Greensburg Central Catholic right-hander Tyler Samide had just finished off Jeannette on a one-hitter Monday when he joined his teammates in moving an infield tarp onto the Centurions’ home field.
With the wind whipping at times, the temperature came with a chill during GCC’s 5-1 victory.
“Not at all,” the GCC senior responded when asked if he found it difficult to navigate the elements on an iffy, overcast Western Pennsylvania day in March.
Samide seemed to despise a longstanding idea of pitchers wearing jackets to protect their arms.
“It’s not cold,” he said.
GCC coach John Boyle nodded at the mere mention of Samide’s name.
“He’s just a fierce competitor,” Boyle said.
Whatever he was doing, it seemed to be working fine for Samide, who won for the second time in as many starts as GCC (3-0, 3-0 Section 1-A) stayed unbeaten heading into a rematch with the Jayhawks on Tuesday at Jeannette.
Samide, who last season pitched three abbreviated no-hitters shortened by the 10-run rule, yielded Noah Rattigan’s leadoff single in the first inning for Jeannette’s only hit, and freshman Carson Kramer homered for one of his three hits for GCC.
“Carson’s home run really jump-started us,” Boyle said. “It was a very close game, so that was a big hit.”
Kramer, who reached base in all four at-bats, sent Jayden Kennedy’s pitch over the left-field fence in the fifth inning, and the Centurions later in the inning added another run on an error to take a 4-1 lead.
Kramer also singled home a run in the third to give GCC a 2-1 advantage. His sixth-inning double against Dominico Ponzetti stretched the Centurions’ lead to 5-1.
“With this team,” Boyle said, “I told our guys at the beginning of the year, our goal is to win the section, win WPIALs and compete for states.”
Just like last year?
“Yes, just like last year,” he said. “Anything short will be a disappointment, particularly for the seniors. They’ve put a lot of time and effort into their game, and this is their last hurrah.”
At one point, Samide retired nine consecutive Jeannette batters and 11 of the final 12 Jayhawks. He struck out 11 and walked four.
Jeannette (3-2, 0-1), playing without two starters, scored an unearned run against Samide in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Rattigan laced a solid single, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error.
GCC tied it in the bottom of the second when Nino Ninemire singled, advanced to third on an error and scored on Stephen Kochis’ sacrifice fly.
Despite the early-season loss, Jeannette coach Marcus Clarkson remained optimistic. The Jayhawks were without seniors Amari Thomas, who is serving a two-game WPIAL-imposed suspension for an ejection against Sewickley Academy, and Evyn Yargeau, who was ill.
Yargeau was expected to pitch Monday for the Jayhawks but was a late scratch, Clarkson said. He also is the team’s regular shortstop.
McAlister Steele, a Jeannette basketball player who just joined the baseball team following the Jayhawks’ deep playoff run, was inserted in the lineup in place of Thomas in left field.
“He hasn’t really had a lot of reps,” Clarkson said. “With us being down a couple guys, he had to go out there. We’re not deep, but we have a really nice group.”
Despite the outcome, Boyle was impressed with Jeannette’s play and said Section 1 will offer a formidable challenge for his Centurions, who reached the PIAA Class A quarterfinals last season.
“They’re a solid team,” he said. “They played great defense today. They were missing two starters, and that kind of hurt them at the bottom of the order. I predict they’ll be in the playoffs and make some noise.”
You’ll get no argument from Clarkson.
“This is a group with eight seniors who’ve been together for a long time,” he said. “This is their final chapter. It’s a really good group of kids. We’ve got some pitching, and I think we can make some noise in the section.”