Shields shines on the diamond
David Shields prepares to unleash a fastball to the plate during WPIAL Class 6A championship action. The sophomore southpaw tossed a no-hitter as Mt. Lebanon blanked North Allegheny, 4-0, to win its' second straight title.
David Shields hoists the WPIAL trophy after pitching Mt. Lebanon to victory in the Class 6A championship game. In shutting out North Allegheny, 4-0, Shields tossed a no-hitter and struck out nine.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
David Shields brings the heat to the plate during WPIAL Class 6A championship action. The sophomore tossed a no-hitter as Mt. Lebanon blanked North Allegheny, 4-0, for its sixth title in program history and second straight banner.
David Shields never considered golf for his sport even though his dad is a champion on the links.
“My father is an awesome golfer,” Shields admitted. “I play a lot but I’m so inconsistent.
“I have 100 percent appreciation for the sport,” he continued, “but it’s too hard.”
For Shields, baseball isn’t nearly as difficult. In fact, he makes pitching look easy.
On May 31, the sophomore southpaw breezed through the North Allegheny lineup to become a WPIAL champion, just like his papa. Kevin Shields captured the WPIAL individual golf crown in 1989, years before he became the golf pro at Nevillewood Country Club.
“He might have been a WPIAL champion in golf but not in baseball,” Shields said proudly.
The diamond is David’s domain. In tying down the Tigers, he struck out nine batters and walked only one. He allowed no hits and threw just 71 pitches over seven innings.
“I love baseball because of games like these,” Shields said. “You go out there and try to shine as much as you can.”
This spring, Shields has excelled. With the win against NA, he improved to 5-1. With his nine Ks, his strikeout count rose to 86 in 53 1/3 innings.
As a freshman, Shields served as a closer on a club that featured Harvard’s Jack Smith and IUP’s Derrick Shields. Smith raised the bar for Shields with 71 strikeouts and a 1.15 ERA in 2022. Smith also pitched Lebo to the WPIAL title last May with a 14-strikeout performance in a 2-1 win against arch rival Upper St. Clair.
“Jack set the tone. He was amazing,” Shields said. “I knew I had a lot to live up to.”
Shields noted that while Smith had a lot of strikeouts, he got a lot of balls in play and relied on his defense to assist.
“Everything was working,” he said. “More like fastball, curve combination but I was spotting my pitches really well and that helped a lot.”
Shields said that he became aware of the no-hitter around the fourth or fifth inning. He said he went back in his mind and thought about it.
“I wanted to keep this up but like every time I think about that it usually doesn’t go my way,” he said. “Thankfully my guys made some plays out there. I’m not going to lie, it does add pressure, especially when we had a lead like that.”
The season was pressure-packed for Shields and his Blue Devils because of their 0-8 start. Lebo has won 13 of its last 15 games.
“We never doubted ourselves. We always had faith,” Shields said.
Before his stellar performance in the WPIAL finals, Shields used his arm to defeat Seneca Valley, 2-1, in the playoff opener. He struck out 10 and scattered four hits.
“Last year was awesome obviously, but being able to pitch makes it feel better. We went back-to-back and nobody has done that in 6A so we are really proud of that,” he said.
On June 5, Shields will attempt to top his father and help Mt. Lebanon embark on a state championship run. The Blue Devils play Manheim in the PIAA opener. Lebo won a state title in 1998.
“We are going in extremely confident,” Shield said. “I feel like we’ve prove that anything can happen with this team. So a state championship is not out of the question.”