ALBION — Before the season, Wilcox Post #467 head coach Scott Zimmerman had a very specific plan in mind: Protect his pitching staff for the Region 8 tournament at all costs.

“We are working the long game and working on using a lot of different pitchers to get everybody into a solid rotation,” Zimmerman said before the season. “We want to have more than just one or two solid starters. We’re trying to get everybody into good pitching shape.”

Zimmerman kept his word, and it worked out.

During the Pennsylvania American Legion Elk/McKean County Senior League regular season, Zimmerman limited his rotation of aces. Colin Porter, Dom Allegretto and Jefferson Freeburg pitched every couple of weeks and Wilcox glided to a league title.

However, Scott Zimmerman was unable to be at the Regional. His assistant Casey Zimmerman followed the game plan to perfection.

“The game plan was to just give up no free bases and be consistent with our defense,” Casey Zimmerman said. “Then we could just focus on our bats just as Scott has talked about.”

Wilcox rolled through pool play going 3-0, and in the four-team playoff, they unleashed the fresh arms.

At Northwestern High School Tuesday, Wilcox shut out Smethport Post #976, 11-0, in the semifinals and Brockway Post #95, 5-0, to win the Region 8 Tournament and advance to State Championship Tournament.

“We take a lot of pride in knowing our pitchers can pound the strike zone, and they know that is their number one job,” Casey Zimmerman said. “Our pitchers were able to do that again Tuesday and our defense came through, so the game plan worked out.”

Before the tournament, just three teams from the Elk/McKean league qualified for the regional compared to five from the Crawford/Erie league. But, surprisingly, all three took spots in the four-team playoff.

In the semifinals, Wilcox dominated Smethport for the third time this season, ending the game after five innings behind a complete-game shutout from Porter.

After a 1-2 record in pool play, Brockway came in as underdogs against the Crawford/Erie league champion Wesleyville Post #571 in its semifinal.

Brockway unleashed its own ace, Ezra Swanson, to help knock off undefeated Wesleyville. Swanson threw just 46 pitches to keep himself available to pitch in the title game but was efficient enough to propel Brockway past Wesleyville, 5-3.

Brockway pitted against Wilcox was the first all-Elk/McKean regional final in history. And, despite the matchup making history, the past repeated itself in the title game.

Brockway kept it close with the game scoreless until the fourth inning, but Casey and Scott Zimmerman had prepared their rotation for this situation.

Freeburg started the game and Allegretto closed the shutout. With the defense well intact, Wilcox’s offense chipped away at Swanson, who had just 60 more pitches to use.

Wilcox knocked Swanson out of the game by the fifth and broke the game open.

“(Swanson) is a really good pitcher. He had an excellent tournament. He knocked off two of the top teams including Wesleyville. He took them both down. So, we knew we had to get some hits against him and at least knock the pitch count up,” Casey Zimmerman said.

The regional championship ends a run of near-victories turned postseason heartbreak for Wilcox.

Wilcox lost in the regional final a year ago, and a large portion of the team’s nucleus from the Johnsonburg high school team lost in the first round of the PIAA playoffs during the spring.

Tuesday’s victory was a proverbial monkey-off-their-back-type of moment for all the players.

“This group of kids has had a few losses in a row the last couple of seasons. We really feel like they should have won,” Casey Zimmerman said. “So yeah, this one right here was big. It was about finally finishing the job.”

Wilcox advances to the state tournament in Boyertown beginning Saturday.

In addition, all three Elk/McKean teams reaching the regional final four marked a monumental move in the right direction for a league that returned this season to full strength for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

And, speaking for all of the Elk/McKean coaches, Casey Zimmerman could not have been happier to see such notable success.

“Going into the tournament I don’t think anybody, even Brockway, ever expected to be there. But they really played an amazing tournament. It was fun to watch them play. They did so well,” Casey Zimmerman said. “And even the Smethport team, despite missing some of their kids, came through and won a couple of big games and made it to the semifinals. So, we’re very proud of our home area and the way we performed overall.”