BOYERTOWN -- The extending of Council Rock North's baseball season will come at a price for senior catcher Tyler Farrell.
His hair.
Farrell, who played a large role in a 6-2 win over Central High School in Monday's opening round of the PIAA Class AAAA state tournament, was next in line for a spontaneous team-bonding moment of getting mohawks. With teammate Ryan Maley ready with the razor, the bus was leaving from the Rock North parking lot, allowing Farrell to escape for the moment.
A loss to the Lancers, the second-seeded team from District 12, would've ruined the mood, and likely spared Farrell.
No such luck.
"That's fine," he said, rubbing his hand through his locks, then across his beard. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm not sure what my parents are going to think. They'll probably be like, 'Oh, OK that happened.' You have to wear it with attitude and own it. I'll keep my beard for intimidation."
With a full head, Farrell and the Indians won on all levels against Central. They got effective pitching from already mohawked ace Scott Runzer, received timely hitting and played crisp defense.
Fresh off a second-place finish in last week's District One AAAA championship -- a loss to West Chester East -- North rebounded at Bears Stadium in Boyertown, Pa., and will face a familiar foe in North Penn on Thursday. The Knights blanked District 3 champion Chambersburg 6-0.
The Indians are three wins away from a state title.
"I think about that all the time," Runzer said. "That would be great, especially with the seniors on this team."
Runzer did his part on both sides. He tossed a complete game, four-hitter, with three walks and five whiffs. He didn't allow a hit until Lancers first baseman Zach Magdovitz homered with two outs in the fourth. At the plate, Runzer drove in two runs with a single and double, respectively.
"Scott did a nice job," North head coach Dan Kusters said. "He had three walks and hit a batter, but did a nice job of being in the strike zone. They swung the bat well, but he got the big out when he needed."
One of those moments came with two outs and two on in the second inning, but Runzer got Graham Johnston to chop a curveball back to the mound for an easy out. In a similar spot in the sixth inning, Zack King lined a shot to first baseman Tim Filer to end a threat.
"He threw well, despite not having his best stuff," said Farrell, who had two hits and an RBI. "He hit his spots and got his curveball over when needed, and our defense made plays."
Ryan Hartley drove in the first run for North (16-6) with a two-out single in the second, scoring Filer. North scored another run in the third on Runzer's single to plate Jesse Goldberg.
Magdovitz's homer made the score 2-1, but the Indians scored three times off Stephen Schall in the fourth, extending their lead to a 5-1 cushion. Hartley singled, and advanced to second on a groundout. Seeing Lancers third baseman Barron James playing deep, Jesse Goldberg and Matt Hone laid down consecutive bunts, and both reached safely.
Hone's bunt was a safety squeeze, but he was fast enough to beat it out.
"Jesse knows if that guy is playing back to put it down," North coach Dan Kusters said.
"With Matt, the situation called for an insurance run there. If he got a hit out of that, it was one thing, but we really needed that run."
Of the Indians' 11 hits, 10 were singles.
"We had an opportunity to do some small ball," Kusters said. "Once you get to states, you have to do what's necessary to put your team in a position to win."
Runzer did the rest, finishing the game by getting a groundout to first base, and completing step one of what they hope will be a successful run at a state title.
"We didn't do as well as we wanted to (last year), and the seniors know what that bitter taste is like," Kusters said. "We're playing good baseball now."
"It didn't work out for us last year," Farrell said. "It was a tumultuous time. This year, we have the idea of going all the way, and feel we can if we put the pieces together. It's been a great success so far, but we want to keep going. You work all year, then you come in here and see what you can do."
As for the mohawks, they just happened according to Runzer. He heard about the development while driving home from the shore. Players had gathered at rightfielder Jesse Goldberg's house Sunday evening for the snip. Some, like Runzer, were buzzed Sunday and a few more in the parking lot before Monday's game.
The rest?
"Next game, hopefully," said Runzer, who will attend West Chester University with Farrell this fall. "Whatever works. I wanted mine a little wider, but this is cool. Kelly [Adams] did mine. I did well with his, but he messed mine up. My mom saw it and said, 'You better not lose with that haircut.'"
Farrell is on-board with the look, but wondered about teammates Benn Parker and Matt Tentilucci, because of their "golden hair."
Then, there's Coach Kusters.
"I don't think he'll do that," Farrell said.
Farrell is right.
"No way," Kusters said.
Central High......000 1 000 2 4 2
CR North..........011 3 01X 6 11 0
Central High: Ian Lewis CF 4-0-1-1; Mike Cavallaro DH 4-0-0-0; Tom Capewell C 2-0-0-0; Stephen Schall P 1-0-0-0; Zach Magdovitz 1B 3-1-2-1; Zack King RF 3-0-0-0; Brian Burkett SS 2-0-0-0; Graham Johnston LF 3-1-1-0; David Kremer 2B 2-0-0-0. Totals 24-2-4-2.
Council Rock North: Matt Hone SS 4-1-2-1; Tyler Farrell C 3-0-2-1; Scott Runzer P 4-1-2-2; Kelly Adams CF 2-0-0-0; Ryan Venner DH 2-0-0-0; Tim Filer 1B 3-1-1-0; Ryan Hartley 2B 2-1-2-1; Lee Marvel LF 3-0-0-0; Jesse Goldberg RF 3-2-2-0. Totals 26-6-11-1.
2B-[CHS Ian Lewis. CRN Scott Runzer]
3B-
HR-[CHS Zach Magdovitz]
Central High IP H R ER BB K
Stephen Schall (L) 6 11 6 5 4 0
CR North
Scott Runzer (W) 7 4 2 1 3 5
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