Burgettstown, PT take first steps in WPIAL playoffs
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Burgettstown courtesy runner James Leuice beats the initial throw to third baseman Hunter Assad but is tagged out after over-sliding the base, ending the Blue Devils' four-run second inning in a 14-4 WPIAL playoff victory over California at Ross Memorial Park.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Burgettstown pitcher Brodie Kuzior, shown in a game earlier this season against California, hit a grand slam, drove in five runs and pitched 11/3 scoreless innings for a save as the Blue Devils defeated Johnsonburg in the opening round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Burgettstown's Eric Kovach, left, takes off for third base after a pickoff throw goes past California's Aiden Lowden in the second inning Tuesday. Kovach was driven in from third by A.J. Kozier, scoring Burgettstown's fourth run of the inning.
Burgettstown California -4
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Burgettstown winning pitcher Brodie Kuzior helps his own cause by connecting for a single with two outs in the sixth inning of the WPIAL Class 2A playoff game Tuesday against California at Ross Memorial Park. Kuzior pitched all six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits in the 14-4 victory.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Burgettstown catcher A.J. Kuzior jumps in celebration as teammate Riley Kennedy (17) crosses the plate for the Blue Devils’ 14th run, ending a 14-4 victory over California in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A baseball playoffs at Ross Memorial Park. The Blue Devils advanced all the way to the PIAA semifinals.
One team was making its 13th straight appearance in the WPIAL baseball playoffs. The other had not won a playoff game in 13 seasons.
But it was the playoff-history rich team from California that took the beating from the bare history of Burgettstown 14-4 in a six-inning first-round game in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs Tuesday at Washington & Jefferson’s Ross Memorial Park.
Burgettstown, the sixth seed in this tournament, advances to the quarterfinals against No. 3 Shenango, a 10-0 winner over No. 14 Fort Cherry. The Blue Devils, who raised their record to 13-3, came into the game winning two of the last four games.
California saw it’s nine-game winning streak and season come to an end with a 10-7 record. The Trojans, the 11th seed in the tournament, had won three WPIAL titles and been to the finals in four of the last seven seasons.
Burgettstown came out swinging, often times at the first pitch and scored one run in the first, four in the second and seven in the fourth, when the Blue Devils batted around in the order.
“We’ve been aggressive all year,” said Burgettstown head coach Doug Tunno. “We’ve scored a lot of runs a few times this year. Not every game but a lot. We’ve had a lot of tight games.”
Burgettstown has reached double figures in scoring nine time this season, including this game.
Every player in the Blue Devils’ lineup drove in at least one run save for designated hitter Maddox Gratchen and he had two doubles and scored twice. Second baseman Nate Klodowski, first baseman Andrew Bredel, pitcher Brodie Kuzior, and third baseman Sam Elich joined Gratchen with two hits apiece.
Elich drove in three runs, including the final two that ended the game with the Mercy Rule. A.J. Kuzior and his brother, Brody, also drove in two runs.
The Blue Devils had three errors or the game would have ended prematurely because of the Mercy Rule. The first three runs California scored were unearned.
“We never saw them play before today,” said California head coach Lou Pasquale. “We talked to a couple teams they played and we were told that they jump on first pitch fastballs. So we tried to go offspeed first pitch, couldn’t locate and fell behind in the count.
“We didn’t hit very well. Just four runs. You’ve got to give Burgettstown credit.”
Tunno said while Brodie Kuzior is a solid arm, he is the No. 2 man in the rotation. Nathan Klodowski is the Blue Devils’ starter for Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Peters Township, 7-0
The third time did not turn out to be a charm for Connellsville’s baseball team against Peters Township.
The two teams met twice this season in Class 5A Section 4 and Peters Township won both games.
On Tuesday at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park, the two teams met for a third time and, well, not much had changed.
Peters Township scored twice in the first inning and added four more in the bottom of the sixth on the way to a 7-0 victory over the Falcons in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.
The Indians, the top seed in the classification, play Penn-Trafford, a 4-3 winner over Hampton, in Thursday’s quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined.
Sam Miller threw a four-hit shutout, retiring nine of the last 12 batters. He struck out four and walked one. He also cracked a first inning solo home run in the bottom of the first for PT (19-1).
“It’s hard to beat a team three times in a season,” said Peters Township head coach Rocky Plassio. “I’m not going to lie to you. It made me a little nervous to go against a team the caliber of Connellsville. So I was definitely concerned.”
Connellsville (11-11) entered the game with some momentum, winning their first WPIAL playoff game in 17 seasons in the preliminary round Monday.
“We had momentum, not only from (Monday) night but the last five or six games we’ve played well,” said Connellsville head coach Rob Orndorff. “Offensively, we were putting the ball in play a little bit more, more hard contact.”
Two errors led to the Indians’ first six runs. A ground ball to Connellsville third baseman Mason May was thrown over the head of first baseman Jacob Puskar with two outs in the first inning. The same type of error opened the door to four more runs in the fifth.