The No. 1 Northmor Golden Knights have relied on top tier pitching in the postseason, knocking off No. 12 Madison Christian 1-0 in the Sectional Finals, and beating No. 4 Mechanicsburg 2-1 in the District Semifinals of the Division IV Central 1 tournament.
On May 16, Drew Hammond pitched a one-hitter over six innings to beat Madison Christian to take the Sectional title. He allowed four walks and struck out 10 batters. Trevor Brubaker came in for the save, striking out all three batters he faced.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth. Hammond led off the inning with a double and then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Jack Bowdre stepped up and drove him home on an RBI single to left field, and that would be all the Golden Knights would need for the win.
Hammond was also the top offensive player with the team’s only extra-base hit with a double in a 1-for-3 day. Northmor had five total hits in the game, with Bentley going 1-for-2, Bowdre going 1-for-3, Bryce Cooper going 1-for-2 and Garrett Harvey having a 1-for-3 day.
On May 20, Northmor won in dramatic fashion with a walk-off when Harvey knocked in a run on a ground out in the eighth inning.
Mechanicsburg was up 1-0 after two, but the Golden Knights tied up the game in the third innings when Brubaker scored on an error.
The game went to extra innings tied 1-1, and Hammond led off the bottom of the eighth with a double to left. Billy Bowlin followed with a bunt single to advance Hammond to third, and then Bowdre was intentionally walked to load the bases. With one out, Harvey grounded to second but Hammond was able to come home for the game winning run.
Bentley pitched six innings, allowing three hits and one earned run, while walking two and striking out seven. Brubaker picked up the win, going two scoreless innings, allowing a hit and striking out a batter.
