South Park bats come alive to beat Avonworth, set up de facto section championship game

By: Don Rebel
Monday, April 28, 2025 | 11:19 PM

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Coming into a big Section 2-3A series against first-place Avonworth, South Park had been struggling on offense.

The Eagles had scored a total of five runs while going 1-2 in their last three games.

So falling behind by five runs early against the defending district Class 3A champions seemed like too deep of a hole to climb out of.

However, the bats woke up in time for South Park to orchestrate a huge comeback to beat Avonworth, 8-7, and forge a tie for first place heading into the de facto section championship game.

“We talked about this (Sunday). I said in high school baseball, you sometimes get in those 10-0 games,” South Park coach Corey Fischer said. “I said this is big-time baseball, so promise me if you go down 1-0, 2-0, 10-0, you’re never going to quit, and they said yes, sir.

“At 5-0, I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that we were going to keep chipping away. They are a great team over there, and Cooper Scharding is a great pitcher, so it was a tougher task. It was kind of impressive when we put it together.”

The game felt like runs would be at a premium with two of the top junior pitchers in the district squaring off in the Antelopes’ Scharding and Eagles left-hander Cooper Hochendoner.

The two entered the game Monday with a combined record of 9-0 and ERAs under 2.00.

Avonworth took advantage of a South Park miscue defensively to put five runs on the board in the second inning.

Michael Libbon had a one-out single, Patrick Bykowski reached on a throwing error and Declan Ehrin walked to load the bases.

Scharding delivered a two-run single to right field to put the ‘Lopes up, 2-0.

Following a strikeout and a hit batter that loaded the bases again, junior Jack Dolan ripped a three-run double off the wall in left field to clear the bases and give Avonworth the lead, 5-0.

South Park began its comeback modestly in the bottom of the second inning when Troy Miller led off with a double and scored one out later on a double by the No. 7 hitter, Bryce Berzansky.

“Our bottom of the order likes to scratch runs across,” Fischer said. “I tell them we are not a big home run hitting team, so we’ve got to find ways to get guys on and get them home.”

The Eagles bats exploded in the top of the third inning when the first four batters hit a same-inning cycle.

Willy Hays singled then junior catcher Ryan Spitznagel crushed one over the left field fence to make it 5-3 Antelopes.

Hochendoner followed with a triple to the right-center field fence and scored on a double by Keegan Fekety, who later scored to tie the game on an RBI by A.C. Miller.

The two Coopers then settled down after the combined 10-run barrage, cruising through scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth.

South Park took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth inning when, with nobody on and two out, Hays singled and scored on a Spitznagel double.

After an intentional walk of Hochendoner, Fekety hit his third double of the game to produce two more runs and put the Eagles up 8-5.

“He’s been that all year,” Fischer said of Fekety. “Pound for pound, he’s been our best hitter all year. His on-base percentage is at the top, he leads the team in RBIs, he’s been so solid all year long, and he always pieces together good at-bats.”

The 2024 champions would not go quietly, though.

Hochendoner walked Case Latore, his final batter of the night.

Robert Lenzi then walked Metz and Dolan singled to load the bases with nobody out.

A force out at third base scored a run, then on a single by Carson Franc, Alex Rowe was caught in a rundown between second and third base and was tagged out as Dolan scored to make it a one-run game.

Libbon grounded out to shortstop to end the thriller as Lenzi saved it for Hochendoner, who improved to 6-0 this spring.

“Definitely wasn’t his sharpest outing, but that’s what makes a good pitcher. You have to find a way to pitch when you don’t have your stuff,” Fischer said. “The job of the starting pitcher is to give your team a chance to win. I though he threw well and did the job in front of him.”

South Park improves to 8-1 in the section, 11-3 overall, while Avonworth falls to 8-1 and 14-3 for the season.

The section crown will be up for grabs Tuesday when the Eagles battle the Antelopes at 4:30 p.m. at Avonworth.

Tags: Avonworth, South Park