PCA Hosts First Round of GISA State Baseball Playoffs against Westfield

Pinewood Christian Academy (PCA) Varsity Baseball Team led an exciting first round of State Playoffs Friday and Saturday, May 6-7, by winning the first two games and therefore advancing to the next round of playoffs.

Game 1

In a back and forth game, Pinewood was up 3-2 going into the seventh.  Westfield was able to tie it up by pushing a run across.  Further damage was stopped when Wes Purcell threw out a base stealer, and Jacob Hendrix, the winning pitcher for PCA in Game 1, got the next batter out.

Pinewood lead off with a single by Kaleb Shuman in the bottom of the 7th; an error by the right fielder allowed him to get to 2nd base.  Jake Woolard followed with what looked like a game-ending double that was foul.  On the next pitch, he hit a single. Westfield then intentionally walked Blake Shuman.  With no outs and bases loaded, Preston Campbell was able to lift the ball to the right fielder who caught the fly for Pinewood’s first out, but allowed Kaleb Shuman to score and celebrate a huge win in Bellville with score 4-3.

Game 2

Saturday in Bellville had an inauspicious start for Pinewood. After committing 3 errors in the 1st inning, PCA found themselves down 6-0; after the 2nd inning they were 7-0.  Going into the 3rd, Pinewood loaded the bases, and with one out, Preston Campbell connected with a grand slam to dead centerfield.  An inning later, Kaleb Shuman led off with a base hit, and Jake Woolard connected with a two run blast to right center making the score 7-6.  Pinewood played situational baseball to score 2 more in the 4th and to take the lead for the 1st time.  Ethan Duckworth really settled in despite a struggling defense behind him.  With the score still 8-7 in the sixth, Noah Callaway broke it open with a grand slam shot to left center.

Pinewood ended up adding 9 more runs in the 7th; a 3-run homer by Kaleb Shuman also powered the rally.  Parks Hagan pitched the 6th and 7th innings giving up no runs to secure a wild 21-10 series sweep.

Pinewood heads to Albany to take on Deerfield-Windsor, Friday, May 13.  Game times are Friday, Game 1 at 4:00 p.m.; Game 2 at 7:00 p.m.; and if needed, Game 3 will be Saturday at noon.