Skaggs, Serra no-hits Carmichaels in WPIAL final
Tyler Skaggs said all he was trying to do was throw the baseball over home plate, and given the weather conditions – a steady cold rain – that was often a monumental task.
What Skaggs, a senior right-handed pitcher for Serra Catholic, ended up doing Wednesday at EQT Park was more than just throw strikes. He pitched the Eagles to the WPIAL championship and put his name into the title game record book.
Skaggs threw a no-hitter as Serra blanked Carmichaels 9-0 in the Class A final that was played in weather conditions more suitable for ducks than baseball players.
“I was just trying to get it across the plate and let my defense work for me,” Skaggs said after pitching Serra to its fifth WPIAL championship.
“It ended up that I was getting it over the plate. I was throwing strikes and that’s all I needed to do. I had a little trouble with the rain, but as long as I was throwing strikes, then I was settled in. I relied on my fastball … and I was just trying to get it in there. Everything was working. I could throw my curveball for a strike. ”
Carmichaels (15-5), which was making its seventh appearance in the title game and first since 2014, did everything it could to get to Skaggs. The Mikes bunted, they utilized pinch-hitters, they tried to grind out long at-bats, but nothing worked. Skaggs walked two, hit two batters and struck out 10. He threw 97 pitches.
Serra (20-3) didn’t break the game open until late. The Eagles led 1-0 after three innings, 4-0 after five and then scored five times in the sixth, when the rain was pouring down.
“It should have been 1-0 in the sixth,” Carmichaels coach Dickie Krause lamented, noting that the Mikes should have gotten an inning-ending out on a Serra double steal in the fourth and also didn’t turn a routine grounder into a double play that would have ended that same inning.
“It is a huge challenge coming here to play a team that is here basically almost every year. They’ve been here four years in a row. So it’s like a game on their schedule. The kids know the routine, they understand the field, they have depth at every position because they have kids from all over, and we haven’t been here in 11 years.
“I don’t know that we played tight. It’s just that the comfort zone is different. It’s just a real comfort zone for (Serra) coming here and we didn’t have that. I don’t want to make excuses, but our routine is all off. We’ve never played a game at 11 o’clock. When you take all of that, and factor in we’re a team that had only three kids who played a varsity game before this year, it’s a lot to overcome.”
Carmichaels, however, didn’t generate any offense. The Mikes had only one batter reach scoring position, and that was Robbie Wilson-Jones in the top of the first inning. He drew a leadoff walk and was bunted to second base by Dayton Reynolds. Wilson-Jones was stranded at second base following a pair of popouts.
Serra scored the only run it would need in the second inning against Carmichaels starter Jase Dravecky. Max Black, who was 2-for-4, led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out single through the left side of the infield by freshman Cole Hann, who was replacing an injured Jake Anderson.
“That was awesome,” Skaggs said. “That’s what we needed.”
Serra made it 3-0 in the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out, Owen Dumbroski bounced into a run-scoring fielder’s choice against Carmichaels reliever Colin Andrews. Serra then executed a double steal, with Hann scoring, though Carmichaels had the play defended. Hann, however, beat the throw home from the Carmichaels shortstop.
Black hit an RBI double to make it 4-0 in the sixth and Serra scored five times in the sixth against Wilson-Jones, Carmichaels’ third pitcher of the day. Jacob Holmes’ two-run double to left field was the key hit in the inning.
Skaggs closed the game by retiring 10 of the final 11 Carmichaels batters as he didn’t let the rain bother him.
“Our coach always wants us to practice in the harshest conditions so that we’re prepared for these games,” Skaggs said.
Carmichaels does not have much time to dwell on the loss. The Mikes will play in the opening round of the state tournament Monday against the District 6 champion, either Juniata Valley or Homer Center. That district title game will be played today.