RECAP >> TJ Geist tossed five strong innings and a five-run sixth inning proved to be the difference as Lower Mac beat Whitehall/Coplay 8-5 in a Lehigh Valley Legion elimination game held last night at Sam Balliet Stadium in Coplay.
The victory sends Lower Mac (13-5-1) to its first league final since 2015 where they will face a familiar foe in North Parkland in Monday’s 7 p.m. championship game at Parkland High School. The game will be carried LIVE on www.easternpasportsnetwork.com beginning at 6:45 p.m.
LM, the No.4 seed, will need to win twice to claim the title. The two teams have already met three times this season with the Buffaloes winning all three meetings, the most recent a 5-3 win on Thursday in the winners’ bracket final. A berth in the Region 2 Tournament at Quakertown on July 15 will also be on the line.
Geist (3-1) pitched arguably his best game of the season in leading his team to the win as he limited Whitehall/Coplay to just a pair of runs on four hits in five innings of work. The right-hander also struck out six in the game.
The bottom of the Lower Mac lineup – Geist, catcher Anthony McWhinney and second baseman Ryan Latchford – delivered key hits in the win as the three combined to go for 7-for-11 at the plate. McWhinney was 3-for-3 with a walk, Geist 2-for4 and Latchford 2-for-4, including two key suicide bunt singles.
Lower Mac built a 3-0 lead thru four innings before Whitehall/Coplay tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with right fielder Ryan Hausman, the No. 9 hitter, delivering the key hit, a two-run home run to right field. Hausman also had a RBI triple and finished the night 2-for-3 with three RBI.
LM was then able to respond in its next at-bat with a five-run sixth inning which put the game out of reach.
Whitehall/Coplay was looking to get back to the finals for the second consecutive year. They end their season with a 15-6 record.
Lower Mac 8, Whitehall 5
LM – 110 105 0 – 8-8-3
Wh – 000 032 0 – 5-6-2
TJ Geist, Alex Pion (6) and Anthony McWhinney; Sammy Castillo, James Evans (6), Tyler Mastropieri and Rob Yankowy. WP – Geist (3-1), LP – Mastropieri
3B – Hausman, HR – Hausman (5th, one on)