PINE GROVE - Panther Valley’s baseball team can look back on the 2024 season that had a tremendous number of highs, and also some lows.

The final chapter in this season’s story for the Panthers came on Tuesday at Stump Memorial Baseball Field when they lost 4-2 to Pine Grove in the quarterfinal round of the District 11 Class 3A playoffs.

It was a game the Panthers nearly rallied to pull out, but eventually fell short.

As with any season-ending loss, there was plenty of sadness among the players.

But, Panther Valley’s collective hearts weren’t just heavy over a baseball loss. The Panther players were dealing with so much more.

No one felt the weight of that sadness more then PV leadoff batter Chase Weaver - a superb multi-sport athlete at the school.

One week ago to the day, as Panther Valley was playing in the Schuylkill League semifinals, Chase lost his father Ken, who was buried earlier Tuesday.

In his final high school contest, Weaver waited on deck with two outs in the top of the seventh. The Panthers had two runners on base and trailed by two runs.

“I was really hoping to get that one more at-bat,” Weaver said. “It would have been nice. I was thinking the entire game about my dad. Every time I went out to centerfield I looked up knowing my dad was looking down.

“I was thinking of him the entire game. Every at bat, every pitch, just about every minute. Just looking up and talking to him.”

Unfortunately, for the Panthers and Weaver, his opportunity in the seventh never came.

Pine Grove relied on its ace left-handed pitcher Carson Lengle, who was nothing short of stellar, striking out nine batters, while allowing just one earned run.

“He’s quite the pitcher when he has everything going,” said Pine Grove manager Keith “Slugger” Lehman. “When you have all your pitches working, it puts the other guys back on their heels.”

Other than a three-run first-inning uprising, Panther Valley pitcher Tyler Black matched Lengle pitch for pitch.

“He struggled early on and then he found it,” said Panther Valley manager Rich Evanko about his lanky righthander. “He battled and did a heck of a job. Other than the three-run homer, he pitched well.”

A strike out, a walk and a fly out opened the home first for the Cardinals. An infield single then brought up Pine Grove’s heavy hitting Wyatt Snyder, who buried a full-count fastball to dead centerfield for the early 3-0 lead.

The Cardinals pushed across a run in the third when Lengle singled and used his speed to steal second. Black reared back, got a flyout and a strikeout before Ty Drumheller looped a Texas League single, allowing Lengle to score for a 4-0 lead.

Finally, the Panthers cracked the code, scoring two runs and in the process broke up Lengle’s no-hit bid in the sixth. Brennan Kunkel drew a walk to open the frame, and two outs later Hayden Goida also walked. Stephen Hood then muscled an opposite field single just behind first base to score Kunkel with an errant throw on the play, allowing a second run to score.

Though the Panthers brewed up a threat in the seventh, it was not to be.

After the game, Panther players and coaches talked about their teammate, and the heartbreaking week he has endured.

“We’ve been there for him the last week,” Hood said about Weaver. “We wanted to win for him.”

“I love Chase, it’s been very difficult for him,” added Goida. “We tried to do things for him, hangout, whatever we could help him in any way.”

Added Black. “I did my best for Chase and all my teammates. I can’t imagine what Chase is going through.”

Panther Valley assistant coach John Cooper said the program is feeling the pain.

“It’s been a very difficult week for him and his teammates,” Cooper said. “Things were altered, I laud the kids for the way they handled it. Obviously, things are more important than baseball.”

Evanko added “It’s been a long week and a rough one. This team, especially our seniors, are like family. I was rooting like heck for him to get that one more chance (in the seventh).”

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Pine Grove 301 000 x - 4 4 2

Black and Goida; Lengle, Hannevig (6) and Korenda. W - Lengle L - Black. S - Hannevig. HR: Pine Grove - Snyder (1st, two on).