Ace Parker Lind, Belle Vernon blank Derry to end long playoff slump

By: Jeremy Sellew
Thursday, May 15, 2025 | 12:01 AM

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The Belle Vernon baseball program’s streak of playoff futility is over after the Leopards picked up their first playoff win since 2012 Wednesday.

Kent State commit Parker Lind was on point, and Connor Bergman and Cole Matusik had two RBIs each as the fifth-seeded Leopards shut out No. 12 Derry, 7-0, in a Class 4A first-round matchup at Norwin.

Leopards coach Tony Watson was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief after picking up his first playoff win leading the program.

“A player like Parker doesn’t come around all the time,” Watson said. “That, obviously, gave our guys a ton of confidence going into the game. I don’t think I’ve seen someone of that caliber come through this program. He was fantastic, and he was able to pitch his way out of a few tough situations.

“It feels good to get this one, though, there’s no doubt about it.”

For the Trojans (5-11), the game came down to missed opportunities. Derry left eight runners on base and finished 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

“With the type of game this was and the way (Lind) was pitching, if you had any chance, you got to take advantage of those opportunities,” Derry skipper Tommy Kelly said. “That’s been the story of our year. We get some runners in scoring position, and we leave a lot out there.”

A big reason for Derry’s opportunities was three Belle Vernon errors in the first two innings.

“That’s another characteristic of us all season,” Kelly added. “We weren’t able to take advantage of those, and they took advantage of our big one early.”

Derry starter Cason Long set an early tone in the contest, not allowing a hit until the bottom of the third inning when the Leopards (14-6) were finally able to break onto the scoreboard.

Long walked Chace Petrosky to start the inning, and he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jaden Johnson.

Leadoff man Kole Doppelheuer sent a hard fly ball to right that Collin Barkley muffed off the glove, allowing Petrosky to score and make it 1-0.

After a Lucas Judy walk and Connor Bergman lined out to left, Cole Matusik delivered for Belle Vernon, sending a soft liner over the second-base bag to score Judy and Doppelheuer to make it 3-0.

“I thought the bottom of the order really set the table for those guys at the top of the order,” Watson said. “All season long, they’ve done a great job playing that role and doing their job with guys on base.”

Getting a few runs lifted Lind to an even higher level as he took the mound in the top of the fourth and proceeded to strike out the side on 11 pitches.

“I had really good control of my offspeed stuff all day but struggled a little bit early,” Lind said. “After struggling a little bit, my teammates came back with some run support, and that really helped me out. After that, I was in control, and the defense was making the plays in the field.”

The Trojans threatened in the top of the sixth as Max Doherty and Donovan Trimble singled with one out.

But Lind buckled down and struck out Michael Aaron on some high heat and followed that with a strikeout of Liam McMahen on a nasty curveball to end the inning.

“The game is different if we can push any of those runs across when we were in scoring position,” Kelly said. “It’s just one of those things, and this was one of those days that things didn’t fall our way.”

It got worse for the Trojans in the bottom of the sixth. Reliever Max Doherty was able to get the first two outs in his second inning and looked like he was going to give his team a chance heading into its final at-bat.

Johnson delivered a soft ground ball just behind the mound for an infield single. Doppelheuer followed and was able to beat out a ground ball to second as Parker Petrosky committed the second error of the game for the Trojans.

Doherty walked Judy to load the bases before Bergman hammered a double to the left-center gap to drive in a pair of runs and make it 5-0.

“We were able to swipe a few bags, lay a few bumps down and then Connor came through for us,” Watson said. “I definitely started breathing a little easier and exhaled once we got those runs.”

Jayden Struble relieved Doherty and plunked Seth Tomalski with the bases loaded to make it 6-0. He then uncorked a wild pitch that bounced off the brick backstop and caromed out of play to score Bergman with the final run.

“It’s great to get this win and end that streak,” Lind said. “I think this puts us back on the map and now we get ready to go on Tuesday.”

The Leopards will play No. 4 Beaver at a site and time to be determined — with Lind (8-1) likely on the mound.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area