Bethel Park eliminates West Allegheny, keeps alive hopes for PIAA championship repeat

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, June 9, 2022 | 12:01 AM

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Bethel Park has seen this story before: The baseball team comes up short in the WPIAL playoffs only to bounce back stronger in the state tournament behind a talented pitcher recruited to Kent State.

That exact storyline won the Black Hawks a state championship a year ago and they’re now trying to do it again. Kent State commit Evan Holewinski pitched a strong, four-hit shutout to defeat WPIAL champion West Allegheny, 7-0, in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal Thursday at Washington & Jefferson’s field.

“We know what’s in front of us. We know we can do it,” Holewinski said. “It is starting to look a lot like last year. … We’ll focus on the semis and see what plays out.”

Thursday’s game was a rematch of a WPIAL semifinal West Allegheny won, 3-0, but this time, the Black Hawks collected 11 hits, including a 4-for-4 performance by freshman leadoff hitter Ryan Petras, who stole two bases, drove in a run and scored once.

Bethel Park scored two runs in the first inning and three in the second to lead 5-0.

“We ran into a buzzsaw,” West A coach Bryan Cornell said. “Sometimes you just tip your cap. They were the better baseball team today. It’s nothing against our guys. Sometimes when you lose that momentum, you have to fight to get it back.”

Bethel Park (19-3) will face Donegal (18-8) in a state semifinal Monday at a site and time to be announced. West Allegheny (20-5) was trying to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2018.

A year ago, Bethel Park rebounded from a WPIAL championship loss to win a state title behind pitcher Eric Chalus, now a freshman starter at Kent State. This time, the Black Hawks lost in the WPIAL semifinals but once again didn’t let the setback ruin their season.

“We would love to win a WPIAL championship, don’t get me wrong, but we seem to be in a good place right now,” Bethel Park coach Pat Zehnder said. “Really, in the WPIAL playoffs, we couldn’t find a way to bring our ‘A’ game.”

It showed up Thursday with their ace on the mound.

Holewinski allowed only four singles, walked none and struck out three. Maybe most impressively, the efficient right-hander needed only 74 pitches — well below the 105-pitch limit set by the PIAA.

The junior said he relied on fastballs away, limited hard contact and let his defense work.

“That’s him. He pounds the zone,” Zehnder said. “And when hitters know that strikes are coming, the at-bats are even shorter as the game goes on.”

“Attack them and see if they can get themselves out,” Holewinski said. “Just let our defense play and they did today.”

The Bethel Park defense played error free behind Holewinski, who scattered the four singles over four separate innings. Only one of those West A runners reached second base. Unlike some pitchers, Holewinski isn’t “strikeout hungry,” said his coach.

“The baseball IQ is off the charts with him,” Zehnder said. “He’s so mature and just so selfless. He’s OK with his teammates getting the outs for him, even if that means he doesn’t put up the big strikeout numbers.”

A quick start by Bethel Park’s offense gave him room to work. Petras, a newcomer to the leadoff spot, singled, stole second base and scored to start the first inning. Cody Geddes also singled and scored in the first for a 2-0 lead.

In the second inning, Bethel Park combined two hits, a sacrifice bunt, a hit batter and a throwing error to score three more runs. The first three batters — James Conrad, John Chalus and Nathan Vargo — all reached base and scored for a 5-0 lead. Courtesy runner Jason Nuttridge ran for catcher Chalus, who reached base three times.

Bethel Park scored five runs off West A starter Nathan Nolan, who allowed five hits in 1⅓ innings.

The Black Hawks added one run each in the fourth and fifth innings.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Bethel Park, West Allegheny