Hegins' teeners complete repeat

HEGINS - What Hegins did to get to the Schuylkill County Teener League championship round was already pretty special.

A timely hit off the bat of 13-year-old Hunter Bordner on July 18 provided another exciting twist to the team's comeback story.

Bordner's two-run single in the fourth inning helped Hegins open a lead in a 5-1 victory over Strausstown at Hegins Park that clinched its second straight Teener title.

"He was a little nervous, but it was big and that's all I can say," Hegins manager Derek Masser said.

Since losing to Strausstown 10-8, Hegins had to win six straight games, including its championship-round sweep. Hegins (20-6) has won three of the last five county titles.

Hegins broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Cale Bruso drew a bases-loaded walk.

Bordner followed by driving a high fastball the opposite way to right field, allowing Joe Dietrich and Devin Masser to score and give Hegins a 3-0 lead.

"I just tried to come out and play like I normally play," Bordner said.

The Hegins No. 9 hitter played junior baseball through the regular season and only joined the senior squad for the playoffs.

"He's played well for me at third base since I brought him up and I was glad to see him come up with the big hit," Derek Masser said.

Last week three runs wouldn't have been enough to feel good about against the Strausstown lineup.

Strausstown scored 41 runs through its first three games of the postseason. It managed just six runs in two games against Hegins pitching in the title round.

Buddy Wehry held Strausstown to just three hits on Sunday.

Though the Hegins ace wasn't overpowering, he threw strikes and rarely missed his location.

The right-hander didn't allow walks while he worked quickly against the Strausstown hitters. Wehry's pace on the hill contributed to a game that was completed in a snappy 1 hour, 25 minutes.

Dalton Miller, Masser and Wehry comprised the three-man rotation that had their backs against the wall following the winners' bracket final loss to Strausstown.

Wehry's lone mistake was a curveball he hung in the fifth inning that was clubbed for a solo home run by Strausstown's Mitchell Shirk.

"He hasn't been a strikeout pitcher all year. He just keeps them off-balance," Derek Masser said. "He kept the ball down except for the one he hung up that got hit over the fence."

Other than that he just stuck to a simple game plan for seven innings.

"Throw the ball over the plate and let them hit the ball," Wehry said. "I knew my defense had me the whole time."

Hegins responded to the Shirk homer by adding two insurance runs in the fifth inning. RBI singles by Kyle Bair and Zack Wasilus were the big hits.

A four-run deficit was just too much for a Strausstown lineup that lost its momentum while not playing for a week following its winners' bracket final win over Williams Valley Gold.

"He (Wehry) did an outstanding job and kept us off-balance," Strausstown manager Chad Stambaugh said. "It really hurt being off, but we only lose two boys off this team, and we'll get them next year."

Even though Hegins entered the postseason as the defending champions, the return of just three starters from last year's squad took the target off their backs.

"I don't think anyone expected us to come this far," Masser said. "We started out a little slow, but midway through the season I thought we would have a shot at it and a chance to be here."

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