Plum Falls Shy Of PIAA Title With 4-1 Loss To Boyertown
For only the second time this season, the Plum Mustangs suffered defeat. Unfortunately for Plum, both heart-breaking losses came with a title at stake as the most recent of those defeats occurred on Thursday afternoon to Boyertown in the PIAA Class AAAA championship game at Penn State’s Medlar Field. Boyertown’s 4-1 win prevented the Mustangs from becoming only the fifth WPIAL team to win a PIAA title with only one loss.
Boyertown struck for two runs in the first inning for an immediate 2-0 lead. Plum cut the lead to 2-1 in the third inning when Alex Kirilloff drove home Jason Maltese with an RBI triple. That triple was nearly an inside-the-park home run but Kiriloff was tagged out at the plate by Boyertown catcher Ryan Weller. The play at the plate ended with a collision but Weller held on to the ball and Boyertown held on to its one-run lead.
In the sixth inning it looked like Kirilloff, who was drafted last week by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, had scored on an apparent sacrifice fly by Alex Terrell to tie the game at 2-2. However, Boyertown appealed that Kirilloff left early at third base and the petition proved successful as home-plate umpire Steve Hoover ruled Kirilloff out and the score remained 2-1, Boyertown.
Boyertown opened up its lead with two insurance runs in the top of the seventh to bring the final score to 4-1.
Plum finished the season with a 25-2 record. PIAA champion Boyertown concludes the 2016 campaign with a 24-6 mark.