Bethel Park looking to go back to back
The Bethel Park baseball team fell short of achieving a few of its goals this season, among them winning a section title and WPIAL championship.
“That’s a hole digging in our hearts. We really wanted that one,” coach Pat Zehnder said of the WPIAL title.
But, just as it did a season ago, that digging has led to growth. A WPIAL title might not have been in the cards, but the Black Hawks have soared into the state final for the second year in a row. And one more win would help them achieve something that only three previous WPIAL teams have ever accomplished.
Bethel Park is on the doorstep of winning a second consecutive PIAA championship. The Black Hawks (20-4) will play Selinsgrove (23-2) for the Class 5A title at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
“It’s amazing,” senior shortstop David Kessler said. “I always dreamed of getting there once. I never thought about doing it twice. That’s unheard of.”
Capturing back-to-back state titles isn’t totally unheard of, but Bethel Park can join some elite company should it repeat. Only three times has a WPIAL team won consecutive PIAA titles: Moon in 2001-2002 and Riverside in both 2005-2006 and 20112012.
Just like those Moon teams from two decades ago, Bethel Park can finish on top of the state despite not reigning supreme in the WPIAL. A year ago, the Black Hawks lost in the WPIAL championship game before bouncing back to win the PIAA title. This year it was in the semifinals when they fell to eventual champion West Allegheny, a defeat the Black Hawks then avenged in the PIAA quarterfinals.
While losing in the district tournament obviously wasn’t the plan, suffering a WPIAL playoff loss has been part of the formula that has Bethel Park nearing a repeat and a third PIAA title overall (it also won one in 1988). In the PIAA playoffs, the Black Hawks have defeated District 6 champion Central Mountain, 4-3; WPIAL champion West Allegheny, 7-0; and District 3 fourth-place finisher Donegal, 8-5.
“Obviously, it’s a big hole. You want to win a district title” said Zehnder. “But this group has a good outlook on things. They were upset for a couple of days, but they understood that the ultimate goal is still reachable, and that’s big for them.”
Bethel Park had a big hole to fill entering this season after losing a senior class that included star pitcher Eric Chalus, who started as a freshman at Kent State. Chalus went 11-0 last season — the final victory coming in a 4-2 triumph against Red Land in the PIAA championship — and was also one of the team’s top hitters.
“I totally believed in the guys,” Kessler said. “I knew Eric was a big spot in the lineup to fill, but we had a full offseason to recover and get better. I knew we could slowly fill that gap.”
Junior right-hander Evan Holewinski, who was “1b” to Chalus’ “1a” this past season, settled into the ace role and has been terrific. Also Kent State-bound, Holewinski is 9-0 with a 0.69 ERA. In 51 innings, he has struck out 52 and walked only 11. Holewinski will get the start against Selinsgrove.
“He’s been awesome,” Zehnder said.
“He’s so steady. People say he’s not overpowering because he’s not a big strikeout guy, but he could strike out 10 a game if he wanted to. He’s just so smart. He trusts he’ll need only three pitches or less and then trusts our defense.”
Junior Nathan Vargo has been excellent after moving into the No. 2 starter’s role, and the Black Hawks have been helped by the emergence of Ryan Walsh, a freshman who has verbally committed to Penn State.
Zehnder’s squad is even more potent offensively than it was a season ago. The Black Hawks are averaging seven runs per game and boast a team batting average of .337.
“It’s been amazing,” Kessler said. “I know in the beginning of the year we started slow, but I think we’re peaking at the right time.”
Kessler has fueled the offense just as he did last season. An IUP recruit, Kessler is hitting .360 and leads the team in home runs (5), RBIs (22) and stolen bases (13). He’s also tied for the team lead in extra-base hits (14) and runs scored (22).
“He’s our lead dog, leading the sled up the mountain that we’re trying to climb,” said Zehnder.
A strong lineup also features seniors Cody Geddes (.411, 9 doubles, 19 RBIs), Bo Conrad (.359, 6 doubles, 19 RBIs) and Dylan Schmude (.354, 11 RBIs).
Bethel Park has six seniors in all, and each of them is planning on playing college baseball — Kessler (IUP), Geddes (Penn State Greater Allegheny), Conrad (Marietta), Schmude (Saint Vincent), Ben Hudson (Saint Vincent) and William Sokira (Chatham).
That group hopes to end their high school careers with a win, but will need to get through District 4 champion Selinsgrove to do it. Selinsgrove has been living dangerously in the PIAA playoffs, winning all three of its games by one run. The most recent was a 2-1 win in nine innings against Archbishop Wood in the semifinals.
Making its second appearance in the finals (it beat Beaver, 7-4, to win the Class 4A title in 2019), Selinsgrove features a pair of ace hurlers in seniors Teague Hoover (8-0, 2.28 ERA) and Ryan Reich (8-1, 1.23). Both are big strikeout guys, with Hoover fanning 78 in 46 innings and Reich 109 in 68⅓ innings. Hoover is an IUP recruit and Reich will play at Seton Hall. Reich started against Archbishop Wood, with Hoover coming in late to earn the win. Offensively, the Seals field a lineup that includes junior Tyler Swineford, who is batting .345 with team highs of seven home runs and 38 RBIs.
Now Selinsgrove will try to unseat Bethel Park as PIAA Class 5A champion. And if the Seals don’t, that means the Black Hawks will have made some history.
“It would mean the world,” Kessler said of winning backto-back titles. “I’ve been playing baseball since I was 4 years old. To go on to win the state cham-pionship two years in a row, that would fulfill my dreams and would be a great way to end my high school career.”