The WPIAL Class A quarterfinal between Western Beaver and Bishop Canevin on Monday at Joe Maize Field in Peters Township had everything – hits and strikeouts of course, but also plenty of walks, wild pitches, errors, misplayed fly balls, a 7-6-4 force out and a straight steal of home plate.
And all of that was just in the first two innings.
A wild game had a dramatic finish as pinch-runner Carter Marshall scored on an August Lichtner infield single to give Western Beaver the hard-fought victory over Bishop Canevin, 7-6.
The victory was the first playoff win for the Golden Beavers in 11 years.
“There were a lot of emotions, a lot of up and down, some key hits for them, some key hits for us,” Western Beaver coach Chad Miller said. “It was a really fun game to coach, and I’m glad we came out on the winning side of it.”
Both starting pitchers, Christian Stefanakis for the Golden Beavers and freshman John Poppert of the Crusaders, struggled.
Stefanakis did not retire a batter in the second inning and Poppert only pitched three innings.
Walks hurt both as they combined for 10 walks and a hit batter in their four innings.
Both teams scored in the first inning, Bishop Canevin on a straight steal of home by courtesy runner Nico Trogona and Western Beaver on a run-scoring single by Stefanakis that plated Lichtner, who had walked and gone to second on an errant pickoff throw.
The Crusaders loaded the bases on walks before Miller went to his bullpen to Vinny Ross.
Julian Pope hit a sacrifice fly and Jackson Maddix hit a run-scoring single to put BC up, 3-1.
Western Beaver sent 10 to the plate and scored four runs in the second inning on four straight run-scoring singles by Nate Schwarz, Lichtner, Stefanakis and Sawyer Chaffee.
One of those hits was a fly ball to right that was misjudged into a run-producing single with two outs that would have limited the Golden Beavers to one run.
The Crusaders cut the deficit in half when Poppert singled home Maddix, who had doubled.
A big defensive play saved two runs from scoring after Poppert’s hit.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Jakob Zahler hit a flare down the right field line that looked like a hit, but Golden Beaver right fielder Mickey Goehring dove to make a sensational grab.
“I thought my outfield played tremendous,” Miller said. “That’s a young outfield and they went and got some balls. I think Mickey saved the day diving for that ball. They probably score two runs on that play.”
Baserunning was a problem for Bishop Canevin. They had six hits and a walk in the third and fourth innings combined, but only scored one run because of the station-to-station ball they were playing.
“Unfortunately, when you have a young team, crazy games seem to be our norm this year,” Craig Sonson said. “My staff and I have made a conscious effort to make many situations teaching moments.”
A bases-loaded walk by Bishop Canevin reliever Brady Wagner to Lichtner that scored pinch-runner Wyatt Sparbanie put Western Beaver back up by two runs, 6-4.
The Crusaders battled back in the sixth inning, starting with a solo home run by Nate Astor, his second of the playoffs. Courtesy runner Ben Zannoli then scored on a Jamin Brock double to tie the game.
A key play came in the top of the seventh inning when Brooklyn Harvey singled and was sacrificed to second by Jalen Jackson. As Pope squared around to bunt, Ross turned and threw a strike to Lichtner covering for the successful pickoff.
“We thought something might be happening. We just didn’t get it to our runner in time,” Sonson said.
“We start every outside practice with pickoff moves,” Miller said. “We work on the timing because you don’t have to have the biggest lead, but if you execute perfectly, that’s all you need.”
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Gibson Martin walked for the third time, Goehring dropped a perfect bunt down the third base line for a base hit and Schwarz reached on an error that loaded the bases with no outs.
Lichtner hit a shot that Harvey dove for, but it hit off the end of his glove and trickled away as Marshall scored the game-winning run.
Bishop Canevin starts no seniors, three sophomores and three freshmen as the Crusaders end their season with a 7-11 record.
“Anytime you don’t win the last game of the year, it’s difficult,” Sonson said. “I told our kids this is the beginning of next year and we will use this game to fuel our offseason and propel us into the start of next year.”
Western Beaver got great production from the bottom of the order as Fortner, Martin, Goehring and Schwarz were 4 for 10 with six walks and five runs scored.
“We battled with the bottom of the order seeing a lot of pitches, fouling off some pitches and got on base when they needed to,” Miller said. “I would have liked to seen some more big hits, but you can’t complain when you score seven runs in a playoff game.”
Western Beaver is 12-3 and moves on to the WPIAL Class A semifinals Wednesday to play top-seeded Eden Christian Academy.
The Golden Beavers also secured a PIAA playoff berth with the win.
“This is only my second time in 26 years that we will make it to states,” Miller said. “I’m real happy about that because this is a great group with a lot of juniors and sophomores who contribute. Hopefully we can keep it rolling.”