WPIAL Class A championship game
California goes down fighting against Springdale WASHINGTON – Mike Devine wrote a happy ending to Springdale’s season by taking a page from Zack Jeney’s book.
That meant a disappointing end for California, however, as the top-seeded Trojans fell to the second-seeded Dynamos, 5-2, in the WPIAL Class A baseball championship game on Wednesday at Consol Energy Park.
In the 2006 WPIAL final, Jeney drove in three runs with a single and a two-run homer, and hurled a complete game to help California defeat Geibel Catholic, 5-4.
A year later on the same field, it was Devine who drove in three runs with a single and a two-run homer, and he also went the distance on the mound to give Springdale its first WPIAL title since 1954, preventing the Trojans from repeating as champions in the process.
Devine wasn’t over-powering on the mound, but was very effective. The right-hander allowed two runs on five hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. He also hit a batter.
Devine’s performance didn’t go unnoticed by Trojans coach Don Hartman.
“I told him he threw like a champion today and he deserved it,” Hartman said. “He threw the ball hard, hit his spot and kept it low, and that’s what you need to do to win a championship. They earned it. They were the better team today.”
Jeney, who quickly left the field after the medal ceremonies, left a few of his pitches up early on and paid the price as the Dynamos (20-3) scored all their runs in the first two innings.
Springdale, playing as the home team, struck quickly in the bottom of the first. Beau Citrone led off with a double to deep right and scored on Taylor Shaw’s line-drive triple to left-center field. Devine followed with an RBI single, took second on a passed ball, and went to third on Ray Arch’s ground out. Aaron Figore then hit a grounder to third baseman Matt Hartman, who threw home in time to get Devine, but catcher J.D. Hawk couldn’t hang on to the ball as Devine slid into him and the Dynamos had a 3-0 lead.
Devine wasn’t shocked his team got to Jeney so fast.
“We’ve been getting first-inning hits and first-inning runs all year,” he said.
Hartman and the Trojans, however, were surprised at how hard Jeney was hit in the opening frame.
“To give up three or four just absolute mashes like that … we were stunned,” Hartman said. “Zack has never been hit like that, but he was getting some of his pitches up.”
Another high pitch gave Springdale a 5-0 advantage with one swing of the bat in the second inning.
Citrone drew a one-out walk, and one out later Devine went the other way on the first pitch and lifted a two-run homer over the right field wall.
“He left the first pitch up in my first at bat and I wasn’t looking for it,” Devine said. “In my second at bat, I was looking for it.”
From that point on, though, Jeney settled into a groove and was almost untouchable. He retired 13 of the final 15 Springdale batters with 10 of those coming on strikeouts. The left-hander’s overall pitching line wasn’t that far off from what he did in last year’s winning performance. He allowed four earned runs on six hits with two walks and 12 strikeouts.
Given the early lead, Devine allowed only two base runners in the first four innings. Travis VanOlst reached first on a two-out error in the second and Ben Carson walked and stole second in the third, but was then picked off by Devine to end the inning.
California finally got its first hit in the fifth when Hawk hit a bloop single down the left field line that fell barely fair, just out of the reach of diving third baseman Arch. Hawk took second on VanOlst’s ground out, but was stranded there when Devine struck out the next two batters.
The Trojans broke through against Devine with their only two runs an inning later. Wade Stinnett was hit by a pitch to start the rally and Carson singled to left. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, and one out later Hartman flared a two-run single down the left field line to make it 5-2.
Dynamos coach Dan Pschirer then went out to have a meeting on the mound.
“There was never a state of panic with the kids,” Pschirer said. “I just told them you’ve got a 5-2 lead. Keep making pitches. Hit your spots. Infielders, make the plays and everything will be OK.”
Two pitches later everything was OK for the Dynamos as Jeney hit into an unusual double play. He grounded the ball to second baseman Tim Devine, who flipped to shortstop Dan Jacobs for the force out. When Jacobs went to throw to first, Hartman was popping up out of his slide and the ball deflected off of him. Umpires ruled interference, which meant Jeney was ruled out at first for a completion of the double play.
“We got lucky there,” Pschirer said. “That play could’ve gone either way.”
“That was huge because it was the middle of our lineup that was up,” Hartman said. “Sometimes breaks go your way and sometimes they don’t. We didn’t get one little quirky thing go our way today.”
The Trojans, as usual, refused to go quietly in their final at bat.
Devine got one quick out, but VanOlst reached on an infield hit, and out later Brandon Rossi hit a bloop that eluded Tim Devine and first baseman Shaw for a single into short right field.
That brought the tying run to the plate, and Hartman called on pinch-hitter Waugh Carter. The senior struck out, but went down swinging hard. He fouled back a 1-2 offering, but his foul tip on the next pitch was hung on to by catcher Brian Zoller for the final out of the game.
“We were fighting to the death,” Hartman said. “It just wasn’t our day.”
California (20-3) will now step into the PIAA playoffs, but Hartman isn’t sure how mentally prepared his team will be for that venture.
“It’s really hard to rebound when you lose in the (WPIAL) finals or the semifinals,” Hartman said. “It’s going to be up to them. Whatever they want to do.”
The loss to the Dynamos dropped Hartman’s record in the WPIAL playoffs to 15-4.
“I can’t be more proud of my guys,” Hartman said. “To be here three times in seven years … I just feel we got beat by a better team.
“I’m not going home unhappy.”