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WEST WYOMISSING — Mike Bugonowicz called his outing Wednesday in the Pennsylvania American Legion tournament the longest and one of the top performances of his pitching career.
Bugonowicz started the game on the mound for Nanticoke with 10 shutout innings. But he absorbed the loss in a 1-0, 11-inning loss to Hellertown in a winners’ bracket semifinal game.
The Region 2 champion scored the only run on a bases-loaded walk with one out in the bottom of the 11th.
“What a heart-breaker,” Nanticoke manager Joe Yudichak said.
Mike Sulcoski finished with four of Nanticoke’s nine hits. Tyler Myers and Kyle Pokrinchak each contributed two hits for the Region 5 champions, who stranded eight runners on base.
Nanticoke (25-3) must defeat Uniontown at 12:30 p.m. Thursday to avoid elimination.
“It’s a disappointment,” Bugonowicz said. “This game was a wake-up call for us. We know what we need to do. We know what is at stake. The defense played perfectly. We’ve got to bring the bats.”
In 10-plus innings on the mound, Bugonowicz scattered eight hits and struck out four. He worked around two walks and stranded four Hellertown runners in scoring position.
“Mike pitched a fantastic game,” Yudichak said. “I feel really bad that our offense could not get him one run.”
Hellertown (29-2) scored its only run without a hit. Paul Roth worked a leadoff walk and Anthony Sneska followed by getting hit by a pitch.
Reliever Mike Blazaskie came on to record the first out on a sacrifice bunt. He then issued an intentional walk to Zach Thatcher to load the bases.
Austan Wolfe worked a four-pitch walk to drive in the winning run.
Nanticoke stranded eight base runners against Hellertown pitchers Brian Schoch and Brian Wildrick. The team left runners on scoring position in five innings.
The team’s best scoring chance came in the ninth, when Sulcoski led off the inning with a double to left center.
Rather than bunt the runner to third, Yudichak chose to allow the middle of Nanticoke batting order to swing away.
“It was my call,” Yudichak said. “They are all very good hitters, and I had all faith that they would come through.”
Bugonowicz popped out to shortstop for the first out. Blazaskie and Pokrinchak each grounded out to end the inning.
In the top of the 11th inning, Myers worked a leadoff walk for Nanticoke, but was thrown out attempting to steal second. The team put runners on first and second with one out against Wildrick later in the inning. But Bugonowicz’s pop out and Blazaskie’s infield grounder ended the threat.
Hellertown 1, Nanticoke 0 11 innings
Nanticoke`AB`R`H`BI
Myers 2B `4`0`2`0
Pack ss `5`0`0`0
Sucloski c `5`0`4`0
Bugonowicz 1b `5`0`1`0
Blazaskie p `5`0`0`0
Pokrinchak rf `3`0`2`0
Wickiser cf `3`0`0`0
Reno 3b `4`0`0`0
Kreitzer rf `2`0`0`0
Morgan rf `2`0`0`0
Totals `38`0`9`0
Hellertown `AB`R`H`BI
Schuyler rf `5`0`0`0
Harka cf `5`0`1`0
Roth 1b `4`1`0`0
Sneska 2b `4`0`1`0
Kologie c `3`0`2`0
Thatcher lf `4`0`2`0
Wolfe 3b `4`0`0`1
Hough ss `4`0`2`0
Wildrick p `4`0`0`0
Schoch p `0`0`0`0
Totals `37`1`8`1
Nanticoke `000`000`000`00 —`0
Hellertown`000`000`000`01 —`1
2B — Sulcoski; 3B — Sneska.
Nanticoke`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Bugonowicz L `10`8`1`1`2`4
Blazaskie `0.1`0`0`0`2`0
Hellertown `IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Schoch `9`8`0`0`1`4
Wildrick W `2`1`0`0`1`0