Caden Force drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the game-winning run in the longest playoff game in PIAA history yesterday, a two-day marathon that lasted seventeen innings. Indiana downed East Pennsboro 6-5 and advanced to the state championship game for the second season in a row.
Carter Putt led off the 17th with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. Ethan Shank reached on a bunt single, with Putt making it to third base. After Mark Collinger was intentionally walked and a strikeout, Force stepped in and took a ball up and in. He then swung and missed at the second pitch and fouled off a pitch to fall behind in the count, 1-and-2 before taking three straight balls, driving in Putt with the winning run.
Coach Dan Petroff says it was an ordeal, but the guys never backed down.
Petroff says making it to back-to-back state championship games is hard to do.
Indiana is 25-1 and has never won a state title. They’ll be playing in their second straight Quad-A championship game after falling to Holy Ghost Prep last year. They will play District 4 champion Montoursville, which beat Pope John Paull II 6-0 on Monday. The game will be at 1:30 Friday at Penn State’s Medlar Field.
