Christopher Dock 15, GAMP 5

Christopher Dock's Ryan Seiz will be keeping an eye on Major League Baseball's first-year player draft, but he won't be on pins and needles when it comes to being a possible late-round selection.

That's because Seiz, a hard-hitting catcher for the Pioneers, thinks he can be among the players selected in the top three rounds after three or four seasons at Louisville.

"I need to get a lot bigger, work on my fielding, and become a better hitter," said the 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior.

"I really want to go to school first. It's a great opportunity. I don't want to give up those college years."

The switch-hitting Seiz doubled and slammed a two-run home run in an eight-run fourth inning as Dock ousted Girard Academic Music Program, 15-5, Monday in a PIAA Class A first-round playoff at Montgomery County Community College.

The six-inning game lasted 2 hours, 19 minutes.

Against Dom Raia, who took over for fellow righthander Anthony DiVincenzo (first-inning homer) in the bottom of the fourth, Seiz blasted a first-pitch fastball over the fence in right-center field to give the District 1 champions a 14-5 advantage.

"We knew about him," GAMP coach Art Kratchman said.

"We saw him two years ago. The pitch wasn't where we wanted it. It was down and in, and it should have been away."

Said Seiz: "The pitch was down and that's exactly where I like it. I just golfed it out of the yard."

In Thursday's quarterfinal round, Dock, which won state crowns in 2005 and '06, will meet District 3 champion Berks Christian, a 5-4 winner Monday over District 2 titlist Old Forge.

Seiz, who will play third base at Louisville, highlighted a two-run first with a ground-rule double to center that plated Brandon Reichart.

Seiz scored four runs, stole three bases, and walked twice.

In the fourth, Dock, of the Bicentennial Athletic League big-school division, scored eight runs on four hits.

Drew Mininger chipped in a three-run triple to right-center.

"Our hitting is ridiculously good right now," Seiz said.

"If we keep it going, we have a real good shot at going all the way."

Dock (17-3) finished with 11 hits. Senior righthander Alex Summers worked five innings, yielding eight hits and four earned runs, en route to the win.

GAMP, the District 12 representative, scored two runs in the top of the fourth to cut Dock's lead to 6-5.

Sal Giafaglione, who doubled to center and scored in the third, smacked a two-run single to center.

"It was a game," Kratchman said.

"It was right where I wanted the game to be, and we were hitting the ball. We hit some balls pretty hard today."

Of Raia's fourth-inning miseries, Kratchman said: "His ball-to-strike ratio wasn't good today. And he had to throw some fastballs when he was down in the count."

In six state playoff appearances, the first two in Class AA, GAMP (14-9) has been outscored by 62-18.

GAMP    102 200 - 5 10 3

Christopher Dock    204 801 - 15 11 2

WP: Alex Summers. LP: Anthony DiVincenzo. 2B: G-Tyler Criniti, Sal Giafaglione, Joe Coppola, James Coin; CD-Ryan Seiz, Tom Natalini. 3B: CD-Drew Mininger. HR: G-DiVincenzo; CD-Seiz.