STATE COLLEGE -- As the foul ball soared high into the State College sky, no one had to tell West York first baseman Brandon Kinneman what was at stake.

"Those ones are always tough in the first place. That one had 100 times the pressure," Kinneman said. "When I felt it (the baseball) in my glove, I immediately put it in my back pocket. Then I headed for the pile to jump on."

The Bulldogs are the PIAA Class AAA baseball champions, courtesy of their 9-6 win Friday night against District 3 foe Lampeter-Strasburg at Penn State's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

It is the school's first state championship in baseball and the second team title in school history, joining the 1978 West York boys' cross country team.

"When I saw the ball go up, I saw Brandon camped underneath it. I started sprinting in, and that is when it hit me," center fielder Jerrin Toomey said. "It's great. There is no better feeling."

West York pounded out 11 hits, scoring five times in the second inning after falling behind for the first time in the state tournament.

But the deficit did not last long. Jesse Bortner drilled a double to right field, was bunted to third base and scored on Cole Bixler's RBI single that tied the score.

A walk and two Pioneer errors helped the next run cross home plate, and Toomey's sacrifice fly made it 3-1. Brandon Rauhauser drove in a run with a single and Kinneman laced a double for two more runs.

Kinneman had two hits and drove in three runs. Toomey, Rauhauser and Brock Gladfelter also had two hits for the Bulldogs (24-4).
@stevenavaroli; 771-2060