Apr 16, 2016 4 min read

The frustration of a slump at the plate can seem as agonizing and ceaseless as a head cold.

Sometimes, the cure can be something as simple as a beating out a throw for an infield single or an eight-pitch walk. With a runner on third base and needing an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning Saturday, Peters Township head coach Joe Maize turned to a squeeze bunt.

Indians catcher Brody Cararie put down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Eric Riotto, and T.J. Dailey worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh as Peters Township defeated Upper St. Clair, 5-3, in a Section 5-AAAA game at Consol Energy Park.

Riotto, who entered the day batting .200 in seven games, hit an RBI triple to score Dax Plaskina for the 4-2 lead. Cararie, who had just one hit in 14 plate appearances before Saturday, laid down the perfect squeeze bunt and reached first for the infield single. Cararie went 2-for-3 with two RBI.

The win put the Indians (3-2, 4-5) in sole possession of third place in the section and snapped a two-game losing streak.

“The squeeze was the turning point,” Maize said. “Brody did an excellent job putting the ball in play, and I thought Eric perfectly timed it to not give it away. I think the execution of the squeeze was a big jolt for us and anytime you give up the squeeze play, it’s frustrating as a defensive team.”

Though the play was deflating to the Panthers, they didn’t blink with the game on the line. After Peters Township sophomore lefty Nolan Thompson, who relieved Ryan Frizzell in the sixth inning, got the first out, he walked a batter and Dom Cepullio followed with a single to right field.

Thompson walked Andrew Wheeler to load the bases before Maize turned to T.J. Dailey. Ranaldo Del Duca hit Dailey’s third pitch for an RBI single to cut the Panthers’ deficit to two, but Matt Cotton grounded into a 1-4-3 double play to end the game.

The Panthers (2-3, 5-6) suffered their third loss in four games.

“We pitched well, we hit well and we fielded the ball well, so I have nothing bad to say about our effort,” Upper St. Clair head coach Jerry Malarkey said. “Peters Township just got the better of us. They got hits when they needed them and we weren’t able to take advantage of a few opportunities.”

Upper St. Clair stranded a runner on third in the first inning, another on second in the second inning and grounded into two inning-ending double plays.

Peters Township, meanwhile, finally rediscovered its offense. After Alex Mundy led off the game with a single, junior center fielder Tor Sehnert, a Coastal Carolina recruit, hit an RBI triple to right-center field for the 1-0 lead. The Indians added another run when Blake Smith’s ground ball allowed Sehnert to score.

The Panthers answered in the second when Robby Saghy delivered an RBI single and Peters Township gave itself a two-run lead on Cararie’s RBI double in the fourth inning.

“We’re trying to do whatever we can to get some confidence,” Maize said. “Kids are pressing and I think they’re guessing too much. Right now, many of them are pressing too much and we’re trying not to put too much pressure on them. We’re trying to make sure they just see the ball and put it in play.”

That formula and the pitching of Frizzell, who allowed three hits in 5 1/3 innings, helped Peters Township come out on the right side of a one-run game for the first time this season. The Indians’ first two losses in section play were by one run.

Aside from the second inning, when Peters Township committed two errors, it played flawless on defense and the Indians found confidence at the plate.

“Fortunately, we came ahead in this one because this loss would have been devastating mentally for these kids,” Maize said. “They battled so hard and they deserved to win the last two games. It was good to get this one.”