Hempfield wins tense battle with Downingtown West, will play for state Class 6A baseball title

READING — Hempfield’s baseball team is one win from a state championship.

The Black Knights earned their spot in the PIAA Class 6A final in a long, tense battle with highly regarded Downingtown West, overcoming a three-run deficit to beat the Whippets 9-7 in a semifinal at Muhlenberg High School.

“Our guys weren’t over-matched,” said coach Jeremy Morrison. “They met the moment pretty well. All their pitchers were good, but we found the resolve to just kind of work at-bats.”

It means Hempfield (22-6) will play in Thursday’s final opposite La Salle College (24-3) at 4:30 p.m. at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the Penn State campus.

Hempfield vs. Downingtown West - PIAA Class 6A baseball semifinals [photos]

West featured Jay Slater, considered one of the country’s best catchers and a Duke recruit, and a Pitt-bound pitching ace, Drew Turner, who was unavailable Monday.

The Knights grabbed this one by the throat after trailing 4-1 by scoring a combined eight runs in the fourth and fifth innings, each a long grind of deep counts, borderline ball-strike calls, pitcher’s pitches fouled off and the craft of putting the ball in play.

Key hits in the fourth were singles by Brody Gebhard, Logan Dougherty and Charles Sheerer, along with a clutch sacrifice fly to deep center by Josh Toole.

The fifth was a mini-series, beginning with two batters hit by pitches that prompted the end of the night for West starting pitcher Zach Griffin.

Gebhard greeted reliever Austin Frye with an RBI single, followed by a two-run single to left by Logan Harelson. Then the Whippets committed a key error, and Toole again delivered a big sac fly.

Harelson started on the mound for Hempfield and was very good, but ran up against the pitch-count limit in the fifth, when West scored two to get within 9-6.

“I thought he pitched really well,’’ Morrison said. “He had some strikeouts (eight) and deep counts, and gave up some hits that were kind of soft contact, but that went both ways.’’

Enter on the mound Gebhard, author of a no-hitter in Friday’s quarterfinal win over Erie McDowell. He retired the first six he faced, four of them by strikeout, still working on a no-no for the state tournament.

It wouldn’t end up that easy. More deep counts, a single and two walks, and the Whippets ended the game down two with the bases loaded and the leadoff hitter up.

Gebhard included a popup to Harelson, now at first base, and it was over.

Gebhard had three hits, all singles, scored twice and drove in a run. Sheerer also had three hits from the leadoff spot. Toole had a single, the two sac flies and a screaming liner on which West shortstop Quinn Henicle made a great leaping grab.

Dougherty, who has given his club a lot of strong at-bats this postseason from the ninth spot, had a double, a single, a run and an RBI.

Having used, but not overused, Harelson and Gebhard to get to the biggest game, Morrison said he doesn’t know who’ll get the ball first Thursday.