Championship rematch: Pocono Mountain East, Southern Lehigh clash for District 11 title
It was a familiar scene for Pocono Mountain East.
The Cardinals returned to the District 11 Class 5A baseball championship for the second straight year, and not much changed. East played the same team (Southern Lehigh), on the same day (May 31), at the same stadium (DeSales University's Weiland Park) and with the same goal (winning districts). The teams at least switched dugouts for the rematch.
Southern Lehigh defeated East, 5-2, for the district title — the outcome another holdover from 2021. Spartans senior Matthew Tankred also played hero once again, driving in three runs with a bases-loaded triple in the third inning before scoring himself.
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Tankred closed out the game with 1 2/3 innings in relief of Solehi starting pitcher Janssen Brown, who allowed two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings.
Senior Tyler Grebb stood out for the Cardinals, pitching all six innings with six strikeouts and five runs (three earned). Grebb also singled and stole a base.
East junior Ethan Kauffman went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI. Kauffman drove in Julian Lopez, who also recorded an RBI.
What it means for East
Although four key seniors will graduate for East, the Cardinals should return a solid core next spring. Though a title remains elusive, the squad will be equipped with the experience of back-to-back district championship appearances.
Of East's seven players with at least 60 plate appearances, four are expected to return in 2023: Adam Horvath, Nate Meinweiser, Evan Schmelz and Michael Price. Two freshman — Rocco DelGiudice and Camryn Sopko — also compiled at least 30 plate appearances. Sophomore Jayden Martinez started at second base in the district championship game.
Horvath led the offense with a .365 average and 1.024 on-base plus slugging. Meinweiser batted .328 with a .814 OPS.
The team also returns the three pitchers it most relied on for innings in Horvath, Meinweiser and junior Gavin Sopko.
With a skilled core in place, the third time could be the charm for East's district title chase.
Key plays: The Big Half Inning
Competitive baseball games like Tuesday night's often come down to one key half inning. Between Southern Lehigh and East, that was the bottom of the third.
After breezing through his first two innings of work — including striking out the side on 12 pitches in the second inning — Grebb walked two batters to lead off the third. The senior pitcher committed a fielding error to load the bases, with no outs, for Tankred — Solehi's top slugger.
Tankred made Grebb pay with his bases clearing triple.
Though East scrapped together some offense with two runs in the top of the sixth inning, that momentum came to a halt in the bottom of the inning. Grebb struck out the first two batters, but a hit-by-pitch, error, wild pitch and second error led to Southern Lehigh's fifth run.
Tankred allowed a single in the top of the seventh, but otherwise struck out three to slam the door shut.
What's next?
Southern Lehigh advances to the PIAA tournament and will face the loser between District 3's Donegal and Susquehannock on Monday. East's season comes to a close.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: District 11 baseball: Southern Lehigh defeats Pocono Mountain East
