Trinity gains ground with road win in ‘gauntlet’
By Joe Smeltzer
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
MCDONALD — Sometimes, one play can turn the whole day around.
To be clear, Trinity probably didn’t need much good fortune to beat South Fayette on Tuesday.
The Hillers had more hits, allowed fewer walks and, most importantly, scored seven more runs in their 10-3 win.
But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t an obvious turning point.
It happened in the top of the second inning.
South Fayette (5-4, 8-5) starter Connor Rynn loaded the bases on two walks and a single. He almost got out of it, but a throwing error by third baseman Bo Stover allowed two runs to score and gave Trinity the lead.
The next batter, Stover made another throwing error, allowing two more runs to score.
Trinity (3-4, 6-5) never looked back.
“Clean baseball wins games,” South Fayette coach Ken Morgan said. “If you’re a team that consistently makes self-inflicting wounds, those are big holes to get out of.”
“Clean baseball wins. The last few games have been a reflection of that. We have not played clean, and the scores have reflected that.”
South Fayette scored first in the bottom of the first. With two outs and nobody on, Stover tripled. The next batter, Cody Bungert, singled him home.
After seizing control in the second, Trinity added on in the top of the third, this time without the help of suspect defense. Jonah Williamson led off the frame with a double and the next batter, Kaden Hathaway, doubled him home to make it 5-1. Williamson later put the game virtually to bed with a two-run homer in the top of the fifth, which made it 7-1. South Fayette fought back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth but it was too little, too late.
Trinity’s Matthew Robaugh, a West Virginia commit, made it 10-3 with a solo shot in the seventh.
As good as Trinity’s offense was, it was more than the team’s starting pitcher needed.
“We got the J.R. Rieg that we wanted on the mound today,” Trinity coach Jon Stack said.
Yes, they did.
Rieg went the distance, allowing three runs on four hits, walking a batter, hitting another and striking out six over seven innings.
So what led to Rieg’s success?
“He kept his pitch count low and he attacked early in the zone,” Stack said. “So, he was ahead in most counts, and then he kept them off balance really well. Did a nice job of mixing in his curveball and his changeup.”
Rynn took the loss, going four innings and allowing eight runs — just four earned.
The good news for South Fayette is that the Lions are still very much a threat in Class 5A Section 2. They came into Tuesday tied for first with Bethel Park at 5-3.
Peters Township (4-3), Moon (3-3) and Upper St. Clair (3-4) are also right there.
Chartiers Valley (3-5) and Trinity (3-4) are also fighting for a playoff spot.
Yep, it’s a fun time in a tightly packed section.
“Hell yeah,” Morgan said. “It’s great. It’s been like that forever, especially in this section. It seems like, for years, this little southern belt or whatever you want to call us, our section, has been a gauntlet. It’s good to prepare us for the postseason if we’re fortunate enough to get there. But that’s kind of what you want. You don’t want easy games or cupcake games or teams that are in your section that, they kind of make you inflate your ego a little bit without proving yourself throughout the course of the season. In a tough section like this, the teams that do make it are going to be kind of battle-tested.”
“It’s like a playoff game every time,” Stack said, “and that’s our approach right now. We have five games left, and every one is a playoff series and we have to keep winning to stay in it. So, it’s great having the competition we do have in our section, but it’s tough night in and night out because of the teams we have to play.”
Trinity will look to keep things going against the same opponent Wednesday. This game will be in Washington as opposed to McDonald.
On the mound for South Fayette will be Trey Skeen. Trinity will throw Zach Schrader.