The 2026 South Penn Baseball League championship series opened with a tightly contested showdown between the Cashtown Pirates and the Hagerstown Braves, drawing a crowd eager to see which club would seize early momentum.
Cashtown drew first blood in the second inning when Wes Coolbaugh launched a three‑run homer, putting the Pirates ahead 3‑0 before the Braves could answer.
The deadlock was broken in the fifth when Carson Kuhns delivered an RBI single that snapped a 3‑3 tie, driving in the go‑ahead run and sparking jubilation among the Pirates' bench.
Pitching Dominance
Josh Berzonski was nothing short of spectacular, logging a complete‑game effort that featured 14 strikeouts, eight hits allowed and not a single walk. His poise in the seventh inning, where he fanned two more batters, sealed the Pirates' 4‑3 lead.
Hagerstown's starter Wyatt Freeman surrendered four runs on six hits and a walk over five innings, while reliever Trent Culver tossed two scoreless frames, striking out two and walking one.
Offensively, Tyler Reinert contributed two of Cashtown's seven hits, and both Caleb Newcomber and Riley Jackson added RBI doubles that had tied the game earlier. Zach Molloy’s sixth‑inning double was cut off at third by a crisp throw from Kuhns, a defensive highlight that underscored the Pirates' sharp fielding.
The series will continue on Saturday, August 1 at 1 p.m. in Cashtown for Game 2, with a return trip to Hagerstown slated for Sunday, August 2 at the same time for the decisive Game 3.