One bad inning burned Matt Leon in the Lehigh Valley Conference semifinals a week ago. <\/p>\n
He didn't let another shaky postseason frame end his high school career. <\/p>\n
When his Liberty teammates gave him a second lead Wednesday, Leon went into shutdown mode. He tossed three straight scoreless innings before No. 4 Whitehall managed a meaningless seventh-inning run. <\/p>\n
Leon pushed his pitch count to 122 to finish what he started, a 7-3 win in the District 11 Class 4A baseball quarterfinals. He never considered turning the ball over to a teammate even after taking a line drive off his pitching hand in the bottom of the sixth. <\/p>\n
Leon's workhorse outing lifted fifth-seeded Liberty (15-7 overall) into Friday's district semifinals. The Hurricanes will face top-seed Parkland (18-5), which rolled to a 10-2 win over No. 8 Freedom, in a 7 p.m. game at Hackett Park in Easton. <\/p>\n
Liberty will have to win Friday to give Leon a chance to pitch another high school game. If Wednesday marked the end of his time as a Hurricanes pitcher, he produced a memorable conclusion. <\/p>\n
When Liberty finished shaking hands with the Zephyrs (16-6), Leon ran toward the dugout calling for ice. His right hand began to swell as soon as a line drive from Whitehall catcher Ryan Bonshak smashed into him. After the game, stitch marks were visible where the baseball struck Leon's hand. <\/p>\n
\"I guess he hit it pretty hard,\" Leon said with a laugh. <\/p>\n
Liberty coach Andy Pitsilos wasn't in a joking mood after seeing his ace get drilled. Leon was dazed at first after Bonshak's liner hit him, but he recovered to find the ball. He then fired a wild throw to first for an error before calling for a trainer. <\/p>\n
After he was examined, Leon was given the chance to test his hand with a couple of warm-up pitches. The first one sailed high, forcing catcher Abner Santana to leap from his crouch to catch it. Leon's second warm-up pitch hit Santana's mitt, and he assured Liberty's coaches and medical staff he could continue. <\/p>\n
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Original post: <\/p>\n
Liberty baseball team beats Whitehall, reaches District 11 4A semifinals<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One bad inning burned Matt Leon in the Lehigh Valley Conference semifinals a week ago. Continue reading