WPIAL baseball: A loose Freeport, led by ace Gage Blystone, shuts down Quaker Valley in opener
WEST DEER TWP — Having worn an intense look on his face for most of Tuesday's WPIAL Class 3A first-round baseball playoff game, Gage Blystone let a grin peek out from behind his glove on the mound just before he put a stamp on the outcome.
The Freeport junior pitcher gloved his catcher's return throw, then immediately toed the rubber, ready to quickly fire what he hoped would be the final pitch of the day before the home plate umpire held him at bay for a moment longer. He reset with the same smirk, fired a pitch that Quaker Valley’s Brad Semonik swung and missed at, and emphatically threw his glove toward the No. 4 Yellowjackets' dugout.
"I just wanted to strike him out," Blystone said.
Blystone threw 105 pitches as he went the distance in Freeport’s 5-2 win over Quaker Valley at Deer Lakes High School, allowing the No. 13 Quakers (9-11) two runs in the top of the first, then none the rest of the way.
"When he's locked in, you don't say a word to him and we just kinda let it roll," Freeport coach Ed Carr said. "Because when he gets locked in, body language is a big thing with Gage, and today he looked confident for seven innings."
The 'Jackets (18-1) advance to take on No. 5 South Park, a 3-0 winner over No. 12 Keystone Oaks, in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
The Yellowjackets, who suffered their first loss of the campaign last week, could've opted out of their regular-season finale against Valley, but "we wanted to face a playoff arm, and that's why we kept that game," Carr said. "I told the guys, 'The field was questionable. We could've bagged it.' But was our goal to be a regular-season champ? Or (do we) have bigger things in mind?
"I feel like that game prepared us for this game. And I think we needed that, because at the end of the season, you're almost trying to stay undefeated instead of playing your game."
Gavin Tola doubled to lead off the bottom of the first and was pushed across on Kason Barker's groundout with one gone. Blystone struck out the side in the next half-inning before Luke Whitfield started the home half of the second by lifting one over the center field fence.
"(It was a) 3-2 count. I fouled off a pitch, I think I let one go (to get to) three balls," Whitfield said. "Honestly, I kinda blacked out and just hit the ball. Pretty nice feeling."
Blystone doubled, Owen Westendorf walked and Danny King's one-out single scored Blystone's courtesy runner, Henry Good. Westendorf drove in another pair in the bottom of the fifth to close out the scoring.
Blystone, who struck out 15 in the complete-game victory, noticed he was tenser in close games as the winning streak stretched.
"Now we don't feel as much pressure, because we're not undefeated anymore," Blystone said. "Obviously, we faced a good arm (against Valley). We faced a good arm today. It made us hit better."
"Undefeated season? So what," Whitfield said. "We're here for bigger and better things."
Quaker Valley 200 000 0 — 2 4 1
Freeport 120 020 x — 5 8 1
WP: Gage Blystone 7IP (15K, 1BB). LP: Todd Kagle 5IP (10K, 2BB).
Quaker Valley (9-11): Henry Zupanc 2B R, Todd Kagle R, Holden Kirkham 1B, Rocco Fardo 1B 2RBI, Michael Semonik 2B.
Freeport (18-1): Gavin Tola 2B 1B R, Kason Barker RBI, Trey Schreckengost 1B R, Luke Whitfield HR 1B RBI 2R, Gage Blystone 2B, Henry Good R, Owen Westendorf 1B 2RBI, Danny King 1B RBI.
Tuesday: Freeport vs. South Park, TBD
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Freeport's Gage Blystone (9) pitches in a WPIAL Class 3A first round baseball game against Deer Lakes Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Deer Lakes High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Freeport's Henry Good (88) dives for home plate in a WPIAL Class 3A first round baseball game against Deer Lakes Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Deer Lakes High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Freeport's Danny King (8) bats in a WPIAL Class 3A first round baseball game against Deer Lakes Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Deer Lakes High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
