By: Joe Cicchino - Sports Information Assistant

PENNSBURG -- After facing multiple rain outs the week prior, Germantown Academy was finally ready to get back into action. In the first round of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association Tournament,  the team showed no ill effects of the long layoff. Despite their almost pristine play, the Patriots were unable to get by Perkiomen School and lost the contest, 3-2.

The decision ended GA's season, and while Head Coach Tim Ginter would rather be getting ready for the second round of the tournament, he said he had nothing negative to say about the team's performance.

"I'm really proud of them," Ginter said. "That's a great high school baseball game. We had our opportunities. All you can do is put yourself in that position and then trust that the training and extra reps kick in."

The Patriots scored first thanks to Cole Klein '20. The sophomore's hit brought in Jack Sullivan '18 and Allan Kaufman '19 and gave GA the early lead. While the team would not cross home again, they handed the two-run advantage over to Colten Smith '19.

Smith has been GA's top pitcher this season and lived up to his First-Team All-Inter-Ac selection during the game. The junior struck out 12 Panther players in six innings of work.

"Colten Smith was first team all league," Ginter said. "When you give him the ball, that's exactly what you expect. I was really happy for him. He's really good. What I saw from him this year was the development into a guy that executes pitches and getting positive contact. You hand him the ball and you'll be in any game."

The Patriots were in the game until the end. They kept their two-run lead until the third inning when Perkiomen recorded three runs on back-to-back hits. While each team had opportunities to add to their score after that, GA's best chance came in the sixth inning.

The bases were loaded for the Patriots and there was only one out. However, the Panthers were able to pitch themselves out of the jam.

"It's always frustrating," Ginter said. "Their pitcher can throw the ball a little bit. That breaking ball has some real action. Jack [Sullivan] just missed a double down the line and that turns it from 3-2 to us winning 4-3. Frustrating because we didn't score, but you can't really execute better than that. We got the bat on the ball with two outs. I can live with that."

The top of the seventh inning was the last chance for GA to pull ahead, but they were held at bay by the Perkiomen pitching staff. Following the loss, Ginter reflected on the season that had just ended.

"I'm happy with the progress we've made as a program," Ginter said. "We've come to a point where every time we step on a field we can compete. The difference between this year and the last two is that we've actually done that. Everyone's going to look at the wins and losses and judge your season, but we've made substantial steps in the right direction. We're looking to make a big jump next year."