MILLERSVILLE -- At 1:30 on school days, a number of players on West York's baseball team can be found in an economics class.

On Wednesday, the rest of that class went on a field trip while the Bulldog baseball players played Monopoly.

Instead of the trip, they had to be at practice to prepare for Thursday's District 3 Class AAA quarterfinal against Lancaster Catholic, which took place at 1:30 because of Thursday night's Crusader graduation.

On Thursday, Brandon Kinneman and Kaden Hepler -- two of those Bulldogs in that economics class -- helped the No. 2 seed pass "Go" to collect a spot in the semifinal round with a 7-4 win over the No. 7 Crusaders at Penn Manor's Comet Field.

West York (20-3) plays No. 3 Twin Valley (17-5) -- a 4-2 winner over No. 6 West Perry -- on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

The Bulldogs scored five runs in the first inning to stake Kinneman -- who didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning -- to an early lead. It was the second straight game the Bulldogs opened with five runs.

In the first inning, West York registered six hits, three of them coming from successful bunts off Crusaders (20-5) starter Joe Yourgal, who lasted just one inning.

"We have a lot of speed on our team, and bunts are huge because they are one of the toughest plays to make if you lay down a good one," said Kinneman, who had one of those first inning bunt hits. "Our practice over the last two months on bunting really showed

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today."

West York tacked on another run in the second, again off a bunt. Brandon Rauhauser (3-for-3, stolen base, two runs scored) reached on an excellent bunt up the first-base side and came around to score on two Lancaster Catholic errors. The Bulldogs finished with four bunt base hits.

"That's our game," West York head coach Roger Czerwinski said. "Run the bases, put the bunt down and make things happen."

Kinneman, who retired the first nine batters he faced, gave up four hits and three runs in the fourth inning as the Crusaders got back into the game.

After West York went scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, the Crusaders were feeling the momentum swing to their side, only to have Kinneman strike out the side in the fifth.

"That was huge for me," Kinneman said. "I kind of lost my cool a bit in the fourth. I was wearing my emotions on my sleeve, which pitching-wise you really can't do. To strike out the side was huge to show we were back in control of the game."

The Crusaders had one last push in them: The first three batters in the sixth inning reached to chase Kinneman, who went five innings and allowed seven hits. The Bulldogs left-hander struck out nine and walked one.

In came Hepler, who gave up a run-scoring fielder's choice to Patrick Kenney. Hepler then proceeded to pick off Kenney at first before getting a ground out to end the inning.

"That was a momentum shifter for us. I think that might have been the turning point in the game," Hepler said of the successful pick-off.

The Bulldogs tacked on an insurance run in the sixth off a Kinneman sacrifice fly before Hepler slammed the door shut, striking out the side in the seventh to send the Bulldogs to the semis.

"I felt good today; the fastball had a lot of giddy up on it," said Hepler, who also had two hits. "The last inning, I was pretty fired up."

 
at Penn Manor H.S.
WEST YORK 7, LANC. CATHOLIC 4
Lanc. Catholic  000 301 0 -- 4   7 4
West York  510 001 x -- 7 12 0

   LC, Joe Yourgal, Ian Bentley (2) and Mac McCafferty; WY, Brandon Kinneman, Kaden Hepler (6) and Cole Bixler. SO-BB -- LC, Yourgal 0-0, Bentley 4-2; WY, Kinneman 9-1, Hepler 3-0. W -- Kinneman. L -- Yourgal. 2B -- WY, Chase James.