Something about Mary’s pitching
McMURRAY – Phil Mary’s confidence grew after every pitch. The Peters Township High School senior right-handed pitcher was spotting his fastball on the inside of the plate, forcing nine groundouts after a tough first inning.
His pitch count told an entirely different story. It took 24 pitches for Mary to escape the first inning and he threw 94 through five innings, but Indians head coach Joe Maize knew better than to bring a reliever into the game.
Few athletes can handle high-pressure situations better than Mary, who was a standout for the Indians’ wrestling team the past four years. Mary has earned Maize’s trust and the pitcher came through Friday night.
Mary struck out seven batters, allowed just five hits and threw 133 pitches to lead Peters Township over Canon-McMillan, 5-2, in a critical Section 5-AAAA game at Peterswood Park.
The Indians (2-3, 7-5), who lost three consecutive section games this week, dropping them into sixth place, were in a must-win situation against their biggest rival. Meanwhile, the Big Macs (4-2, 7-3) saw their grip on second place slip.
“We’ve had a lot of big games here and against Canon-McMillan, but that’s as big as we’ve had in three years,” Maize said. “That helps keeps us in the thick of things and I think this section is wide open.”
Maize’s analysis would have been different if it weren’t for Mary. The 5-8 senior gave up three hits in the first inning, including an RBI double to Big Macs catcher Tanner Piechnick. He struggled with control and gave up a double to Connor Coleman.
Even when Mary’s pitch count inflated and the Indians held a four-run lead, Maize had no doubt about keeping Mary in the game.
“The kids I’ve coached who also wrestled, you like giving them that opportunity to go out and finish,” Maize said. “He’s used to that pressure and competition. He wanted the baseball and he’s our go-to guy right now. We needed him tonight.”
Piechnick’s RBI single gave Canon-McMillan a 1-0 lead and it looked to be enough support for pitcher Matt Mish, who fooled the Indians with his curveball early in the game. After one time through the order, Peters Township finally solved the breaking ball.
Mish pitched four innings, striking out five and not issuing a walk.
PT sophomore left fielder Tor Sehnert, who was 3-for-3 with two runs, led off the bottom of the third inning with a double to right-center field. Two batters later, he scored on a single by third baseman Kyle Lewis to tie the score, 1-1.
The Big Macs still controlled momentum into the fourth inning, but that changed with four errors. After recording the first out, Mish struck out Tim Swoope, but the ball went off the mask of Piechnick, whose throw to first was off line, allowing Swoope to reach safely. Swoope moved up on an errant pickoff attempt.
“We had chances, but we didn’t take advantage,” Canon-McMillan head coach Frank Zebrasky said. “We made four errors in one inning and they had a few nice swings. In high school baseball, that’s how games are won and lost – controlling mistakes.”
The hits began to add up for the Indians.
Brett McIntosh had an RBI single to give the Indians a 2-1 lead and Ryan Tassone, a George Mason recruit, hit a double to left field. Sehnert followed with a towering hit over the right-center field fence for a two-run homer, his first career varsity home run. C-M mishandled two ground balls in the inning.
“(Mish) threw me two curve balls in my first at-bat,” Sehnert said. “In that next at-bat, I waited on the first one and when I saw the second one I hit it.”
The inning gave Peters Township a 5-1 lead and Mary the comfort he needed. He allowed one more hit – a double in the sixth – and struck out five in the final three innings.
“That home run was huge,” Mary said. “It gave me a little wiggle room to do my thing out there. I was able to settle down after that first inning. I knew my bats would wake up eventually and I finally located my fastball.”
Canon-McMillan added a run in the fifth inning when Chandler Palyas scored on a throwing error. The victory lifted Peters Township into fifth place and just one game behind Bethel Park for third place with four section games next week.
“This was a big win for us,” Mary said. “We were in a hole with those three losses this week, but this gives us a spark. I feel like we can make a run next week.”
Canon-McMillan senior Luke Blanock, who underwent chemotherapy last week, pitched the fifth and sixth innings for the Big Macs. He allowed one hit and ended the sixth inning with a strikeout. … The Big Macs played three freshmen: Zach Rohaley started at third base, Nick Serafino at second and Ian Hess entered as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. … Zebrasky said he could not comment on the investigation of alleged marijuana use by some C-M players on a trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., last month. … Canon-McMillan is still scheduled to play Monday at Mt. Lebanon. Because turf is being installed on the Blue Devils’ home field, Mt. Lebanon has not played a home game all season. The tentative plan is for the game to be played at Mellon Middle School.