MALVERN, PA — Malvern Prep has won three straight PAISAA State Championships, and they took the first step towards a fourth on Monday.

Jack Herbein threw six shutout innings in the win for the Friars. He allowed just four hits with six strikeouts, and Kayden Wallace closed out a 4-1 win.

The Friars got on the board quickly with two runs in the bottom of the first. Grady Forsberg singled in Jackson Melconian, and Bryan Cogliano knocked in Forsberg with a single as well.

Melconian then once again showed off his speed when he stole home in the third to make it 3-0 in the bottom of the third, and Malvern scored their fourth and final run on a Cole Scarbinsky RBI single that scored Melconian for his third run scored.

Scarbinsky ended the day going 3/3 while Melconian and Cogliano had two hits.

Connor Crittenden battled well for SCHA, allowing four earned runs over six innings. That’s a brutal lineup to face as a sophomore with an NC State recruit, Vanderbilt recruit and Wake Forest recruit among many others, but he gave them a chance to win.

Malvern Prep now advances to the PAISAA State Semifinals on Thursday at their home turf at 4:00 PM. They will take on the winner of Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup of The Haverford School and Episcopal, which will be played at Episcopal at 4:00 PM.

Should they win, they would also host the state title on Friday at 11 AM.