Catch sparks North Allegheny to win over Canon-McMillan
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Canon-McMillan’s Brandan Rea gets the out against North Allegheny’s Quentin Halyana.
Observer-Reporter
Canon-McMillan’s Cam Weston, right, gets a high-five from Brycen Virgili in a game earlier this season.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Canon-McMillan’s Cam Walker (1) aims to throw the ball after a play against North Allegheny’s Joey Colella (23) at second
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Canon-McMillan’s Casey Burke gets an out at third base against North Allegheny’s Shane Murphy during Thursday’s game.
With a young team and a lot of new starters, Canon-McMillan High School baseball coach Tim Bruzdewicz admitted there would be some bumps in the road, especially early in the season.
The Big Macs didn’t expect the deep pothole that flattened them early Thursday afternoon.
Making a sliding catch on a sinking line drive, North Allegheny right fielder Joey Collela bounced up and threw out a runner breaking for home plate in the bottom of the second inning, then ignited the Tigers a half-inning later as they defeated Canon-McMillan, 5-2, at Wild Things Park in a non-section rematch of last year’s WPIAL Class 6A championship game.
“It was a huge change in momentum,” Colella said. “We work on that play all of the time. It was my chance after bobbling one earlier in the game. I came through.”
North Allegheny’s senior leader then stepped up in a big way at the plate a half-inning later, hitting a one-out double and scoring what would end up being the game-winning run on a triple by Cole Young. Colella’s extra-base hit was one of the three for the Tigers in the third inning as Shane Murphy laced the first pitch he saw to deep left field for an RBI triple for NA’s fourth unanswered run and a 4-2 lead.
“The bottom line is that team is very well-coached and they never quit,” Bruzdewicz said. “It was deflating.”
Canon-McMillan (2-2) was stifled by several solid defensive plays by the Tigers and struggled to score. After Colella’s sliding play, the Big Macs went 0-for-7 with runners on base. They stranded eight baserunners, including five in the final three innings.
“I’m upset about our situational hitting,” Bruzdewicz said. “We had guys on base. Their starter is a Division I guy and we could have gotten rid of him quickly. The whole game changes. We are still trying to figure out our best lineup and what our strengths are.”
The Big Macs had a 2-0 lead after the first inning when Noah Burke singled to right field, scoring Cam Walker. Cam Weston then stole home while Burke was in a rundown between first and second base.
North Allegheny (1-2) starting pitcher Anthony Hattrup settled in after a hectic first two innings. Hattrup escaped danger in the third when Young backhanded a grounder that looked destined to find the outfield from his shortstop position and flipped to second base for a forceout. Young ended the fourth with a leaping snow-cone grab on a line drive by Jon Quinque.
“Any time you can throw out a runner at home plate it can change a game, but I thought our defense was good all the way around today,” said North Allegheny coach Andrew Heck. “I know we are going to be a good team, it’s just our guys have to go out there and prove it a little to themselves.”
Hattrup surrendered four hits, four walks and the two early runs in four innings.
The Tigers added an insurance run to make it 5-2 in the sixth inning when C.J. Weller hit a ball right back up that middle that ricocheted off Canon-McMillan reliever Nick Gregory and into center field to score Murphy.
Burke and Cam Walker each had a pair of hits for the Big Macs. Sophomore Nick Popielarczyk gave up four runs in the first three innings. He struck out four.
“We have 10 or 15 things to work on,” Bruzdewicz said. “What’s our best lineup? Who are our top pitchers? We are playing 6A schools for the most part. We want to play playoff teams. It will make us better. We are going to have bumps in the road. I hate to lose, but I’d rather lose now than later.”