Bats heat up for Greensburg Central Catholic in win over Jeannette

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, April 19, 2024 | 9:18 PM

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For a team that struck out 19 times against Brentwood earlier this week, Greensburg Central Catholic looked pretty confident at the plate when it finally got to play rival Jeannette after multiple postponements.

“We didn’t strike out once today,” Centurions coach John Boyle said.

Instead, every hitter in the lineup reached base Friday, either from a hit, a walk or being plunked by a pitch.

In the team’s fourth home game of the season, third-ranked GCC barreled up for 13 hits, flexing its offensive muscles and winning 13-2 over the much-improved Jayhawks in a Section 3-2A baseball game shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule.

GCC (6-1, 5-0) has won five in a row. The Jayhawks (6-2, 4-1) saw a four-game winning streak end.

The Centurions moved a game ahead of Jeannette in the standings and are alone in second place behind top-ranked Serra Catholic (9-0, 6-0).

“I had no doubts in our guys and with Ethan (Brody) on the mound,” Boyle said. “Jeannette is a very good team, and they battled in every at-bat. I really liked our bench energy, especially early on. This is a rivalry game, and the kids get excited.”

An eight-run fourth inning that saw GCC send 14 hitters to the plate erased any chances Jeannette (6-2, 4-1) had at a comeback.

The frame was as plentiful for GCC as it was painful for Jeannette.

With GCC leading 5-2 and frustrated after leaving two runners on base in the third, Ian Shipley led off the fourth with a triple to the fence, going all out as he rounded second to reignite the offense.

Grant Miller followed with his second RBI single, and Anthony Grippo also singled to chase Jayhawks starting pitcher Brayden Luttner.

Tyree Turner followed with a run-scoring hit to make it 7-2. With two outs, reliever Wyatt Schaeffer hit four of the next seven hitters and walked another.

The walk loaded the bases for Sean Walker, who connected for his first home run of the season. The downwind grand slam to deep left gave GCC a 12-2 lead.

“Sean is strong enough to turn a mistake into a home run,” Boyle said. “He hits line drives.”

With two on, Grippo came up again and ripped a single to make it 13-2.

“I’m not somebody who hits the ball that far,” Walker said. “Thanks goes to Grippo’s dad. He helped me with my swing. I got my front foot down and kept my hands up.

“We’re both 4-0 in section coming in. Jeannette’s a good team. This is a big win.”

GCC scored twice in the first inning, on an RBI from Miller and a groundout by Turner.

It was 5-0 in the third after Shipley and Grippo had run-scoring singles and another run scored on an error.

Jeannette, which won seven games combined over the last two seasons, cut it to 5-2 in the bottom of the third when Noah Rattigan delivered a two-run single to right to cap a lengthy at-bat.

The Jayhawks, who were averaging more than nine runs a game, didn’t threaten again.

“We didn’t field the ball well; we need to be better than that,” Jeannette coach Marcus Clarkson said. “They hit some dribblers that got through. They put the ball in play. … We have to field it.”

Grippo and Miller both were 3 for 3, while Walker and Shipley each had two hits.

Brody was the winning pitcher, allowing four hits, all in the third.

“We got knocked down,” Clarkson said. “These kind of games make you tougher as a team. It feels bad, but it can bring out the dog in them.

“One loss is not going to kill us.”

The second game of the series will be Thursday at Buster Clarkson Field in Jeannette.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Jeannette