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Twice is nice: Flaherty’s walk-off single sends C-M to state quarterfinals

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The eighth spot in the Canon-McMillan High School baseball team’s batting order is a position Connor Flaherty has embraced.

“Every game, I have to prove myself one time before (the pitcher) treats me like the rest of the order,” Flaherty said. “I like proving them wrong.”

Through two at-bats in the PIAA Class 6A tournament, Flaherty hadn’t proven himself to Dallastown pitcher Nick Parker by popping out in foul territory to the catcher in the second and striking out in the fourth inning.

Maybe he was just waiting for another tied game in the seventh inning.

Flaherty turned on a first-pitch fastball, sending a line drive into left field to score pinch-runner Greg Siller from second base for his second walk-off winner in less than two weeks as Canon-McMillan defeated Dallastown, 2-1, in a first-round game at Wild Things Park Monday afternoon.

A walk-off, infield single in the bottom of the seventh inning from Flaherty lifted C-M past Plum, also 2-1, in the WPIAL quarterfinals May 22.

“I stand there in the eighth spot and nobody expects it,” Flaherty said. “They want to blow it by me and it’s not going to happen. I don’t go down easy.”

The first state playoff win since 2008 advances the Big Macs to the quarterfinals Thursday against a familiar foe, North Allegheny, at a site and time to be determined. C-M defeated the Tigers 2-1 in the WPIAL Championship game.

Brandan Rea reached base safely to begin the seventh inning on a throwing error by Dallastown before being replace by Siller, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Zach Rohaley. The Wildcats error ended a streak of 12 consecutive batters retired by Parker.

“I hear (Rohaley) in the dugout screaming, ‘You love these situations,'” Flaherty said. “He’s not wrong. I like to thrive in that kind of environment. It’s fun to have that pressure.”

Dallastown (18-6) tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the sixth on a run-scoring double from Parker to the left-centerfield wall to score Cole Bankert, who led off the inning with an infield single.

The Wildcats had six hits off Rohaley, who started for the Big Macs, but were picked off twice, caught stealing once and failed to successfully bunt to move runners.

“The bottom line is Canon-McMillan executed and we did not,” said Dallastown coach Greg Kinneman. “We gave two or three outs away on the bases alone. We tried to bunt two or three times, the first went right back to the pitcher for a force play and the other times we couldn’t get them down. We just simply didn’t execute.”

Rohaley pitched all seven innings for C-M (18-5), surrendering one run and striking out 10. His counterpart, Parker, a Coastal Carolina recruit, settled down after a run-scoring single from Nick Serafino in the first inning to allow only four hits and strike out seven.

“We heard a lot about him,” Rohaley said of Parker. “Whenever he is out there doing his job, that means I have to get us back into the dugout and do my job on the mound. I try to match pitch for pitch and out for out.”

In Rohaley’s four playoff starts – all resulting in wins for the senior – he has only allowed three runs and struck out 32 batters. In those games, eight different players for C-M have scored at least one run.

“We have different guys stepping up,” said C-M coach Tim Bruzdewicz. “Not only did we play great defense but Rohaley pitched well. We won as a team today. We are playing together.”

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