Mistakes break Rangers in WPIAL championship game
As Fort Cherry coach Bob Sawhill put it, sometimes it’s not your day.
In any baseball game mistakes are tough to overcome, but in a championship setting, they are even more under the microscope.
For Fort Cherry, small miscues turned into major problems in its first WPIAL title game appearance in 40 years.
On three errors and a passed ball, the Rangers spotted Neshannock three early unearned runs and dug a hole too big to climb from.
The second-seeded Lancers added three more runs in the fourth to take control and went on to defeat the top-seeded Rangers, 11-2, in the WPIAL Class 2A championship Tuesday at EQT Park.
Fort Cherry (18-2) was denied its first championship since 1986 and getting Sawhill his first title in his 38th year at the helm. Neshannock (19-3) won its seventh district title and first since 2015.
The Rangers committed five errors, all at shortstop, and had a couple other mental mistakes, which resulted in fielder’s choices that extended innings. Neshannock, meanwhile, did not commit any errors. The Lancers had only eight hits to score 11 runs and took advantage of pretty much every mistake Fort Cherry made.
“They were out there trying, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out,” Sawhill said. “Anybody that’s ever played the game knows the same thing: People make errors. What are you going to do? Sometimes they come at the worst possible time.”
Neshannock plated two runs without a hit in the first inning. Nathan Rickel reached on an error, stole second, and eventually scored on a groundout by Anthony Eakin.
Ryan Cameron drew a one-out walk, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.
Fort Cherry got a run back in the bottom half when Ryan Huey ripped a ball over the head of Neshannock centerfielder Cole Hutchison for a triple to score Colton Temple from first base. Temple hit a single to left field with two outs.
The Rangers nearly tied the game when Blake Sweder hit a pitch up the middle, but it hit the foot of Neshannock pitcher Denny Joseph and settled beside him. Joseph picked up the ball and tossed to first to retire the side.
Joseph hobbled off the field. Neshannock had pitchers warming up in the bullpen between innings, but Joseph went back out onto the mound and ended up pitching a complete game.
He retired the last 10 batters he faced.
“When the line drive hit him, we thought he was done,” Neshannock coach John Quahliero said. “He went from coming out of the game, to finishing a complete game. You can’t teach that stuff. He’s unbelievable.”
Another error allowed Neshannock to score a run in the third. Mason Moroz hit a chopper to short that Ben Demascal bobbled and then he fired high over Sweder’s head at first. The ball kicked over to the bullpen in right field and Ryan Cameron, who was at first base, came all the way around to score.
The Lancers broke the game open in the fourth. Nathan Rickel had an RBI double that scored Hayden Tatterson. With Kevin Gierlach on third base, Luca Pagley laid down a perfect squeeze bunt. Gierlach scored easily.
Cameron followed with an RBI single and the lead ballooned to 6-1.
“I think the errors really got into our heads,” Sawhill said. “When you’re down in the first inning 2-0 before you bat it’s tough. Then we came back and got one, but they added one and when they got the three (in the fourth) that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Fort Cherry got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when Blake Merckle hit an RBI single that scored Tyler Wolfe.
Neshannock looked like it may add another run in the sixth after Gierlach tripled with one out, but was denied by the arm of Trnavsky.
Rickel hit a shallow fly ball to center field, Trnavsky caught it reared back and fired a strike to home plate and Temple tagged out Gierlach before he could slide.
Another Rangers error in the seventh proved costly. Pagley hit a ball to shortstop, but Nathan Wolfe couldn’t handle it, giving the Lancers a leadoff baserunner. Anthony Eakin singled to put two runners on. Moroz ripped a two-run double to left field and Hutchison followed with an RBI double.
Neshannock plated two more runs on wild pitches and ended up with five runs in the frame.
Dylan Lueck took the loss for Fort Cherry. He allowed six runs, three earned, over five innings on four hits and had two walks and one strikeout.
Both teams will continue into the state tournament on Monday. Neshannock gets the District 9 runner-up, while Fort Cherry plays either the District 5 (Bellwood-Antis or Mount Union) or City League champion.