Some new faces advance to finals
Mars didn’t just upset West Allegheny, 4-1, in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinal Wednesday at Boyce Mayview Park. It got the Planets to their first WPIAL championship in school history.
“This was a huge win for our program, getting over the hump,” Mars coach Andy Bednar said.
Mars isn’t the only WPIAL school making its maiden voyage to the title game. Jeannette and Freedom baseball will head to their first WPIAL championships in their respective classifications Tuesday and Wednesday at Wild Things Park.
Jeannette defeated Union, 7-3, in the 1A semifinal, and willface Greensburg Central Catholic, which heads to its third consecutive WPIAL championship game. Freedom defeated Serra Catholic, 6-2, in the 2A semifinal, and will play California in the finals. California defeated Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 4-3, in 11 innings in the semifinals.
The school-history making factor hasn’t hit Freedom coach Dan O’Leary yet, he said.
“I can’t say that that part is even sinking in, I’m just so blessed with this group of kids and just focused on one game at a time,” O’Leary said. “Let’s win this one and get on to the next one. … I’ll leave all that historical stuff for later on.”
Even heading into uncharted territory, Freedom players are staying upbeat and eager to get a win in their first championship appearance.
“If we got called and said ‘Hey, you know what, we’re going to play that game tomorrow,’ we could play that game tomorrow,” O’Leary said. “We’re ready.”
… And welcome back
Mount Pleasant and Latrobe have, in fact, played in a WPIAL title game, but you might not know that if you were born in the 1990s or later. Mount Pleasant’s most recent visit was 1989 and Latrobe’s was 1985.
Mount Pleasant defeated Ellwood City, 2-1, in the 3A semifinal and will face No. 1 seed Riverside in the finals. Latrobe defeated Chartiers Valley and will play Mars, though Latrobe coach Matt Basciano said the Wildcats are focused on the next game and weren’t worried about how long it had been since the school’s previous championship appearance.
“We’re just kind of working on our own history,” Basciano said.
Catcher battles back
After breaking his leg at the beginning of last season, Bishop Canevin catcher Rocky Rauterkus couldn’t play at all his junior year.
“We were expecting some big some things from him, and unfortunately they weren’t at our disposal,” Bishop Canevin coach Dale Checketts said.
With Rauterkus out, Bishop Canevin had to rotate two pitchers behind the plate, which Checketts said changed the team’s dynamic. Rauterkus battled back and hit .304 and had nine RBIs this season. He started at catcher in the Crusaders’ quarterfinal loss to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Monday despite the recent passing of his father.
“I think it’s a way to say, ‘Hey, I’m playing for my dad tonight,’” Checketts said.
Blackhawk returns
With its 7-3 defeat of Deer Lakes, Blackhawk advances to the WPIAL championship for the third time in four years and the eighth time in the past 15 years. The Cougars won the WPIAL (3A) in 2012, and lost in the championship in 2014 and 2016.
“We’ve got to win this one,” Blackhawk coach Bob Amalia said. “We’ve lost two out of the last three, so hopefully we can win this one.”