Jake Biskup couldn’t recall if it was a loopy curveball or loopy fastball.
Whatever the case, Biskup belted the pitch for the winning hit, extending Ellwood City’s season and causing the Wolverines to be a loopy bunch as they celebrated afterward.
Biskup’s walk-off single capped a three-run seventh inning as No. 3 Ellwood City rallied for 5-4 win over No. 11 Burrell in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal Tuesday at Butler’s Pullman Park.
The win sends Ellwood City (17-3) to the semifinals for the first time since 2017. There, the Wolverines will meet a familiar foe Thursday: No. 7 and defending champion Riverside (12-7). The schools, located 3 miles apart, split two regular-season meetings.
“We’re excited for the moment,” Ellwood City coach Chris Weisz said. “These kids want to be in that championship game, and we get to play a great opponent in Riverside.”
The Wolverines used a dramatic rally to get there. After Burrell (11-10) scored twice in the top of the seventh to take a 3-2 lead, the Wolverines went to work in the bottom of the inning, using patience and some timely hitting to pull out the win.
Burrell starter Brayden Mell held Ellwood City scoreless through five innings but surrendered two runs in the sixth and allowed the first two Wolverines’ batters to reach in the seventh, as Geordon Bokor singled and Matt Kelly walked.
Adam Wass relieved Mell and quickly issued walks to Gino Biondi and Jordan Keller, the second of which scored a run to trim the Burrell deficit to 4-3. Colton Whitlock then replaced Wass. But after Aaron Lake flew out, Cam Mills hit a sacrifice fly to tie the score.
That set the stage for Biskup, a senior left fielder who came up to bat with runners on first and third with two outs. With the count 2-1, Biskup ripped a single to left-center field to score Biondi.
“As soon as that pitch came in, I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the one,’ ” explained Biskup, who finished with two hits and two RBIs. “It was like a feeling I’ve never felt in my entire life. It was awesome.”
Added Lake: “I kind of just blacked out. It was amazing. I just knew as soon as it was hit off the bat. I jumped straight up.”
Lake, a Pitt recruit and one of the WPIAL’s top pitchers, gave up one run, five hits and struck out seven in six innings. It was only the third time in nine starts that Lake gave up a run.
Burrell scored the game’s first run on Mell’s RBI double with two outs in the third. The score remained that way until the sixth when Ellwood City used its first rally to go ahead 2-1. Mell had retired eight straight before Keller (he had three hits and reached base four times) and Lake led off the inning with singles. Mills then walked before Biskup connected on an RBI double and Nate Kennedy a sacrifice fly.
Mell, who tossed a two-hit shutout in the first round, went six innings, giving up four runs and seven hits.
And it looked like Mell would get the win after Burrell struck for three runs in the top of the seventh to go up 4-2. After Kennedy relieved Lake, Rayden Shirey and Trey Coury hit RBI doubles before Coury scored on Adam Scheftic’s groundout to give the Bucs a 4-2 lead.
But Ellwood City had the final at-bat and the final rally, putting the Wolverines a win away from advancing to the final for the first time since 2012.
“I’m really excited for the next round,” Lake said. “I can’t wait to go.”