The fifth-seeded Bangor Slaters chipped away at second-seeded Whitehall’s 7-0 lead in the District XI Class 5A baseball final to become district champions by a score of 12-8 on May 27 at DeSales University.

Whitehall pitcher Ryan Lindenmuth shut out the Slaters for three innings while the Zephyr offense kept things comfortable for Lindenmuth.

Tyler Sanders’ leadoff double set the stage for a 4-run first inning.

Donato Brigidi had the first RBI of the night, and Seth Hoderewski’s sacrifice fly scored Sanders.

Zack Schaedel singled and Tyler Reichenbach whacked a double down the third base line, followed by Konnor Moyer’s 2 RBI double to left field.

The Zephyrs added three more runs in the second inning highlighted by Brigidi’s triple to left field.

Bangor began its offensive push in the fourth inning with 5 base hits and 3 runs, but Lindenmuth quieted the Slaters’ bats in the fifth inning while the Zephyrs tacked on another run, making the score 8-3.

“[Ryan] was at 92 (pitches), we had the bottom of the order coming up, Nik’s (Christman) been excellent in that (reliever) role all year. He just didn’t get it done today,” said Whitehall coach Eric Schmitt. “I was really comfortable with taking Ryan out. He had an arm injury earlier in the year, and he hadn’t thrown that many pitches in a long time, so I thought we were set up in a good spot.”

With the score, 8-6, heading into the seventh inning, Christman forced a ground out, but Bangor had runners on second and third base.

Third baseman Schaedel fielded a ground ball perfectly, but his throw was dropped and Bangor scored. Two more infield errors cost the Zephyrs two more runs from which the Zephs were unable to recover.

“We didn’t make the plays we needed to make when we needed to make them,” Schmitt said. “You get in these playoff situations, and it’s not always the best team that wins. It’s the team that’s the hottest. I knew they were potent, and I did a lot of scouting. Everything came back the same way. This team can hit, they’re gonna score runs, and we knew at some point they would.”

Despite the outcome, Schmitt thinks highly of his Zephyrs.

“One of the greatest teams I’ve ever been blessed to coach,” said Schmitt. “Amazingly hardworking individuals. These seniors have done everything right for four years. They’ve done everything they could possibly do, and they should be very proud.”