Mt. Lebanon will battle Upper St. Clair in WPIAL baseball final
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
David Shields reacts after getting the final out of the game in Mt. Lebanon’s 5-4 victory over Seneca Valley in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball playoffs. Shields pitched two innings, striking out three, in picking up the win on the mound.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
David Shields (25) applies the tag on Tyler Mack (24) as he attempts to score on a passed ball in the top of the seventh inning. In addition to recording the putout, Shields earned the win on the mound as Mt. Lebanon defeated Seneca Valley, 5-4. Shields pitched two frames, striking out two.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Mt. Lebanon second baseman A.J. Stettler applies the tag on Evan Tomasic on a failed stolen base attempt.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Tyler Smith makes contact during Mt. Lebanon’s 5-4 victory over Seneca Valley in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball playoffs. Smith singled twice in three plate appearances and scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a misplayed fly ball
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Derrick Shields (12) reacts to scoring the game-winning run as Mt. Lebanon defeated Seneca Valley, 5-4, in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball playoffs.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Upper St. Clair Hunter Schroeck applies the tag on Mt. Lebanon’s A.J. Stettler during previous action earlier this spring. Lebo defeated the Panthers twice to win the section title but the two teams will meet at 7:30 p.m. May 31 at Wild Things Park to decide the WPIAL Class 6A champion.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Eddie Albert was the ace of the Upper St. Clair pitching staff before suffering an injury. The Dartmouth recruit may be available to pitch during the WPIAL championship game against Mt. Lebanon.
History will be revisited when Mt. Lebanon (15-7) and Upper St. Clair (12-8) battle for the WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship at 7:30 p.m. May 31 at Wild Things Park in Washington.
With wins against Seneca Valley, 5-4, and Central Catholic, 2-1, the Blue Devils advanced to the finals for the first time in 10 years and eighth time in school history.
Lebo has won WPIAL titles 1959, 1993, 2002 and 2006 while finishing up as runners-up in 2001 and 2012. The Blue Devils were state champions in 1998.
With upsets over No. 2 North Allegheny, 5-1, and Butler, 8-2, USC advanced to the finals for the first time since 2005. The Panthers own only one baseball championship in school history and that occurred May 27, 1992.
“We talk about history all the time,” said USC manager Jeff Donati.
When Donati was hired to replace legendary Jerry Malarkey (more than 600 career victories) in February, he took his new charges into the gymnasium to look at the WPIAL banner that has hung on the wall for 30 years. Donati started his sermon on his hopes for the 2022 campaign and beyond.
“A WPIAL championship is something I have preached to them since I got the job,” he said. “That’s the goal. We’ve set a benchmark for once every four years to get to here (to the finals).”
As a player at Bethel Park, Donati played on the 1990 runner-up club. As an assistant coach at his alma mater, Donati helped guide the Black Hawks to the 1995 final.
Before arriving at USC, Donati served on Patt McCloskey’s staff. As an assistant, he helped Mt. Lebanon win the 2006 title and compete in the 2012 final. He also has coached many of the Blue Devils, including his nephew Tanner, since they were 13-year-old Pony Leaguers.
“We are just really excited about being in the championship and I love the fact that we are playing Lebo in the final because I know all those kids,” Donati added. “It’s going to be fun to play them and it’s going to be a blast for the teams, the programs and the communities.”
During the regular season, Lebo owned bragging rights against its neighbor. The Blue Devils shut out USC twice, 7-0 and 2-0, on the way to winning the Section 2 crown with a 9-1 record.
“Both of those games were incredibly close and could have turned on a dime,” said McCloskey. “Right now, USC is playing great baseball and they are exceptionally well coached.
“USC is playing about as well as you can be playing right now.” he continued. “They just beat two of the toughest opponents in the WPIAL and beat both of them rather convincingly.”
Joe Altvater pitched USC past NA. In eight innings, he struck out eight and allowed one run.
Back-to-back base hits by Christian Wieczinski and Charlie Eberle coupled with a sacrifice fly by Mateo Cepullio tied the contest and forced extra innings.
