Bellefonte holds on for win despite late BEA comeback attempt

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: July 3, 2019

By Kenny Varner

BELLEFONTE – One thing is a certain in baseball, no lead is ever safe.

Tuesday night at Webster Field in Bellefonte, it was a game that every rivalry is made of.

What started out like a big lead for Bald Eagle transitioned to an even bigger Bellefonte lead going into the final two innings.

But with a District 5 Minor League All-Star championship appearance at stake, Bald Eagle pushed Bellefonte to the limit before the Red Raiders closed the door, winning 15-13.

Picking up the win was Zach Lehman while teammate Braedon Fortney picked up the save.

Offensively, Bellefonte posted 13 hits. Fortney was a perfect 4-for-4 on the night with 2RBIs and three runs scored.

Teammates Triston Heeman and Kaleb Tomassaci both tallied two hits apiece.

Bald Eagle was led by Grant Smith’s 2-for-3 effort with 3RBIs.

Luke Hosband and Nick Woodward both finished with two hits each.

The Eagles finished with 11 hits offensively.

Bellefonte lost the toss and were put in the visitor’s slot.

Fortney led things off with single but was stranded.

In the bottom of the first, Bald Eagle got on the board first as Hayden Stimer scored after being hit by a pitch.

Bald Eagle came back in the second to add two runs. Riley Bucha and Dawson Lomison scored on a triple by Grant Smith, making it 3-0.

Bellefonte battled back in the third inning to take the lead, posting a 6-run inning.

Lincoln Dubin led off with a walk.

Fortney added hit number two as he blasted a shot to third.

Zach Legman brought both Dubin and Fortney in when he doubled to left field.

Heeman reaches on a single as did Tomassaci, setting the stage for Gavin Lucas. Lucas tripled in everyone, upping it to 5-3.

Lucas later scored putting the Bellefonte lead to two runs at 6-3.

The “Red and White” kept the Eagles off the board in the bottom of the inning.

Bellefonte added three more runs in the fourth to increase the lead to 9-3.

But you can’t keep a good team down as Bald Eagle Area posted two runs in the bottom of the inning, cutting it to 9-5.

Scoring in the inning was Nick Woodward and Smith.

In the top of the fifth, the Red Raiders were able to increase its lead by posting two more runs. They were Quin Park and Dubin.

Trailing 11-5, Bald Eagle made its March to the comeback. The Eagles who scored were Luke Hosband, Wyatt Stimer, Woodward, Isaac Johnson and Colbey Burd, making it a nail biting 11-10 Bellefonte lead.

But the Red Raiders got its bats going in the top of the sixth to go up 15-10.

In their last at bats, the Bald Eagles made one last hard run at the Bellefonte lead but came up just short scoring only three runs.