As American Legion baseball teams were eliminated from the Pennsylvania state tournament early last week, they were instructed to evacuate their Pittsburgh-area hotel in short order. And as the tournament rolled on, Dave Shindler kept pointing out to his Northeastern players that they weren’t going home yet.
“Every day there was another pile of laundry,” the manager said, “and I just kept saying, ‘That’s not us. That’s not us.’”
In fact, Northeastern made it all the way to the final day of states, taking second place to back-to-back champion Quakertown. The top-two finish qualified the Bobcats for the Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament, which begins Wednesday at Joe Cannon Stadium in Hanover, Maryland.
It’s been a banner summer for Northeastern (20-4), which repeated as York-Adams American Legion champions and captured the Region 4 tournament title in July before driving to Pittsburgh for states. After losing its second game of the double-elimination tournament to Quakertown, the Bobcats won two straight elimination bouts to reach the championship contest on July 31. Northeastern needed to beat Quakertown twice for the title but fell 9-0 in its first attempt.
For longtime local baseball fans, Northeastern’s postseason run has brought back memories of the 1964 state championship team. Several members of that group have even followed along throughout the summer (including Shindler’s father-in-law, Jim Yinger). The Manchester community has rallied behind the squad, even organizing a sendoff as Northeastern left for states.
“I keep telling the boys, ‘You’re gonna look back in the future and go, ‘Wow, that was pretty cool what we did,’” Shindler said. “I think the coolest thing is the community (support). When we left for states, we had a little parade for them when they went out of town, so the kids feel the love.”
The super regional tournament is actually much closer to Manchester — less than a 90-minute drive in tolerable traffic — which will allow more family and fans to watch the games without staying overnight. Northeastern opens against tournament host St. Mary’s at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, and the modified double-elimination bracket will run through Sunday.
It’s hard for the Bobcats not to look at the draw and think about a potential second-round rematch. Quakertown and New Jersey champion Brooklawn are on the same side of the bracket, so if the Pennsylvania teams both win or both lose Wednesday, they’ll square off Thursday for a third meeting in less than two weeks.
“Both of our worst performances this year were against them,” said catcher Brinden Floyd, Northeastern’s leading hitter this summer. “Twice. That’s the worst we’ve played this entire year, but the third time we’re going to come out hot and we’ll have all of our guys ready.”
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Shindler’s team will have Owen Wilhide back in the fold this week, and the 2023 Northeastern High School graduate will provide a key boost to both the lineup and the pitching rotation. Konnor Reeser is still out, while Quinn Shindler — Dave’s son — is day-to-day after suffering a concussion in the state final. If he’s able to return by the weekend, he’ll join a pitching staff that will also lean on Wilhide, Drew Barshinger, Conner Rippo, Nathan and Mitchell Moser, Brandon Charleston and possibly Floyd as it navigates the week.
The Mid-Atlantic tournament is one of eight regionals taking place in the coming days, with winners advancing to the American Legion World Series in Shelby, North Carolina, from Aug. 15-20. Brooklawn won last year’s regional to reach its record 17th World Series. The other side of this week’s bracket includes Maryland champion Fort Cumberland, Delaware’s Wilmington, New York’s Rome and West Virginia’s Wheeling.
Northeastern’s summer of triumphs has carried them into a championship field of 64 teams. But the Bobcats don’t plan on going home until they’re the final squad standing at the end of the month.
“Our goal is to get to North Carolina and win that. That’s our ultimate goal,” Dave Shindler said. “So there’s a little satisfaction (in) winning at each level or advancing to the next level, but as a team, they’re all pretty focused on getting the end goal.”
