- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,133,333
- Reaction score
- 59
SLIPPERY ROCK — Despite clawing its way back from a six-run deficit to take a one-run lead in the top of the sixth inning, Western Beaver saw its season come to an end on Monday, June 1, as costly errors allowed District 10 champion West Middlesex to advance to the PIAA high school baseball Class 1A quarterfinals with a 12-9 win.
“The guys battled, hit the ball when we needed to in situations, had a couple of errors that gave up a lot of runs, but we fought the entire game,” longtime Western Beaver head coach Chad Miller said. “This is a good group. There was just a couple of plays that could have gotten us to the next round.
Holding a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning after scoring seven runs across the previous two, Western Beaver (12-5) aimed to keep mistakes at a minimum after errors allowed West Middlesex to build a six-run lead earlier in the game.
After West Middlesex (16-5) tied the game on a sacrifice fly to deep right field in foul territory, an error by the Western Beaver right fielder allowed Kam Miles to score.
Following the error, two more runs came in off back-to-back RBI singles by Nolan Kayser and Caleb Koncar to put the game away.
“We knew there were going to be a couple of errors, there were a couple of balls that we missed and the timing wasn’t right,” Miller said. “This game could have been rough for them after the first inning, but these guys didn’t hang their heads and continued to fight.”
Heading into the game, Miller wanted to make sure that his bats were aggressive after a few games where the team fell short offensively.
While the Golden Beavers came out on the losing end, it wasn’t for a lack of offense, combining for 13 hits, including four players recording multi-hit games.
Live PIAA Tournament Updates: PIAA spring sports playoffs, live Beaver Valley updates
Required Reading: Ellwood City comes from behind to defeat South Park for WPIAL 3A title
Required Reading: Blackhawk falls in second consecutive WPIAL softball championship game
Center fielder Nate Schwarz picked up a pair of RBI singles and Sawyer Chaffee also contributed with an RBI single of his own.
Along with the Tinley singles, Jackson Kisucky finished the game with three RBIs, a pair coming off a single in the fifth and another off a triple in the sixth.
Christian Stefanakis, who was pulled after three-straight walks in the first inning and later re-entered in the sixth, finished with three RBIs, two coming on a two-out triple, also in the sixth.
“Those first three innings, we were either fouling pitches off and putting the ball in play hard,” Miller said. “I give credit to these guys for sticking to it and putting up the hits that we did. We just didn’t get the break that we needed.”
Western Beaver ends its year with one of the best finishes in the program’s recent memory, winning a section championship and qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time in 13 years.
Ethan Morrison is the sports reporter for the Beaver County Times. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him at EthanMorrison26 on X.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Western Beaver falls to West Middlesex in PIAA 1A baseball playoffs
Continue reading...
“The guys battled, hit the ball when we needed to in situations, had a couple of errors that gave up a lot of runs, but we fought the entire game,” longtime Western Beaver head coach Chad Miller said. “This is a good group. There was just a couple of plays that could have gotten us to the next round.
Holding a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning after scoring seven runs across the previous two, Western Beaver (12-5) aimed to keep mistakes at a minimum after errors allowed West Middlesex to build a six-run lead earlier in the game.
After West Middlesex (16-5) tied the game on a sacrifice fly to deep right field in foul territory, an error by the Western Beaver right fielder allowed Kam Miles to score.
Following the error, two more runs came in off back-to-back RBI singles by Nolan Kayser and Caleb Koncar to put the game away.
“We knew there were going to be a couple of errors, there were a couple of balls that we missed and the timing wasn’t right,” Miller said. “This game could have been rough for them after the first inning, but these guys didn’t hang their heads and continued to fight.”
Heading into the game, Miller wanted to make sure that his bats were aggressive after a few games where the team fell short offensively.
While the Golden Beavers came out on the losing end, it wasn’t for a lack of offense, combining for 13 hits, including four players recording multi-hit games.
You must be registered for see images
Live PIAA Tournament Updates: PIAA spring sports playoffs, live Beaver Valley updates
Required Reading: Ellwood City comes from behind to defeat South Park for WPIAL 3A title
Required Reading: Blackhawk falls in second consecutive WPIAL softball championship game
Center fielder Nate Schwarz picked up a pair of RBI singles and Sawyer Chaffee also contributed with an RBI single of his own.
Along with the Tinley singles, Jackson Kisucky finished the game with three RBIs, a pair coming off a single in the fifth and another off a triple in the sixth.
Christian Stefanakis, who was pulled after three-straight walks in the first inning and later re-entered in the sixth, finished with three RBIs, two coming on a two-out triple, also in the sixth.
“Those first three innings, we were either fouling pitches off and putting the ball in play hard,” Miller said. “I give credit to these guys for sticking to it and putting up the hits that we did. We just didn’t get the break that we needed.”
You must be registered for see images
Western Beaver ends its year with one of the best finishes in the program’s recent memory, winning a section championship and qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time in 13 years.
Ethan Morrison is the sports reporter for the Beaver County Times. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him at EthanMorrison26 on X.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Western Beaver falls to West Middlesex in PIAA 1A baseball playoffs
Continue reading...
