Captains lead C-M to state championship

STATE COLLEGE – Running in from his center-field spot after catching a line drive to end the top of the fifth inning, Canon-McMillan’s Nick Serafino gathered the Big Macs just outside of the dugout.
“He gave us a mental refreshment of what we needed to do,” said fellow senior Brandon Kline. “It was just about passing the torch.”
From one batter to another, all 12 of the Big Macs sent to the plate in the fifth inning, they passed the torch and eventually raised the state championship trophy with a 10-3 victory over Bensalem in the PIAA Class 6A Championship game at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
But Canon-McMillan’s state championship run began back in mid-April when coach Tim Bruzdewicz challenged Zach Rohaley, Ian Hess and Serafino – captains and four-year starters for the Big Macs – to take them to a place they haven’t gone in their high school careers: the state tournament.
“It was definitely hard those first couple of playoff runs,” Serafino said of ending up one game short of qualifying for the PIAA tournament the last two years.
“We used those failures in the past as motivation.”
In the championship victory, Rohaley pitched six innings for the win, Hess singled twice, drove in a run and scored, and Serafino had two RBI and scored the game-winning run.
“That’s the motor,” Bruzdewicz said. “They are the key to this team. This championship has nothing to do with coaching. The biggest thing about this team are those three captains. Halfway through our section season, I put it on them. Once they realized that, that is when we became champions.”
Throughout the playoffs, each has bailed out one another.
In the WPIAL title game, Rohaley struck out the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters for North Allegheny after a ball slid under the diving glove of Serafino in centerfield for a leadoff triple. Serafino recorded three putouts in the final three innings against Bensalem. And Hess made a handful of spectacular plays at first base to prevent runs from scoring throughout the state tournament.
“Going all the way back to our freshmen year it was like what do we have to do to get to the state tournament,” Hess remembered.
The Big Macs combined for 41 wins prior to this season and didn’t have a state-tournament appearance. C-M was bounced in the WPIAL semifinals each of the past two seasons and lost to Shaler in the first round of the district playoffs in 2015.
“It was easier to handle when we were younger,” Rohaley said. “Looking at it, we had three years to get it done. But as you keep on going, your chances just continue to be minimized. You get to your senior year and only have one chance left. It took countless hours of practice, team bonding, but we knew what we needed to do to get it done.”
For Serafino and Hess, the four years came with position changes. Hess pitched this season for the first time since his freshman season. Serafino went from a pitcher in youth baseball, to infielder to the starting centerfielder, the position he will play at Wheeling Jesuit University.
“When you are younger, I had a pretty big head,” Serafino said. “Your ego gets to you. But as I went on, I realized personal accolades aren’t going to be remembered. Winning a state championship is something that’s going to be talked about for a very long time. This is something we are going to share forever.”