Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
What turned out to be a dream first inning for Butler was a nightmare start for Norwin that finished its season.
After spotting the Knights a one-run lead, the Golden Tornado played long ball and scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning on their way to a 9-3 victory Wednesday afternoon in a WPIAL Class 6A baseball semifinal at North Hills.
The win lifts Butler (19-3) into the title game for the first time in 34 years.
“I’ve been telling these guys all week and all year that if we can jump on these teams and get up by three or four runs, it’s over,” Butler coach Josh Forbes said. “We haven’t given up more than three runs with Nolan (Stefaniak) or Kyle (Casteel) on the mound all year.”
Casteel got the start and entered the game with a 7-0 record and a miniscule ERA of 0.19, having allowed only one earned run all year.
However, the third batter for Norwin matched that total as Caden Sivrich smacked a solo homer over the right-field fence for the early lead.
But then Butler went to work against Norwin starting pitcher Jake Knight as the first seven batters reached base, with two Golden Tornado players rounding the bases.
Leadoff man Boden Lenyk homered to center field to tie the score.
Mavrik Clement walked, Trent Best was hit by a pitch and Stefaniak hit a three-run blast over the left-field fence.
“We have the ability to hit home runs, and we have three of four guys with multiple homers this year, and we play most of our home games at Pullman Park,” Forbes said.
Blake Scott doubled, Ryan Rattigan had an infield single and Karsten Lenyk smacked an RBI single to put Butler in control 5-1.
“You get a run off Casteel, a guy who’s given up one earned run all year, and then their first pitch, Boden hit one dead center to answer back immediately and they had some more good swings and put a five up,” Norwin coach Craig Spisak said. “That’s just the nature of the game.”
The Golden Tornado added on with a run in the third inning on an RBI single by Boden Lenyk and then chased Knight with two singles to lead off the fourth inning as Best and Stefaniak later scored to make it 9-1.
“We probably left the ball up a little more than we wanted,” Spisak said. “They put the ball in play a lot, so they like to make you work. Both of them were gutsy and trying their best.”
Knight allowed eight runs on 10 hits through three-plus innings. Sivrich pitched the final three innings, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts.
The Knights did have some success against Casteel, a West Virginia commit.
In the fifth inning, Tristyn Tavares hit a two-out single and scored on a double to right-center by Sivrich. He came around to score on a Derek Burger base hit.
The only question was if Casteel would be able to finish the game, as he hit 105 pitches during the final at-bat of the game, a strikeout of Burger.
Casteel allowed three earned runs on seven hits with no walks, two hit batters and 14 K’s. He picked up the win by pitching the eighth inning Monday in a quarterfinals victory over Mt. Lebanon.
“It was pretty gutty,” Forbes said of his star right-hander’s performance. “He got two wins this week because he came in on Monday and threw 20 pitches. For him to come back and throw a complete game for us just by filling up the strike zone and not giving up any free passes was huge for us.”
Norwin’s season ends with a record of 13-9.
“I’m super proud of our guys,” Spisak said. “They worked super hard, and these seniors have had a great four years. They don’t let adversity bother them, and hopefully they take that on in life.”