Nick Hugo-Kutztown

Nick Hugo had the best seat at Wenger Field in Fredericksburg to see Bryce Schafer toss a complete game gem in the District 3-2A championship. Hugo is a two-time all-division catcher for the Cougars. Schafer is also his best friend. “He left it all out there. He’s been fighting through arm injuries all year. To see him go do that in the District championship was awesome, so proud of him,” said Hugo. Second-seeded Kutztown defeated top-seeded Halifax 5-1 for its sixth District 3 title. Only Chambersburg (11) and Oley Valley (9) have claimed more District 3 gold than the Cougars. Hugo is one of five seniors on this year’s club and all five are starters. “We’ve been best friends for 3-4 years. I don’t think we could have the success we’ve had if we weren’t this tight-knit. We’re gonna be brothers for life,” emphasized Hugo. Dom Pizzelanti got Kutztown on the board in the top of the 2nd on a double steal. The (17-6) Cougars got a pair of runs in the third frame. Kole Schuler had a RBI infield single and Schafer launched a solo homer that barely stayed fair down the right field line. The ball just got over the fence which is 320 feet away. The (20-3-1) Wildcats didn’t have a hit until Briar Campbell’s bloop single in the 4th inning. Kutztown made it 5-0 in the 6th on a RBI single by designated hitter Colin Hamm and a bases loaded walk to Matt Remick. Halifax finally got on the board in the 7th thanks to triples by Brandon Schell and Ben Kline. Schafer struck out Will Steinhauer to end the Wildcats’ 12-game winning streak. The Kutztown University commit threw 99 pitches and 70 were strikes. Schafer allowed five hits with five strikeouts and two walks. He contained a lineup that was hitting .341 as a team. Schell went 5+ innings. The sophomore gave up five runs, four earned, on seven hits. He hit two batters and walked one. Bloomsburg commit Judah Miller wasn’t available after pitching in a 1-0 semifinal victory over Delone Catholic on Monday. Miller was (9-1, 1.48) this season with 86 strikeouts and twelve walks in 66 innings. Schafer, Schuler, and Hamm each had two hits. The Cougars didn’t make an error while Halifax had two. “We pride ourselves on our defense…defense wins championships,” stated Hugo. He was 1-for-4 with a run. Remick, a two-time all-division selection, played a flawless game at shortstop. Hugo joked that he became a catcher when he was seven or eight years old because he was one of the only kids who wasn’t scared of the ball. He’s going to Saint Joseph’s University to study finance. But first, Hugo and the Cougars are headed to the state playoffs.