Entering the postseason on its heels, South Fayette never wavered.
After defeating Franklin Regional in the opening round and winning a slugfest against Penn-Trafford in the quarterfinals, the 10th-seeded Lions had one more step to a WPIAL Class 5A championship game appearance, and it culminated in a 4-3 comeback victory over No. 3 Thomas Jefferson on Thursday.
“This group of young men are the most special group of young men I’ve ever coached in my life,” said South Fayette coach Marc “Bubba” Snider. “No one gave us a chance. People picked us last in the section. We heard the noise going into the playoffs when we lost five of our last seven, but we were ready for this and built for this.”
Once again, the pitching, an area of concern throughout the season, shined for South Fayette. Evan Mizia, a sophomore with just 19 innings pitched this season, shined the brightest.
“Evan is a dog,” said Snider. “Never for a split second, despite the number of innings pitched, did I question his ability and what he was able to do today.”
Mizia provided a six-inning outing, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
“I just wanted to fill up the zone,” said Mizia. “They aren’t a team with a lot of power, but the put the ball in play a lot. I’ve been preparing for a couple of days, but with one practice, it was very detail oriented and we were really prepared.”
Thomas Jefferson opened the scoring in the first inning as lead-off hitter Andy Brnusak reached on an error and came around to score.
South Fayette countered to tie the score off a Ryan Speer RBI single, but then the Jaguars took control, regaining the lead in the bottom of the third on a Josh Chalovich RBI single. They added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth when pitcher Bryce Butler singled in a run, making it 3-1.
Butler, the starting pitcher for Thomas Jefferson, provided a solid 4-plus innings of work but was removed due to a rising pitch count, ending with a solid line — two runs (one earned), two hits, three strikeouts and five walks.
“Outstanding,” said Thomas Jefferson coach Tim Vickers. “That’s the highest pitch count Bryce had this season. He gave us a shot in the arm when we needed it when Dom Metz was down.”
After Butler came out after allowing a lead-off walk in the fifth inning, South Fayette began to get some rhythm against Jaguars reliever Noah Sear, but not without the help of an error and another free pass to load the bases.
Just then, RJ Borgesi provided a two-out, two strike, two-RBI single for the Lions to tie the game, 3-3.
“Before (Borgesi) went up, he didn’t have the best at-bat before and I said to him, ‘You’re going to come back up and deliver,’” said Snider. “There was zero doubt in my mind. He’s been clutch for us all season.”
One inning later, in the top of the sixth, the Lions got the biggest hit of the game when Jacob Bostian, who played a key role in the first-round victory over Franklin Regional, belted a solo homer to right field, giving South Fayette the 4-3 lead.
“I never lose faith in these kids, and Jacob was the right guy for that spot,” said Snider.
The Jaguars had a pair of opportunities to tie the game but left a runner on second with one out in the bottom of the sixth and left a leadoff double stranded at second in the bottom of the seventh.
With the victory, South Fayette advances to the WPIAL championship game, either Tuesday or Wednesday, for the first time since 2018, when the Lions, as the No. 3 seed in Class 4A, took down No. 4 Ringgold, 4-1, to win the school’s second WPIAL baseball championship.
That season was also the first as an assistant for Snider. His son, Eli, who is on the current coaching staff, was a player for the Lions.
“Eli was a sophomore. I had just left Taylor Allderdice, and it was one of the coolest moments of my life getting to share a championship with my son,” said Snider. “While this isn’t about me or Eli and it’s about this team, who are like my sons, getting to coach alongside my son and these kids who are so special, it’s great and I love them.”
As for Thomas Jefferson, the Jaguars still have at minimum, two games left under the tutelage of Vickers, who is retiring at the end of the season. The top four teams in Class 5A make the PIAA bracket, but first up is a third-place game for seeding purposes. The Jaguars will face either No. 8 Montour or No. 12 Upper St. Clair at Washington & Jefferson’s Ross Memorial Park on Tuesday or Wednesday.