Freedom, Liberty baseball end postseason runs in NCS quarterfinals

While Evanson believed that Ribero was the right guy in the batter's box for the right time, Ribero didn’t have his greatest day at the plate. The senior was 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, the second of which ended the game.

Ribero’s inability to get a hit at the plate was one place where Freedom fell short.

Sophomore catcher Landon Clenney struggled behind the plate, especially in the second inning where three passed balls scored Vic Valle, giving the Pirates a then-3-1 lead after two innings. Valle singled with two away to get on base.

“Pittsburg did a good job capitalizing on the bases from us,” Evanson said. “Just one of those days, and I wish (Pittsburg) the best of luck going forward.”

The hard-throwing Adrian Boles took the mound for the Falcons. While he was able to keep Freedom in the game down by no more than two, there were moments where his lack of control caught up to him.

Overall, the junior right-hander tossed five innings, allowing four runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

For the Pirates, junior Cole Leschak stepped up into the spotlight when it mattered most. He took the complete-game win, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk.

Freedom was able to get to him a few times, including pulling back to within a run when Ribero grounded into a fielder’s choice to second, scoring Zach Fesinmeyer who singled to right to lead off the inning.

The bases-loaded jam that Leschak found himself in in the seventh was the worst of the jams he was in all game.

In that seventh inning, junior Carson Emmons singled to lead off the inning, followed by a single by his younger brother, Caleb Emmons. Two batters later, following another fielder’s choice and a strikeout, Angelo Solis drew a walk to load the bases for Ribero.

Pittsburg will travel to Concord to take on De La Salle in the NCS semifinals on Tuesday at 5 p.m. 

Liberty unable to keep up with Spartans in loss at De La Salle

Liberty High Lions starter Cole Ehrhorn and the rest of Liberty’s baseball team were unable to pick up where they left off after Tuesday’s shutout at Dublin, losing in the NCS quarterfinals 9-1 at top-seed De La Salle.

Ehrhorn got rocked early in the first inning and often in the third by the Spartans' lineup. He pitched just three innings, allowing six runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Fellow senior Andrew Dodgson came from the bullpen, but couldn’t contain the damage, allowing three runs on six hits with three strikeouts in the final three innings.

Liberty did have their chances to score early against Spartans junior starter RJ Meyn. With two away, junior Cruz Van Slyke hit a single to center. However, fellow junior Zach Madrigal, who singled earlier in the inning,was thrown out at home easily to end the inning after a perfect throw home from center field. The Lions also left a runner on in the third inning, looking to claw back from the early 2-0 deficit. 

De La Salle started to run away with the game in the bottom of that third inning, scoring four off Ehrhorn, followed by three more in the fourth. 

Liberty’s lone run came in the seventh inning off of an RBI double from Sutter Doctolero off of De La Salle junior Jack Karst.