(Photo of Southern Fulton seniors lifting silver medal trophy, by Meredith Hendershot)

UNIVERSITY PARK — Playing in the first PIAA championship game in school history — in any sport — the Southern Fulton baseball team acquitted itself very well.

Unfortunately, the Indians’ opponent in the Class 1A final on Friday morning, Vincentian Academy, pitched a little better and hit a little better and it paid off in a 5-3 victory at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

“We wish the outcome would have been different,” SF coach Keith Potter said, “but that was a good team we played.”

The Royals (20-4) never trailed after taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Southern Fulton (22-5) made it interesting with a two-run rally in the top of the seventh. The game ended with two Indians on base.

Potter said, “We asked a lot of this group and they never quit.”

Vincentian’s batters found a runway in right-centerfield and used it to put up three triples off SF starter Branden Lynch. Two of them drove in runs and the other eventually scored, too.

Lynch, who goes by the outstanding nickname of “Big Country,” said, “I felt pretty decent out there, but I left a few balls up. And they hit some good pitches.”

A triple by Danny Morgano scored Kyler Fedko with a run in the bottom of the first inning for the Royals. In the third, Mark Yakim’s triple started a two-run inning that put SF behind, 3-0.

Potter said, “For the most part, we threw the pitches we wanted, and Country hit his spots. But they still got those hits — they are a good-hitting team.”

Another triple in the fifth by Fedko ended Lynch’s day. He allowed six hits and four earned runs, walked one and struck out four. Gabe Stotler came in to finish the game.

Meanwhile, Vincentian starter Stephen Turzai proved difficult to hit. Cooper Grove led off with a booming double to left on the game’s second pitch, but was stranded. Mitchell Potter had a single to lead off the fourth, but was also left on base.

“We knew from scouting reports that he threw strikes,” coach Potter said, “but he was also deceptive. We had a lot of ugly swings off him. And their outfield covered a lot of ground, too.”

Southern Fulton finally broke through in the top of the fifth after consecutive one-out errors put a pair of runners on, when Grove came through with a two-out RBI single to right field.

However, it could have been an even bigger inning. Potter, the next batter, on a 3-2 pitch, poked a line drive over shortstop. But Fedko showed his speed and was able to track it down, saving at least one run.

“That was a huge play,” coach Potter said.

In the sixth, the Indians again put a pair of runners on, again thanks to errors, but Turzai got a pop-up and fly ball to escape the jam.

Potter said, “That was a big thing — we didn’t capitalize on their errors, and that’s something we did really well all season.”

In the top of the seventh, trailing 5-1, Southern Fulton got its leadoff batter on when Eaven Gordon drew the first walk off Turzai. After a force out at second, Turzai was lifted for reliever Stephen Thomson.

Grove greeted him with an RBI triple — yep, it went to the same spot in right-center — and Potter then delivered a run-scoring base hit. An out later, Lynch singled to right to put runners on the corners. But Thomson induced a fly ball to left to end the game.

Coach Potter said, “We had heard that they had given up some leads, so I told the boys they could do it. That’s the first submariner pitcher we’ve seen this year and I thought we handled him well. He pounded the strike zone, we did what we had to do, and the hits started falling in.”

The rally fell just short, but the Indians are creeping closer to that first state title.