just 90 pitches - 59 for strikes - and escaped several jams in tossing a complete game.

Five times Catasauqua advanced runners to third base. Blankenhorn allowed just two of those runs to score. He also pitched from behind against several batters to record big outs.

"Jed competed outstanding," Lehman said. "He made some quality pitches when he had to when they had runners on. I don't know how many they left on."

Blankenhorn was at his best against the middle of the Rough Riders lineup. The No. 2-7 hitters went just 2-for-15 with one walk and one RBI.

"That's outstanding," Lehman said. "We knew they had some hitters 1-5. Watching them in BP, that was going to be important that we controlled their ABs. Jed did a great job."

Source: http://republicanherald.com/sports/district-11-baseball-pine-grove-bats-come-alive-in-rout-of-catasauqua-1.1493956

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