WPIAL banner in the stars for Mt. Lebanon
Mt. Lebanon defeated North Allegheny, 4-0, to claim the WPIAL Class 6A baseball title, the second in a row and sixth in program history.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Mt. Lebanon players pile on each other in celebration after their victory over North Allegheny, 4-0, in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship game.
Mt. Lebanon players pile on each other in celebration of their win against North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game.
Mt. Lebanon players charge the mound and douse David Shields with their water bottles after he tossed a no-hitter to beat North Allegheny, 4-0, in the WPIAL Class 6A final.
North Allegheny catcher Ian Zahorchak attempts to control the throw to the plate but Nate girod is able to slip safely into home for Mt. Lebanon's first run in a 4-0 shutout victory in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game.
Nate Girod slips safely into home while Ian Zahorchak attempts to field the throw to the plate during WPIAL Class 6A championship action.
Mt. Lebanon players happily greet Brett Hamel (8) while spectators celebrate and applaud the two-run triple tagged by Tanner Donati that afforded the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead against North Allegheny in the second inning of the WPIAL Class 6A final. The Blue Devils went on to beat the Tigers, 4-0, to claim their second straight district title.
Tanner Donati makes one of this three catches in right field to help preserve Mt. Lebanon's 4-0 win against North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game. Offensively, Donati tagged a two-run triple to highlight a three-run second stanza and walked in a one-run fourth frame.
An enthusiastic Brett Hamel steps on home plate with Mt. Lebanon's second run of the game.
Tyler Smith makes contact during an at bat in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game.
Spencer Barnett applies the tag on Nolan Smith during WPIAL Class 6A championship action.
Nate Girod watches as the ball scouts away from his mitt and allows the North Allegheny runner to sneak into second base during WPIAL Class 6A championship action. Girod singled and scored Lebo's first run on a base hit by Jake Tinnemeyer during a three-run second inning that propelled the Blue Devils to victory, 4-0, against North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game.
Danny Flynn and Brock Stacy relish Mt. Lebanon's second straight WPIAL baseball title by biting on the gold medals they were awarded after beating North Allegheny, 4-0, in the Class 5A final.
The stars aligned May 31 when Mt. Lebanon defeated North Allegheny, 4-0, in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship contest played at Wild Things Park in Washington.
Southpaw David Shields tossed a no-hitter while senior Tanner Donati tagged a two-run triple in staking the Blue Devils to their second straight title and sixth banner in program history.
“It’s an overused cliche in sports that your stars have to show up in the playoffs,” said Lebo coach Patt McCloskey. “Every time we have won, our stars have shown up going all the way back to Luke Hagy, Ian Happ and Chris Koutsavlis. We got big-time plays by big-time players.”
Though only a sophomore, Shields has the talent to go as far as Happ because he has the makeup of the Chicago Cubs all-star and Golden Glove outfielder.
A University of Miami recruit, Shields needed just 71 pitches to topple the second-seeded Tigers, who entered with a 16-6 record. He struck out nine and walked one. Shields also made two stellar fielding plays, one on a sacrifice bunt in the first inning and the other on a hard hit ball back to the mound in the sixth.
“David is the definition of calm. He doesn’t blink. His heart beats slow. I wish I had one percent of his composure when I was 16,” said McCloskey, who played on Lebo’s 1993 WPIAL championship club.
“People will say, ‘He’s great, he’s talented,’ but David is a mental giant. It’s what he can do between his ears, not just the gifts he has. When throwing 91, 92 and you are a mental giant, the sky’s the limit for him in baseball.”
Donati’s potential is limitless as well. He will play his college baseball at the University of Delaware. The Ducks are coached by Greg Mamula with whom McCloskey played in the summer of 1997 for the Rome (NY) Indians in the Northeast Collegiate Baseball League. Mamula also recruited Happ to the University of Cincinnati when he was the top assistant for the Bearcats.
Defensively, Donati had four putouts in right field, including the game-ending out. Offensively, he reached base three times. He led off the game legging out a misplayed ground ball. He walked in the the fourth when Lebo scored an unearned run after Jake Tinnemeyer walked and Brett Hamel reached base on an error.
Donati’s big stroke came in the the third. With two out, Nate Girod and Tinnemeyer strung together base hits before Hamel was hit by a pitch. Donati then tagged the triple.
“I just hit a curve ball and got a good swing on it,” Donati said modestly.
“Tanner got a situation where he was facing a pretty touch pitcher, especially left-handed,” McCloskey added. “For him to hit the ball the way that he did was just huge.”
Gigantic was the accomplishment of Shields as it came 21 years to the date that Mt. Lebanon won a WPIAL title. On May 31, 2002, Koutsavlis also tossed a no-hitter to stake the Blue Devils to a shutout win, 2-0, against Blackhawk at PNC Park. Koutsavlis struck out seven and walked four.
“I remember that like it was yesterday,” said McCloskey, who is in his 24th year of coaching the Blue Devils, 19th as manager. “This was the exact same game. Both pitched off their fastball, their main pitch that they could throw by people. It was almost like looking at two clones. Change-up that was pretty good. A curve that at times was dominant and a fastball that was live, live, live.
“David throws harder than Chris did. He had outstanding command. He pitched off his fastball and was not afraid of contact. He got a lot of quick outs which really saved his pitch counts. So it wasn’t like ‘I gotta get strikeouts’ rather it was ‘I gotta get outs’ and whenever anything happened that could have rattled him, he was right back in the moment. That’s what it’s all about.”
Lebo’s triumph was also about not giving up. The Blue Devils started the season with losses in their first eight games. They have won 13 of their last 15 games, including playoff wins against Seneca Valley, 2-1, and Pine-Richland, 3-0, that thrust them into the WPIAL finals.
“This is indescribable,” McCloskey said. “When you are 0-8, other than your mom and dad, not a lot of people say that they love you. So I was very appreciative my parents were here sitting in the first row.
“It was so hard to take when we struggled early because of the way we lost. We had the games and at the end we let them slip away. We knew we could be OK though because of what we went through. So to celebrate like this is just pure joy.”
McCloskey predicts more jubilation on the horizon as the Blue Devils embark on PIAA tournament action. Mt. Lebanon will face Manheim, the District 3 third-place finisher on June 5 in the first round of the state playoffs. The PIAA finals would be played June 16 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the Penn State University campus.
Mt. Lebanon won a PIAA title in 1998. That championship squad was coached by his McCloskey’s father, Ed.
“Of all the teams that I have ever coached, they are most lined up for a state championship,” McCloskey said. “There are a lot of good teams out there but we have depth of pitching and we are going to put a good arm on the mound.
“It’s hard to win in states. It’s really, really hard but they will be committed to this because they don’t want it to stop.”