For more than half of the game, it was a pitching duel between sophomore aces that neither side could crack. But in the 5th and 6th, both teams had enough, and in the end, the Hawks prevailed in their home opener, 2-1.

Pine Richland broke the shutout that sophomore stud Eric Chalus, Jr. had going in the 5th, but they only plated one run. He shut them down again in the top of the 6th. Then in the bottom half of the 6th, it was time for BP to say “enough is enough.”

Pine Richland’s sophomore ace Tommy Beam went five scoreless innings, shutting down an electric BP lineup in front of major conference universities. Indiana and Kentucky made to the trip to Purkey to check him out.

But his day was over in the 5th, and the Hawks’ offense was just getting started.

Junior Sean McGowan ignited the train with a walk. This was followed by a groundout by Eric Chalus, Jr., which moved McGowan up to 2nd.

Then, it was junior Kevin Kogler’s time to shine. Coming into the AB 0-2 on the day, Kogler saved his best for last, blasting a base hit up the middle that scored McGowan from second to tie the game.

Kogler was asked about that at-bat and said, “I had to forget about the last couple at-bats and focus in. I knew just a single would score Sean and tie it up.”

After a stolen base and an error by the Rams’ catcher, Kogler came around to score the go-ahead run. After that, the Hawks’ were retired to finish the 6th.

Coach Tony Fisher trusted his quiet, shy, ace one more time, handing him the ball to finish what he had started. And his performance talked louder than ever.

He calmly sat the Rams’ down in the 7th to clinch win #1 on the year.

“Pine Richland was one of the toughest lineups I have ever had to face. My teammates played awesome behind me. We got key hits when we needed it. The team support was great,” said the sophomore star (Chalus, Jr.).

The Hawks’ are back in action Thursday against Seneca Valley. First pitch is at 4 p.m. Come out and watch the Hawks try to start the year 2-0.