7-run inning leads Canon-McMillan to 2nd PIAA baseball title

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, June 15, 2018 | 6:54 PM

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UNIVERSITY PARK — One unforgettable inning sparked a celebration that Canon-McMillan will remember for years.

The Big Macs sent 12 batters to the plate in Friday's fifth inning and scored seven times — all seven with two outs — to defeat Bensalem, 10-3, in the PIAA Class 6A final at Penn State's Medlar Field.

The unending inning broke a 3-3 tie.

“The team caught fire,” said senior Greydon Piechnick, whose bases-loaded, two-out single drove home the go-ahead run. “Once our team builds that fire, we just keep rolling.”

Bensalem switched pitchers after Piechnick's bouncer up the middle, replacing Dom Grady with Nicholas Fossile, but the Big Macs' rally continued for six more batters. Canon-Mac finished the inning with five hits, three walks and one hit batter. Cam Walker had a three-run double. Ian Hess and Nick Serafino had RBI singles.

The state title was the second for Canon-McMillan (21-5), which won the Class 4A title in 2008. It comes about two weeks after the Big Macs won their first WPIAL title.

No WPIAL had won the state's largest classification since the Big Macs a decade ago. District 1 champion Bensalem (23-4) was making its state finals debut. But teams from District 1 had won the largest class seven of the last nine seasons.

“It's just indescribable right now,” coach Tim Bruzdewicz said. “I'm so proud of these seniors. … It was an up and down season. We had some injuries. We had some other problems, but the seniors stuck together.”

Canon-McMillan didn't win its section, but Bruzdewicz credits a midseason turning point, after a tough section loss, when his seniors accepted his challenge to become leaders.

“This team came together and realized what it takes to win,” said Canon-Mac pitcher Zach Rohaley said. “We put that together and we're state champions. It's the best feeling.”

Rohaley hurt his groin Friday but battled through the injury to hold Bensalem to three runs on six hits in six innings for his 13th win. He struck out six and walked none. The Wheeling Jesuit recruit also was the winning pitcher for the WPIAL championship and two of Canon-Mac's three PIAA playoff games to reach Penn State.

Rohaley returned on two days' rest to pitch Friday, but his start was almost cut short. He felt groin pain in the second inning but stayed on the mound for four more innings.

“It just started heating up and then I felt a sharp pain,” Rohaley said. “Buzz was talking about taking be out, but I told him I'm not coming out.”

Said Bruzdewicz: “Just a gutsy, gutsy guy. I'll take him against anybody in the state.

Bensalem turned to its bullpen early when starter Nick Dean left after one inning with an injury. The Maryland recruit allowed two hits and two runs before exiting.

Bruzdewicz had Cam Weston warming up but didn't bring him in until the seventh. The pain affected Rohaley's leg-push off the mound, so Bruzdewicz called few fastballs after the injury.

“We eliminated that pitch,” Bruzdewicz said. “We only threw two fastballs from the third inning on. I'm not sure if they caught on to that. It might have been a little too late. But once he lost his fastball and his groin started hurting, his curveball and slider got better.”

Piechnick, who had the go-ahead hit, also was playing through injury. The outfielder separated his right shoulder in the team's first playoff game. He started in left field and played with it heavily wrapped.

“We were sure if he could even swing today,” Bruzdewicz said. “I said Picks, just look for the first fastball you can see. What a gutsy kid. That made it 4-3 and things just started happening.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.