Canon-McMillan rides pitching to a No. 2 seed
pitcher who can throw his curveball or changeup for strikes at any time, has gone 6-0 with an 0.60 ERA and 45 strikeouts in the regular season. He’s batting .360. Weston, whose fastball touches 91 mph and is committed to Michigan, is 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA and 41 strikeouts and is batting .476 with two home runs and 18 RBIs.
“We’re going to go as far as those two arms take us,” Bruzdewicz said.
First baseman Ian Hess is hitting .509 with 3 home runs, 8 doubles and 26 RBIs.
Winning a WPIAL is obviously the goal, Rohaley said. If the time the team invested in this season is any indication, they might be able to make a run in the postseason.
“With the work we’ve put in this year, I think we deserve it,” Rohaley said. “Hopefully, we can keep on playing ball like we have been.”
At the same time, with a single-elimination system, the journey could all be over in a second. Canon-McMillan scrimmaged West Allegheny Monday night and was dealt a decisive loss, Bruzdewicz said.
“We’ve just got to stay humble,” Rohaley said. “We’re not going to go and think we’re better than all these teams. It just takes one bad inning, one error, one bad play that could end a season.”
The Big Macs play in a section with Mt. Lebanon and Peters Township, both of which have won two WPIAL titles since 2002. With the powerhouse pitching in 6A, including DI-caliber players such as PineRichland’s Ryan Okuda and Butler’s Cade Negley and Connor Ollio, winning a title becomes that much harder.
“There’s not one team that I could say couldn’t win three games in a row or four games in a row,” Bruzdewicz said.
Canon-McMillan will face Penn-Trafford Monday. Penn Trafford defeated Butler, 7-6, Tuesday to advance to the second round.