Blue Wave Baseball Advances to District Tourney Semifinal
Potential redemption on site? Three seed P.K. Yonge baseball is set for a rematch with two seed Newberry in the 2A-District 4 tournament following a 5-1 victory against six seed Crescent City.
Tuesday night’s district quarterfinal at Bobby Hawkins Field matched teams familiar with one another, as P.K. Yonge beat the Raiders twice during the regular season, including a 16-2 win Feb. 26 and a 6-1 victory last Thursday.
Starting the district tournament, P.K. Yonge coach Rob Brunson was looking to get his young team ready for a tough game Wednesday.
“I’d rather play this game than not play a game today and then just go in cold against Newberry,” Brunson said. “We’ve gotta have confidence going in there and I think we do right now.”
The Blue Wave (17-8) were not just seeking a postseason victory, they were playing for a milestone. Brunson entered the night with 139 career wins.
After Crescent City pitcher Marcus Pates gave up two early hits, the Blue Wave took advantage. They scored two runs in the first inning behind aggressive at-bats and baserunning. Colt Kramer brought in the first run and later scored the second to put the Blue Wave ahead 2-0.
Starting pitcher Matt Knott (4-0) held the Raiders scoreless through the first four innings. Crescent City (10-15) cut the lead in the fifth when Jed Lewis drove in a run on a single. Knott was replaced in the sixth by Kramer, who closed out the game by striking out three over two innings for his third save.
The Blue Wave bats had a quiet night with only three hits, but capitalized on Raiders’ mistakes to score runs. They leaned into their identity on the basepaths by finishing with five stolen bases, three by Kramer (23 on season).
“The leader for this team seems to be Colt Kramer. He’s our shortstop and he came in to close the game,” Brunson said. “Colt’s got two more years here, he’s got the respect of his teammates and he’s doing a great job.”
Brunson reached his 140th career victory in his 10th year at P.K. Yonge.
“To be honest, I didn’t know it was 140. I’ve been doing this for a while,” Brunson said. “I have a ways to go. I’m 56, but I’m still pretty much a young coach and I feel physically good.”
Brunson and his staff urged the players to keep their focus high heading into Wednesday’s 7 p.m. playoff at Newberry (17-6). The Blue Wave lost twice to the Panthers during the regular season, allowing a combined 33 runs with the help of 12 errors.
“Charlie Tumminia will start the game and we will go with Noah Grogan later on,” Brunson said. “We’ve gotta keep the ball down and errors to a minimum. Then we just have to get on base and utilize our baserunning.”
The Blue Wave face a challenging task against the Panthers as the young team looks to shock the district.
Category: High School Sports, PK Yonge High School
