5/21/03 

Laurel Valley wins again

NEW FLORENCE - The Laurel Valley Rams are going on a roll at the right time

Laurel Valley scored its second straight victory in the District 6 Class AA baseball playoffs, beating Penns Valley 11-0 Tuesday to earn a berth in the semifinals.

The Rams (12-5), the 11th seed, opened the playoffs Monday by upsetting Bedford 6-3. Penns Valley (9-8-1), the 14th seed, upset Bellefonte 15-4 on Monday.

Playing in rain Tuesday, Laurel Valley's Ray Shetler tossed a three-hitter in a game that was shortened to four innings due to the 10-run mercy run.

"We came out and gutted it out in adverse conditions," said Laurel Valley coach Lew McLaughlin. "We didn't let it bother us; we came out and played."

After two scoreless innings, the Rams took advantage of four walks and two errors to mount a nine-run outburst in the third inning. They tacked on two more runs in the fourth to bring the game to its early end.

"It was just a good combination of walks and errors," said Lew McLaughlin.

Matt Blistan led the Rams with a double and two singles and two RBIs. Brian Fritz stroked two singles and drove in two runs run. Shetler also had two hits.

The Rams play at Philipsburg-Osceola in Thursday's semifinals. Philipsburg, the seventh seed, beat second-seeded Forest Hills 14-3 on Tuesday.