USC used a four-run eighth to break open the game. Jack Shearer drew a bases-loaded walk then Ty Lagoni tagged a two-run single before Brandon Liokareas registered another bases-loaded walk.
USC took advantage of 11 walks and four hit batsmen to manufacture the semifinal win against Butler.
Liokareas scrattered seven hits and fanned eight in pitching 6.1 frames. Peter Janoski recorded the final two outs to preserve the victory.
Offensively, Hunter Schroeck, Wieczinski, and Lagoni had RBI base hits. Schroeck drove in one with a single in the first inning. Wieczinski drove in two with a single in the fourth frame. Lagoni drove in one with a double in the fifth.
“We’ve been finding ways to win,” Donati said. “The big thing that has helped us is our chemistry. Our kids truly enjoy being around one another and they have not giving in to distractions.”
The Blue Devils are as much the same way as the Panthers as they are both brothers and family. Six of them played football on Lebo’s undefeated WPIAL and PIAA championship squad this fall.
Derrick and David Shields powered the Blue Devils past Seneca Valley and Central Catholic in the opening rounds of the playoffs.
David Shields entered the game against SV in relief of starter Jack Smith and mid-inning reliever Evan Rossi.
A freshman, Shields pitched two innings, striking out three and getting a putout at home in the top of the seventh inning to pick up the win against the Raiders. A Miami recruit, Shields earned a save and struck out the final two batters against the Vikings. He is 4-0 on the year.
”He has ice water in his veins,” said McCloskey. “As a ninth grader, it is pretty remarkable what he has done, saving two playoff games on back-to-back days with the tying run on second base in both games to end it. I can’t say enough about how mentally tough he is to stay in the moment and focus on each pitch.”
Derrick Shields was equally impressive. A senior, he overcame a rough start as Central Catholic scored an unearned run in the first and finished with four strikeouts and a one-hitter in six innings of work.
“We made a couple of mistakes, which is part of the game, but Derrick did an absolutely phenomenally job limiting the damage to just one run,” McCloskey said.
”Derrick was so mentally tough the way he weathered that early storm.
”He was pitching well. He kept his heartbeat the same, and he gave us a chance to win pitching very deep into the game against a really good team.”The Shields brothers come by their demeanor and talent naturally as their father, Kevin, pitched and golfed for the Blue Devils during his scholastic days. He is currently the Director of Golf Instruction at The Club at Nevillewood and the most recent winner of the Pennsylvania Senior Open.Smith though has been the ace of the Lebo pitching staff. During the regular season, he posted a 4-1 record with a 1.35 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 31 innings. A Harvard recruit, he has seven strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings against Seneca Valley. He also smacked a three-run homer.
Lebo manufactured the winning runs against the Raiders after two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Tyler Smith singled and Derrick Shields reached base on an error. David Shields drove in the runs when his fly ball to right turned into a two-base error.
Tyler Smith had two hits in the game. Tanner Donati and Matt Delvaux also had singles in the game.
Against Central, Lebo scored twice in the third stanza. Eli Heidenreich doubled and scored on Donati’s single. Donati moved to third on Jack Smith’s base hit and scored on a delayed double steal.
Donati had two of Lebo’s hits in the game.
“I’m very proud of our kids,” McCloskey said. They did a great job of rebounding. They showed a lot of mental toughness to bounce back the way we did after the way we played in the first inning.”
Lebo nor USC can afford to makes mistakes in the championship.
“It’s cliche, but we have to play well,” McCloskey said.
“We are going to prepare ourselves to play a really good team that has some really good arms, runs the bases full and has been scoring a lot of runs.
“We have to keep putting the ball in play. We need to keep throwing strikes. We have to play good defense and improve our base running. But that’s what you expect when you get to this point.”
Coach Donati agreed. He says the championship game will bring out a many spectators expecting to see the rivals perform at their best.
“It is going to be exciting and the first inning will be a key. The team that is more relaxed and can perform on the big stage, the team that doesn’t blink will win,” he predicted. “