On June 17, the Bellefonte Red Raiders took the field to face off against the Dallas Mountaineers in the Class 4A PIAA State Championship game. Bellefonte had a fairly successful season leading up to this moment going 19-5, winning both the district and league championships. Bellefonte would also dominate the playoffs leading them to the championship game with victories over Juniata (9-1), St. Marys (10-0), Greater Latrobe (10-9), Indiana (11-5), and Hopewell (6-5).
Bellefonte would take on Dallas, who was 18-8 at the time, for the ultimate prize. The game wasn’t much of a competition as Bellefonte won 7-1. Bellefonte’s Dominic Capperella and Levi Purnell both played amazing games as Purnell went 2-2 with 3 RBIs and Capperella only allowed six hits.
Junior, at the time, Trevor Johnson would be the one to end the game securing Bellefonte’s prize and will remember this experience for a lifetime.
“Playing in the State Championship was something special. To be able to get the whole town involved and show what we are truly capable of makes me super proud of all the hard work me and my teammates put in. It really showed on the field,” Trevor said
Freshmen, at the time, Felix Oquendo pinch ran during the state playoffs and state championship game and had some similar feelings with Johnson about the opportunity he earned.
“It was a very exciting moment for me. I try to push myself to do better everyday, so even if I wasn’t playing the most with the varsity team this year, i’m still glad I was there to experience it and i’m so beyond happy that I was apart of the 2023 PIAA 4A state champions,” Felix said
With only six seniors from the past season, Bellefonte will be looking to reload this year with many familiar faces returning and some younger kids hungry to step up and defend their title.
