Canon-McMillan’s win over USC is a breeze
Canon-McMillan vs. Upper St. Clair
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Canon-McMillan’s Connor Flaherty holds onto his cap as he returns teammate Cam Walker’s cap during high gusts of wind that interrupted moments of Wednesday’s game.
Upper St. Clair’s Jacob Pikras celebrates a three-run triple he hit in the second against Canon-McMillan
Canon-McMillan’s Nick Serafino makes the catch in center for the out against Upper St. Clair
Canon-McMillan’s Zach Rohaley had eight strikeouts in five innings in the Big Macs’ win over Upper St. Clair Wednesday.
Upper St. Clair’s Jack Beggy gets the out against Canon-McMillan
Fans did whatever possible to keep warm during a a Canon-McMillan vs. Upper St. Clair game at the Washington Wild Things field with temps in the 30s, snow flurries and high winds
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Canon-McMillan’s Nick Serafino slides into home under Upper St. Clair catcher Herb Gordon (4) and Nate Hamel during a Class 6A, Section 3 opener at Wild Things Park Wednesday afternoon.
It wasn’t an ordinary day for baseball at wind-swept Wild Things Park.
The trash can in the Canon-McMillan High School team’s bullpen bounded down the left-field line and banged up against the outfield fence. The game was stopped several times as players and base coaches chased their hats. And on the first hit of the game, the top end of the bat of Nick Serafino, the Big Macs’ leadoff hitter, exploded on an ordinary single.
And that was only in the first inning.
Reaching into his equipment bag in the dugout, Serafino replaced his defective bat by pulling out a bat he had never used before in a game. It worked.
The senior center fielder went 3-for-4 with two RBI as Canon-McMillan used two big innings to defeat Upper St. Clair, 11-4, in the Class 6A Section 3 opener on a cold and blustery Wednesday afternoon.
The Big Macs only needed two innings – a four-run second and six-run fifth – to defeat their section rival for the third consecutive time dating back to last season. In those games, C-M has outscored the Panthers 30-8.
“When it’s cold like this you have to simplify things,” said Serafino. “You can’t try to do too much. My approach was just to get my hands through the ball and try to make solid contact, especially here in this environment where fielders aren’t able to be as agile and the ball isn’t going to travel far.”
That approach didn’t work when he fought off a third-pitch curveball to open the game and broke his backup bat, after deciding against his composite bat with the frigid weather. That’s when he turned to option No. 3, a bat he doesn’t remember the last time took a swing with.
“After I saw what happened to the first one, I wasn’t risking it,” Serafino joked.
Serafino continued the damage from the Big Macs’ lineup in the second inning with an RBI single under the diving glove of Upper St. Clair third baseman Jonah Auslander. Serafino came around to score on a bloop single by Cam Walker to extend the C-M lead to 4-0.
The lead quickly evaporated in the third inning when Canon-McMillan ace Zach Rohaley nearly danced out of danger.
Jake Pikras hit a two-out, three-run triple to the right-centerfield gap to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 4-3 in the third.
The three runs (unearned) were the only surrendered by Rohaley, who was forced to pause a handful of times because of strong winds. He allowed two hits and struck out eight in five innings.
“Every time we give the ball to (Rohaley) we feel very confident,” said C-M coach Tim Bruzdewicz. “The last three years he has been a bulldog. All three of those runs were unearned but I don’t think we were on the same page with pitch calling. But his overall effort in the cold today, I thought he did a great job.”
The one-run deficit would be the closest Upper St. Clair (0-1, 5-1) would get as Serafino singled and scored on a Walker sacrifice fly to make it 5-3 in the fourth inning.
Then the Big Macs (1-0, 4-1) sent each player of its lineup to the plate as they batted around and scored six runs in the fifth, an inning after Upper St. Clair starter Nate Hamel exited. Hamel gave up six hits and five runs (four earned).
“We are looking for squiggly lines, multiple-run innings,” Bruzdewicz said. “I was happy with our pitch selection. We took the balls that were balls and put good swings on the first fastball or curveball down the middle. It was brutal out here but I think that actually helped us because (Upper St. Clair) was in the field for a while.”
Canon-McMillan catcher Brandon Rae was the only other player from either team who had a multi-hit game. Rae went 2-for-3 with three RBI. The final four spots of the Big Macs’ lineup scored seven of the 11 runs.
“It was tough,” Serafino said about the conditions. “Toward the end of the game, when the snow really picked up, it was a lot harder to see. But you can have a little fun with it too, like watching the entire infield chasing after their hats every inning.”