Jun 9, 2022 4 min read

SLIPPERY ROCK – Nate Klodowski didn’t have to say it. His teammates on Burgettstown’s baseball team knew.

Klodowski had just been ejected from the consolation game in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs for disputing a call, making him ineligible for the next game, a first-round PIAA playoff game against Johnsonburg, the District 9 champion.

More than anything else, Klodowski wanted – no, needed – his teammates to beat Johnsonburg to give him a chance to make it up to them.

Klodowski’s teammates came through, upsetting Johnsonburg by one run. So Klodowski gave it back to the Blue Devils in spades.

Klodowski struck out 12, gave up four hits and went all seven innings in Burgettstown’s 6-4 victory over Redbank Valley Thursday in the quarterfinals at Slippery Rock University.

The win puts the Blue Devils in the semifinals, a place the program has never been before, Monday against either Neshannock or Riverside.

“I was really upset at myself,” said Klodowski of his ejection. “No one wants to get thrown out of a game that didn’t mean much. I was upset for a while but I knew if my boys could win that first game, I was going to come back strong.”

And he did. Well, except for the second inning, when he surrendered three runs. But Burgettstown rallied for four in the third and two more in the fourth to put the Blue Devils in command.

“This means a lot for the program and the school,” said Burgettstown head coach Doug Tunno. “I talked to Klodowski after he got ejected. I told him don’t say nothing, don’t do nothing. We need him.”

One of the frustrating things about the ejection was that he didn’t have a rosin bag to dry his hands. It wasn’t a problem against Redbank Valley because Klodowski brought his own. That kept his hands dry enough to effectively throw the slider, his best pitch.

“When we strike out as many times as we did and they put the ball into play as many times as they did, it gives them a better chance to win,” said Redbank Valley head coach Craig Hibell. “I’m still proud of my kids. We just came up a little short today.”

Like Burgettstown (16-5), Redbank Valley had never advanced this far in the state playoffs.

Redbank Valley struck for three runs in the second inning. Bryson Bain led off with a triple in the gap to right field and scored on a groundout by Ty Carrier.

Breckin Minich walked and moved to second base on a grounder to first. Mason Clouse singled Minich to third and he scored on a passed ball. Mason Clouse came around to score ona groundout to shortstop by Cam Wagner.

But Burgettstown exploded for four runs in the third inning, sending nine batters to the plate and knocking starter Ty Carrier out of the game.

“They started hitting him” said Tunno. “He was throwing off speed and sneaking a fastball in there.”

Jackson LaRocka opened with a one-out infield single and moved to second on a single to center by Klodowski. A balk moved both runners up,

Following a flyout, A.J. Kuzior singled to left, scoring Klodowski. Kuzior scored when the left fielder misplayed the ball on a single by Andrew Bredel. Bredel came around to score on a single by Luke Lounder.

Arguably, the biggest hit of the game came from Bredel, who knocked in two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. That gave him four RBI for the game.

“I wanted to get a couple more (in the third) inning,” said Tunno. “That’s what you have to do. You can’t stop.”