RAIDERS NAIL DOWN D9 TITLE!

Steady catcher David Lyon has complemented his stellar defense with a hot bat for the Red Raiders.

A first-inning grand slam home run by Sean Mc- Manigle set the tone as the Cameron County Red Raiders walloped Curwensville, 13-1, in the PIAA District 9 high school baseball championship Thursday afternoon in St. Marys.

Coach Dick Harrier's boys (15-2) won the school's second D9 crown in the past three years and qualified for the opening round of the state playoffs, where they meet District 7 third-place team Serra Catholic (21-2) on Monday.

McManigle's long dinger over the left field wall of Berwind Park sent the Red Raider fans into a frenzy and they never stopped cheering.

Cameron County made it 7-0 in the bottom of the second, as Garrett Hornung pounded a two-run double and scored on David Lyon's solid single.

While the Raider bats were ringing, senior pitcher Cameron Clingan was taming the Golden Tide, backed by some stellar defense.

The onslaught continued in the third, with Darrick Mason doubling in another run as Cameron County extended its advantage to 9-0 and never looked back.

Harrier's squad reached the D9 title game with an impressive 12-0 win over Kane at Berwind Park Tuesday night.

Senior Jordan Crane, bound for St. Bonaventure University on a baseball scholarship this fall, tamed the Wolves (15-5) by pitching a two-hitter, with no walks and 12 strikeouts. The game was shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule. Crane was untouchable, as he fanned all but one of the Kane batters in his first trip through the lineup. Mike Baker walked, stole second, and scored on Mason's double to give Cameron County a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

Lyon doubled and waltzed home on Clingan's double in the third.

The Red Raiders proceeded to plate 10 runs after there were two outs in the last of the fourth, aided by five walks and a couple of errors. Hornung, Cory Reed and Crane each had two-RBI hits during the uprising.