South Hills overcomes adversity, returns to World Series
Chris Peters and his assistant coaches, John Kanche and Joe Cuervo, did not have a lot of time to fashion a Pony League World Series qualifier but they did.
For the second year in a row, the South Hills All-Stars are headed for the Pony League World Series that begins Friday at Lew Hays Pony Field.
“With three returning players and a lot more depth than last year, we were in a strong position to repeat,” said Peters. “We had confidence going into the tournament but it’s never easy.”
Putting together a squad is the most challenging part.
Assembling a team to compete in the tournament requires waiting until the regular Pony season ends, which is somewhere between mid- and late-June. Additionally, coaches and managers are battling the schedules of players that also are competing for travel teams that often play outside the region on weekends. So tryouts and practices were scheduled for mid-afternoons during the middle of the week.
“You really only have a short period of time,” Peters explained.
Peters added there’s also a narrow window to dispense any advice or instruction, but expectations were clear, particularly that acceptance of an invitation did not require the coaches to play the 13- and 14-year-old baseball enthusiasts.
“Understand the goal is to win the World Series,” Peters told his players. “Whatever your role might be, accept and relish that. In general that’s preparation for what real baseball is. Winning and earning the right to play.
“I was impressed with how they understood and reacted to that. They were supportive of each other and did whatever it took for the team to be successful. That was the message and I’m proud of how they came together in the amount of time we had.”
South Hills made quick work of the Host Area tournament field. The all-stars went 4-0 and surrendered only one run over the final three contests and included a shutout win in the championship game against Johnstown, 5-0 at Clint Seymour Field in Mt. Lebanon.
After receiving a bye in the first round of its five-team bracket, South Hills routed Mt. Lebanon, 15-3.
Declan Wicker, Tate Foster, Ricor Stoyanoff and Aiden Haupricht combined for the win on the mound while Gavin Kenavey supplied the offensive support, pounding out three hits, including a double, and driving in and scoring two runs each.
Connor Cizauskas and James Snyder both drilled doubles in the game, where no errors were committed. Snyder drove in two runs and scored three times.
In the second game, South Hills blanked Western PA, 10-0. Wicker, Snyder and Mason Scheiring drove in two runs each and accounted for five of the team’s eight hits.
Cizauskas, Kenavey, Foster and Owen Ferko combined for the win on the mound and eight strikeouts.
Though a decisive victory, the contest was not without controversy. Western PA protested because South Hills featured a player from Montour, which at the time was believed not to have Pony baseball.
“The Pony rules state that each kid on my team, or any who are trying to qualify, have to play for the team from which the players draw,” Peters said. “If a Pony team is not offered, you can register with another team or a different league.”
Several players in the Montour School District played for Keystone Oaks and Moon and another intercity squad. One registered for South Hills.
Two days before the Host Area Tournament began, South Hills business manager John Snyder went to Peters and said the team might have an illegal player, so they investigated and discovered that Montour registered two teams for Pony League baseball.
Peters said the team talked to officials from PONY and because “no formal complaints” were made, they told South Hills to “let him play” but after the win over Western PA a formal complaint was filed.
The penalty for this violation is not a team disqualification. Rather the punishment is the player and the manager are prevented from competing for the duration of the postseason.
That means Peters will not be the South Hills manager in Washington. That means Cuervo will be. And he’s a guy who is familiar to baseball fans in Washington. He was the left fielder for the Wild Things in their first two seasons (2002 and ’03).
With Cuervo and Kanche in control of the coaching duties and Peters watching from the bleacher seats, South Hills dispatched Western PA, 4-1.
Because he had reached his 95-pitch limit, Aiden Haupricht was lifted with the count 3-2 on the batter and after 6 2/3 innings. Wicker tossed one pitch in relief. The game ended with 13 strikeouts for Haupricht.
“He was the star,” Peters said.
Cameron Lavery was the offensive hero. He socked a two-run single to break open “a tight” 1-1 game going into the top of the sixth inning. South Hills added another insurance run in the stanza.
In addition to Lavery, Dominic Fabic was 1-for-1 with two walks, Wicker and Garrett Snyder drilled doubles.
“Obviously, the team was relieved because we hadn’t been disqualified. It was a big relief and the team stayed focused,” Peters said. “What pleased me the most is how the kids dealt with losing their coach and one of their players. The way they played was remarkable.”
Cizauskas was superlative in the championship as he fanned nine batters and allowed no hits in six innings during the shutout, 5-0, against Johnstown.
Foster completed the no-hitter. He walked no one and struck out one.
Wicker smacked three hits in four plate appearances. He drove in two and scored one run.
James Snyder drove in two runs on two hits. Scheiring tagged a two-run double and Lavery collected two hits.
South Hills will play its first game in the Pony league World Series at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Navojoa, Mexico.
Cuervo and Kanche will be coaching the club, which also features Lucas Copeland, Colt Gavlik and Eric Ripepi,
“I’m allowed in the ballpark but not in the dugout and not in uniform,” he said. “The players are in good hands though with Joe and John. Overall the atmosphere couldn’t be any better. The players have been tremendously positive through all of this.”
“Our mindset is simple — we’re here to win it all,” Cuervo said. “After going through it last year, we feel more experienced and more complete this time around. With returning players and improved depth, this group has a stronger overall balance.”
Sports editor Chris Dugan contributed to this story.