Colby Weber throws 1-hit shutout in Shaler’s PIAA 1st-round win over Conestoga Valley

By: Matthew Purucker
Monday, June 2, 2025 | 9:10 PM

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In the WPIAL Class 5A championship game against Pine-Richland, Shaler pitcher Colby Weber reached the 105-pitch limit and had to sit on the bench to watch the Titans find a way to win.

The East Carolina commit did not leave anything to chance this time around.

Weber took charge, throwing a complete-game one-hitter in the Titans’ 4-0 victory in a PIAA Class 5A first-round matchup Monday against Conestoga Valley at Shaler’s Matulevic Field.

Weber (9-0, 0.38 ERA) struck out five Buckskins and walked none. He faced only 22 batters, one more than the minimum. Weber credited his efficient 70-pitch outing to his pitch selection.

“I started throwing the curveball more, started throwing the slider more,” Weber said. “So that boosted more weak contact, and it helped me out a lot.”

“It helps when the defense is that good,” Weber added. “We made minimal errors today, and it was just an awesome time.”

Shaler (18-6) got three of its four runs in the first two innings.

In the bottom of the first, catcher Joe Rispoli started a two-out rally with a line-drive single. First baseman Ben Yeckel then singled to right to advance courtesy runner Brennan Fitzgerald to third, and Yeckel reached second on defensive indifference. To complete the rally, third baseman Troy Leas drove home two runs with a line-drive single to left field. Leas was 2 for 3 on the day.

“We preached that if you can get a two-out RBI, it’s part of our process of how we win games,” Shaler coach Brian Junker said. “So to have that in the first inning with Colby on the mound, I thought that was big, but at the same time, I thought we should have had better at-bats as the game went on.”

After multiple close upset victories to finish in fourth place in District 3, Conestoga Valley (13-11-1) played solid defensively, giving up seven hits. However, the Buckskins could not solve Weber at the plate, barring one hit. In the sixth inning, first baseman Sawyer Esbenshade dropped a drag bunt that Leas could not get to in time.

“When you have good talent like that, the misses are really slight,” Conestoga Valley coach Triston Horst said. “We’re fouling it off, yeah, we were aggressive, we hit it, but it was just a strike for him. You know, a strike for him, you get deeper in the count and everything like that. I loved Sawyer Esbenshade’s bunt. Maybe we should open the playbook a little bit sooner, try to get baserunners on. … But I’m proud of these boys. No one thought we would be here.”

Evan Wilson pitched all six innings for Conestoga Valley. He surrendered four runs, three of them earned, struck out five and walked one.

In the second, Shaler designated hitter Max Saban singled to lead off the inning. Next, Weber laid down a sacrifice bunt to push Saban to second. Left fielder Luke Jarzynka then brought Saban across with an RBI double to make it 3-0. Jarzykna had the lone extra-base hit of the game.

Shaler only had two more hits the rest of the way, one of which was a fifth-inning RBI.

“(There were) too many first-pitch outs. If you swing at a first pitch, you’ve got to be able to drive that. … (There were) possibly too many fly balls, too,” Junker said. “We like to hit line drives and hard ground balls, and I would like to work counts more.”

Yeckel ripped a line-drive single to right field to score Fitzgerald for his second run in the fifth inning. The courtesy runner subbed in after Rispoli reached base earlier on one of the two Buckskin errors of the game. The Titans also had two errors of their own.

Shaler entered PIAA tournament play hoping to make another run for the Class 5A title, which the Titans won in 2023. Several of the players, including Weber, were on that championship team and had crucial roles leading up to and in the 9-8 walk-off thriller over Strath Haven in the title game. They believe that experience has prepared them for a similar postseason push this year.

“We’ve just got to keep competing,” Weber said. “We’re doing a real good job right now. If we just keep competing, we can go far.”

Tags: Shaler