ST. MARYS — It was a deadlocked quarterfinal through four innings.
Each side’s potent lineup was silenced by the other’s ace, and as the innings progressed, each run seemed increasingly valuable. Then, however, everything changed in the bottom of the 5th.
What had been a pitcher’s duel quickly turned into a runaway victory for Elk County Catholic. The Crusaders scored eight runs in a game-changing 5th, eventually winning, 12-2, in six innings.
Tommy Slay pitched six strong stanzas, Joe Tettis cracked a three-run home run and the ECC baseball team booked a return trip to the District 9 Class A semifinals, besting the Hubbers Monday at Berwin Park.
“The emotions were high; these kids were ready to play (Tuesday) and gave it their all,” Smethport coach Colby Austin said. “We’ve been battling errors in the field all season, and we fought as hard as we could for as long as we could, but the errors caught up to us in the 5th.”
ECC’s big bats were limited early, thanks largely to Smethport starter Alex Ognen, whose curveball looked sharp as ever as he navigated the Crusader lineup. Errors continued to be a problem for the Hubbers, however, and in ECC’s half of the 5th, they supplied the Crusaders with a handful of extra outs.
Luke Ginther started the frame with a long triple to right field, counter-punching Brandon Higley’s RBI double that had given Smethport the lead in the top of the 5th. A throwing error on a fielder’s choice allowed ECC’s first run to score, then another fielder’s choice and an infield error plated another.
Tettis changed the game with a single swing, however, crushing a fastball high over the left center field wall to bring home three runs and give ECC a 7-2 lead.
“Coming back in (from the Smethport 5th), I told the boys, ‘You’re getting down. I can feel the energy dropping’,” ECC coach James Slay said. “This time, we listened, and it felt like we rallied. (Tettis’) home run lifted the morale overall.”
Smethport made four of its nine errors in the 5th, and made two more in the 6th, when three ECC runs ended the game. Lance O’Neil sealed the victory with a two-run single, suddenly putting an end to a contest that, less than an hour prior, looked like it would come down to the 7th inning.
“We just couldn’t quite recover from that, and when the wheels came off, they came off pretty hard,” Austin said.
Tettis finished 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring two runs while driving in three. Ginther added two hits and three runs scored, while O’Neil drove in three runs and Dom Zambanini added a hit and an RBI.
“(Ognen) is a great pitcher and he had us for the first few innings,” James Slay said. “We just needed to settle in, and I think our approach at the plate was a little reckless. There were some balls we should have hit and there were some pitches we let go by that got us behind in the count.”
Tommy Slay over-powered the tail end of Smethport’s order with his lively fastball, and managed the damage done by the top of the Hubber order thanks in part to the defense behind him. He struck out nine while scattering four hits and two walks.
“(Tommy Slay) was watching a little bit of their batting practice, and he made the decision to work the top of the zone,” James Slay said. “I thought the top of the zone was working for him in terms of where (Smethport) wanted the ball to be placed; I thought they were a lot more effective hitting the ball middle-down.
“When he stayed middle-up, I thought he was far more effective. He was able to work the zone both left and right, as well.”
Higley went 2-for-3 with an RBI for Smethport, ending a senior season in which he hit the ball as well as anyone in District 9.
“(Higley) has had a ton of extra-base hits this year, and it was nice to string a couple hits together there,” Austin said.
Noah Lent had a hit, walk, run scored and two stolen bases for the Hubbers. He scored Smethport’s first run, which tied the game in the 4th, before Owen Rounsville scored on Higley’s long double to give Smethport its brief lead in the 5th.
ECC (11-8) advances to Thursday’s Class A semifinals, where it will meet top-seeded DuBois Central Catholic.
“We’re glad we got through this game and were able to end it when we did, to save some pitches,” James Slay said. “Now, we’re focused on DCC. I kind of expected this to be the ‘title bout,’ if you will. We both have good ball clubs, and Thursday is going to be seven full innings of head-to-head competition and the best team will win.”
Smethport, meanwhile, put a cap on an 11-8 season in which an inspired group of seniors won a share of the Northern Allegheny League title before falling short in the postseason.
“I can’t give (Ognen) enough credit for what he’s done for this team,” Austin said. “Every umpire we go to that doesn’t know him tells us how well he pitched and how much he does for us. That was the hardest postgame speech I’ve had, saying goodbye to this group of guys.”
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