Hempfield wins sloppy game vs. Norwin with walk-off single
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Thursday, May 2, 2024 | 10:01 PM
Hempfield’s Adam Hess celebrates after his walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Norwin on Thursday.
Hempfield’s Colin Polechko catches Norwin’s Nathan Silberman in a rundown Thursday.
Hempfield’s Parker Donsen pulls in a running catch of a ball hit by Norwin’s Will Griffiths on Thursday.
Hempfield’s John Kurdziel makes a catch against Norwin on Thursday.
Hempfield’s Colin Polechko leaps over the tag attempt by Norwin’s Ethen Culbertson on Thursday.
Hempfield’s Ethan Minerva makes a running catch on a ball hit by Norwin’s Matt O’Neil on Thursday.
Hempfield’s Colin Polechko beats the throw to Norwin’s Ben Geissler on Thursday.
Hempfield’s Colin Polechko tags out Norwin’s Nolan Ryan at second base Thursday.
Hempfield’s Quinn Wilkins tries to complete the double play over Norwin’s Jake Knight on Thursday.
Hempfield’s Adam Hess hits a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Norwin on Thursday.
Hempfield celebrates with Adam Hess after his walk-off RBI singlein the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Norwin on Thursday.
A cloud of dust settling around him after an exciting finish on his home baseball diamond, Adam Hess was preparing to rake the pitcher’s mound when he was called over for an interview.
He set down the rake and jogged toward the dugout. Moments earlier, Hempfield walked off Norwin.
Before joining the grounds crew, Hess put an end to a messy series finale rife with walks, hit batsmen, errors and active bullpens when he delivered a winning single in the seventh to score Ethan Minerva and give the fourth-ranked Spartans a 10-9 victory.
Thursday’s win allowed second-place Hempfield (14-5, 10-5) to take two out of three from the Knights (9-9, 7-7) in their Section 2-6A series.
“When you play a rival, it’s a must win,” said Hess, who drove a 1-1 pitch to right with one out to cap a comeback for the Spartans. “You can’t lose to Norwin. You’re out for blood.”
Norwin, which had won four of five, was out for answers after watching a 7-1 lead fade away. The Knights made five errors.
Despite regaining the lead late, they could not put the Spartans away.
“We have to be better in all facets if we’re going to be a playoff team,” Norwin coach Craig Spisak said. “We had a couple of bad baserunning errors. It happens. We showed our potential at times today, but we also showed how young we are at times, too.”
Both teams have secured WPIAL playoff spots, but they hope to be sharper in the postseason. They combined for 13 walks and seven hit batters. The bases were loaded in five innings.
“There aren’t many teams that are going to walk eight and hit four and still win,” Hempfield coach Tim Buzzard said. “This was not our best game. We were able to stay in it. We had so many chances and weren’t able to deliver that punch. Credit to (Norwin).
“We’ve had multiple heroes with big hits or pinch hits. Adam was another one today. He drove one and got it done.”
Hempfield, which had lost four of five coming in, rallied to tie it 7-7 in the third, then fell behind 9-7 in the fifth after Ben Geissler drove in a run with an infield single, and Hess, pitching in relief, issued a bases-loaded walk.
A hit batter and two errors allowed Hempfield to get within 9-8 in the sixth.
Norwin started Ethen Culbertson on the mound, and he was replaced in the third by Matt O’Neil after Hempfield tied it 7-7.
O’Neil, who threw 71 pitches, allowed two hits and no runs before Spisak pulled him for Caden Sivrich with one out in the seventh.
Sivrich had to face the top of the order.
Pinch-hitter Max Short had singled to left, and leadoff hitter Minerva followed with a hit.
“That was a big hit for Max,” Buzzard said.
After a wild pitch, Sivrich walked Dylan Firmstone to load the bases. Another walk tied it 9-9 before Hess came up to do the rest.
“(Sivrich) was a little wild so I thought I could push on one if he hit me,” Hess said. “If he threw one outside third, I knew I was going to set my sights on it. That’s what happened.
“We’re a senior-heavy team, and we want to win. We persevered through it today.”
The walk-off winner was a long way from a dismal opening inning for Hempfield, which saw Norwin take a 4-0 lead thanks to a hit batsman and four walks.
Starting pitcher Parker Donsen was chased after just 2/3 of an inning.
Two more pitchers saw action for Hempfield.
Hempfield brought in Jack Kurdziel, who hit two batters in the second to give Norwin a 6-1 lead, before turning to Hess in the fifth. Hess was awarded the win.
Nate Silberman, who went 4 for 4 for Norwin, made it 7-1 with a double in the third.
Carson Shuglie had a double and two RBIs, and Minerva, Firmstone and Caden Biondi each had two hits for Hempfield.
For Norwin, Nolan Ryan went 3 for 4, Keegan Carr had two hits and Ty Cupp had three RBIs despite just one official at-bat in five plate appearances.
Cupp, Shuglie and Will Griffiths all were plunked twice. Shuglie also walked twice.
Ten of Norwin’s 11 hits came from its top four spots in the order.
The winner in this series scored double-digit runs each game. Norwin took the series opener 10-8 before Hempfield won Game 2, 14-3.
Norwin has one section game left, Monday at Baldwin.
“We need to play,” Spisak said. “We’re a young team, and we have to get better.”
Hempfield hosts Plum next Thursday for its senior day game. The WPIAL playoff pairings also are due to come out that day.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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