Published: June 14, 2008 12:02 am            

Reliever provides the power

ALTOONA — Berwick junior relief pitcher Zach Lazar truly realized the significance of the Blair County Ballpark stage on Friday soon after the Bulldogs arrived at the site of the PIAA Baseball Championships.

Lazar and his teammates watched Camp Hill’s postgame celebration and the trophy presentation after a victory over Carmichaels.

Berwick and District 6 champion Somerset were on deck, waiting to play the Class AAA title game in front of an estimated 2,500 fans.

“Oh, my gosh. When I first got here, it registered when I saw the first team holding that trophy that we were playing for the state title,” Lazar said as the Bulldogs celebrated a 6-2 win over the scrappy Golden Eagles. “There are two teams left. We watched that last game – Camp Hill holding that trophy. We talked before the game. We did not want to be holding that runner-up trophy.”

Thanks to a solid effort by Berwick right-handed senior starter Scott Berkes and the scoreless relief work by Lazar, the Bulldogs ended a stellar run through the state playoffs by the Eagles, whose large fan base enthusiastically showered Somerset with cheers and praise throughout the contest and after the presentation of the runner-up trophy.

“Somerset’s a great team,” said Berkes, who allowed three hits and two earned runs in five innings. “We played them when we were 14 years old (in the Junior Little League state tournament) and we had a tough game until the end. We knew they wanted payback. The played us tough.”

Berkes benefited from two double plays. He struck out three and walked four.

Bulldogs coach Brian Pinterich pulled Berkes after he walked Chase Dykstra and Joe Foltz to open the top of the sixth.

Lazar induced a ground-out by No. 3 hitter Tyler Uphouse. Jordan Kaufman’s infield single plated one run, and Cody Hemminger’s sacrifice fly drove in the second.

Kaufman was caught stealing to end the inning. Lazar retired the Eagles in order in the seventh, including two strikeouts.

“Zach’s been coming in since the playoffs and he’s been shutting the door,” Berkes said. “For a junior not having much experience, he’s doing a great job. We always said we wanted to do this. Now that it’s finally here, it’s amazing.”

Somerset closed within 3-2 but Berwick answered with a three-run bottom of the sixth, capitalizing on three hits and a pair of walks.

“We knew if we could get through that (Somerset sixth inning) we would be good,” Berkes said. “Just to tack on those runs helped out. That took the pressure off the team. Zach could go out there and throw strikes.”

That’s exactly what Lazar did. He had eight strikes in the final Somerset at-bat.

“Me and Berkey were in our spots today,” Lazar said. “They put the ball in play. We have the best defense in the state. We hit the ball. We scored runs when we needed to and cruised from there.”

The loss didn’t diminish Somerset’s 19-7 season. Considering the Eagles started the season 1-5, Somerset had one excellent run.

“Pitching was there. Defense was there for both teams,” Somerset coach Steve Costea said. “They got the timely hits when they needed them. We hit the ball right at them early on. They got the key hits when they needed them. They made plays. It was one heck of a season.”

        

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