Pa. Boys: Radnor bests Cheltenham in District 1 baseball

Last season, the Radnor baseball team got a taste of what the District 1 Class AAAA tournament is all about for the first time. This time around, the Red Raiders plan on taking a bigger bite of the apple.

Adam Erkis drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth Monday and ninth-seeded Radnor won at No. 8 Cheltenham, 8-7, for the first Class AAAA playoff win in school history.

Connor Wilson's RBI single with two outs in the top of the sixth tied it at 7-7. Wilson had three hits and drove in two runs. Erkis went 3 for 5.

Sean Corelli threw 22/3 innings of hitless relief to earn the win.

Downingtown West 2, Wissahickon 0 - Sean Esch struck out nine and walked none, and the sixth-seeded Whippets scored two unearned runs in the third to beat the visiting No. 11 seed.

Boyertown 2, West Chester East 0 - Dan Woodley threw six sterling innings, and the host Bears, seeded sixth in the north region, topped the 11th seed from the south. Woodley allowed four hits, struck out nine, and threw 60 of his 91 pitches for strikes.

North Penn 9, Conestoga 3 - Bobby Scott's three-run homer in the first inning gave North Penn a four-run lead, and the visiting 12th seed upset the No. 5 seed.

Catholic League losers bracket. Scott Boches dominated for Archbishop Wood, and the host Vikings remained alive with a 6-1 win over Neumann-Goretti. Boches struck out eight and threw 74 of his 112 pitches for strikes. Sophomore catcher Nick Lafferty, filling in for injured starter John Santospago, hit a two-run double in the fifth. Mark Mandes and Brett McCrossen each had RBI doubles.

Chris Elmes dazzled, striking out seven in a complete game to lift Archbishop Ryan past Bonner-Prendergast at La Salle University. Matt Grabner and Bob Romano each had two hits and drove in two runs.

Public League semifinals. Frankford turned a 6-4-3 double play to end a threat and close out a 3-2 win over Prep Charter at Ashburn Field. Carlos Ramirez needed just 84 pitches to get through seven innings.

Tim Hart threw a no-hitter, striking out 10, and hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the fifth as Franklin Towne Charter beat GAMP, 4-2, at Ashburn Field.

Independent Schools Tournament first round. After a pregame moment of silence to honor two recent deaths in the school community, an emotional Episcopal Academy beat visiting Friends' Central, 3-1. Adam Seibert threw a complete-game shutout, striking out seven and allowing three hits. Doug Trimble had an RBI double in the first. The Churchmen were mourning junior rower Paul Pratt, who was killed in an auto accident last week, and Rosella Washington, the mother of junior first baseman Mark Washington.

Steve Fitzgerald hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and host Haverford School went on to beat Shipley, 9-8, in eight innings. Trevor Atkins had an RBI and scored the game-winning run. Steve Steven Scornajenghi was 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

Adam Schall scored four goals, and La Salle earned the chance to defend its Catholic League title by beating Cardinal O'Hara, 12-3, in the semifinals at St. Joseph's University. Steve Hudak scored twice, and Matt Rambo had four assists.

Chase Young scored five times to pace St. Joe's Prep past Archbishop Wood, 13-5, at Radnor. Jake Liska went 18 for 19 on faceoffs.

Inter-Ac Invitational semifinals. Charles Kelly scored a goal and went 16 of 22 on faceoffs to lead Malvern Prep past Lawrenceville, 11-7, at Cabrini.