The Final Four of the 76th AAABA Tournament is set after Thursday, Aug. 5 quarterfinal games concluded.
The teams advancing to the semifinal round on Friday include the New Orleans Boosters (4-0) and Philadelphia Bandits (4-0), who will meet at noon at Sargent’s Stadium at the Point; and the New Brunswick Matrix (3-1) and Johnstown Paul Carpenter Capital Advisors (4-0), who will meet at 7 p.m. at the Point.
- Defending tournament champion New Orleans beat Altoona-2 Johnston Realty 10-0 in eight innings at Forest Hills High School. Dwain Guice pitched a complete-game shutout, and Brady Faust ended the contest in walk-off fashion with a bases-loaded double in the eighth. The Boosters are 4-0.
- The Philadelphia Bandits also won their fourth consecutive game with another double-digit scoring performance. Philadelphia beat Johnstown-2 Martella’s Pharmacy 12-4 in the early game at Sargent’s Stadium at the Point. Owen Petrich hit for the cycle while going 4-for-4 with two runs scored and six RBIs. The Bandits finally allowed an opponent to score, but still have a 60-4 scoring advantage.
- The New Brunswick Matrix won for the third straight day after an opening night loss. The Matrix beat previously undefeated Maryland State 2-1 at Roxbury Park. Frankie Sanchez (eight) and Jason Gilman (six) combined to strike out 14 Crabfest batters in a four-hitter. Neither team scored a run after the third inning of a tightly contested match up.
- Paul Carpenter right-handed pitcher Ben Visnesky retired the first 11 Carolina Disco Turkeys in order and tossed seven strong innings as Johnstown defeated North Carolina 12-1. Michael Klingensmith threw two scoreless innings in relief for Paul Carpenter. Joe Olsavsky and Brandon Lane each had three hits, with Olsavsky ripping a double and Lane driving in three runs for PCCA. Connor Bannias had two hits, with a double for the hosts.
The AAABA Tournament is on GameChanger and additional statistics may be found on the website/app.