Blairsville cleared the first hurdle in the District 6 2A playoffs by defeating Northern Cambria, 10-0, in 5-plus innings Friday afternoon.
Catcher Ricky Shirley tags out Mark Marino in the fourth inning.
Ryan Shirley recorded the 25th win of his career, believed to be the most in county history, by holding the Colts to just four hits, spread between four players.
The Bobcats (15-3) led just 1-0 before scoring three runs in the fourth inning, with Dakota Sunday and Kyle McConnell driving in a run each.
Blairsville plated six more in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rick Shirley, McConnell, Tyler Moran, Nick Hrebik picked up RBIs. Sunday, who opened the inning with a fly out, hit another fly out to close it, but this one knocked in Hrebik with the walk-off run to end the game.
The shutout was preserved when Adam Ratkus threw out Mark Marino at the plate in the fourth inning.
Moran led Blairsville with three hits. Sunday had two hits and drove in three runs. Rick Shirley also had two hits. Blairsville totaled 10 hits in all.
Logan Marino pitched four innings and took the loss for the Colts (8-9).
The Bobcats now await the winner of the Bellwood-Antis vs Bishop Guilfoyle game, to be played Saturday at 1 pm. The Bobcats will play host to the winner of that game on Tuesday.
Today, the District 6 playoffs continue with Class 1A action as Homer-Center takes on Conemaugh Valley in the quarterfinals. You can hear the game on AM 1450 WDAD and 100.3 FM starting at 3:45 with the pre-game show.
