More glitter in WPIAL baseball playoffs
So tell me, if you were a high school baseball player, would you rather play at PNC Park in Pittsburgh … or Bowman Field in Williamsport? Some people have been asking what happened to Carmichaels in the state baseball playoffs, and, though the Mikes probably wouldn’t admit it, part of the answer to their first-round loss to Bishop McCort may be contained in that opening question.
Complain all you want about the WPIAL, but its playoffs are very well run compared to the PIAA tournament, and the WPIAL is so well known that a lot of people don’t even realize that its official name in the context of the state is District 7.
While the reward for reaching the WPIAL baseball finals is a game at PNC Park, the PIAA finalists play at Bowman Field, which is a nice place, but certainly not considered one of the premier baseball parks in the entire country, as the Pirates’ home is.
And while winning a district championship anywhere else in the state is usually considered just a stepping stone to the PIAA final, it’s a much bigger deal around here to win a WPIAL crown. It’s no secret that many WPIAL champions have a letdown when they have to delve into the PIAA playoffs soon after.
That could’ve especially been the case for the Mikes’ senior class, which had made the playoffs fairly consistently in football, basketball and baseball, but had no title to show for it other than some section plaques over four years.
Seniors Jono Menhart and Colby Giles had been on some very successful teams, including the Mikes’ football squad which reached the WPIAL semifinals this past season.
But to finally earn a WPIAL championship plaque, as they did last week with an impressive 10-0, five-inning victory over Bishop Canevin, at PNC Park no less, was the final icing on the cake for those two outstanding athletes.
“You can’t beat it … it’s an incredible feeling,” Giles said of playing in PNC Park, “And then to come out of there with gold around your neck, that made it all the better.”
“I couldn’t think of any better way to end my senior year,” Menhart said after WPIAL final. “I’ve been waiting for this day a long time. We had to finish it off just once.”
The finality of Menhart’s comments lets you know how much emphasis he, and most WPIAL teams, put on winning a WPIAL championship.
Wrong or right, they tend to think everything else is gravy, and not the ultimate goal.
And that’s very understandable when you compare PNC Park to Bowman Field.
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If there are any horse racing fans out there anxiously waiting to see Funny Cide wrap up the Triple Crown with a win in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, let me prepare you for the worst.
Funny Cide, at even money, will not win.
What usually happens in this situation is the horse seeking the third jewel panics and goes to the front too soon, tries to control the pace and stay ahead, and then runs out of gas down the stretch of the lengthy Belmont track.
The second choice, Empire Maker at 6-5, could fall into the same trap. That is, he’ll make sure he doesn’t fall too far behind Funny Cide, and therefore could burn out near the end as well.
If you’re going to take one of those two, pick Empire Maker. He’s simply the better horse.
But if I were betting, I’d spread my money between the rest of the six-horse field.
Take a shot at Dynever (5-1), Ten Most Wanted (10-1), Scrimshaw (20-1) or Supervisor (50-1), and then watch one of them come home with the upset.
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For those who missed it, the WPIAL honored four students with $5,000 scholarships as 2002-03 WPIAL Scholar-Athlete winners, and 16 more with $500 scholarships.
Laurel Highlands’ Mikie Monaghan was one of the top four winners, while Brownsville’s Angela Fraley, Carmichaels’ Bobby Hathaway and Waynesburg’s Cory Walsh were in the select group of 16.
The WPIAL also revealed its 2002-03 Sportsmanship Awards. Two of the five schools honored were from this area in Carmichaels and Connellsville.
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Monaghan is one of 14 students to be honored by the Fayette County Student/Athlete Scholarship Program, sponsored by Davis and Davis Attorneys at Law in conjunction with the Herald-Standard, on Sunday.
Another is Frazier’s Vanessa Myers, who’s part of a unique story with an Annika Sorenstam-like twist to it … in reverse.
Myers’ Lady Commodores reached the WPIAL playoffs again this season, and when they looked across the net at Avonworth, their first-round opponent, they saw a pair of boys lining up against them.
The Antelopes didn’t have a boys volleyball program, so boys were allowed to play on the girls squad.
“It was the most memorable game of my high school career,” Myers said. “It was a weird experience, but we refused to lose to those boys, and we didn’t”
Frazier swept the Antelopes, 3-0.
“It was something I’ll never forget,” Myers said.
Rob Burchianti is assistant sports editor of the Herald-Standard and can be reached online at begin rvburchianti@hotmail.com rvburchianti@hotmail.com end
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