Franklin Regional gets gem from Max Bernadowski, edges Penn-Trafford to share section crown
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Tuesday, May 7, 2024 | 9:31 PM
Franklin Regional pitcher Max Bernadowski celebrates after defeating Penn-Trafford, 1-0, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at Haymaker Park in Murrysville.
Franklin Regional pitcher Max Bernadowski throws against Penn-Trafford on Tuesday.
Franklin Regional’s N.J. Ramchandran scores the game’s lone run on a sacrifice fly against Penn-Trafford on Tuesday at Haymaker Park in Murrysville.
Franklin Regional’s Owen Sinclair drives in the game’s lone run with a sacrifice fly against Penn-Trafford on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at Haymaker Park in Murrysville.
Franklin Regional pitcher Max Bernadowski pumps his fist after getting a strikeout with the bases loaded against Penn-Trafford on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at Haymaker Park in Murrysville.
The WPIAL baseball playoffs are a week away, but a postseason atmosphere Tuesday enveloped Haymaker Park in Murrysville, where two senior right-handers dominated on the mound.
It was almost a dead-even match between host Franklin Regional and top-ranked Penn-Trafford.
“It was like a playoff game,” Penn- Trafford coach Lou Cortazzo said.
The two arch-rivals — 7 miles separate the schools — were battling two others, No. 2 Fox Chapel and Plum, for a section title.
Franklin Regional’s Max Bernadowski outdueled Penn-Trafford’s Brandon Rohrer, and the Panthers edged the top-ranked Warriors, 1-0, on Owen Sinclair’s fourth-inning sacrifice fly to complete a sweep of the final regular-season series for both WPIAL Section 1-5A contenders.
“I’m just trying to soak it all in,” Franklin Regional coach Bobby Saddler said.
The outcome, coupled with Plum’s 10-4 victory over Fox Chapel, left the four teams tied atop Section 1 with identical 9-3 records. The WPIAL on Friday will determine playoff seedings for all six of its classifications.
Bernadowski, who is committed to Division II Slippery Rock, pitched a complete-game three-hitter with four strikeouts and two walks.
Rohrer worked into the sixth inning for Penn-Trafford, allowing four hits and the game’s only run when NJ Ramchandran singled for one of his two hits and came around to score on Sinclair’s long flyout to center in the fourth.
Rohrer walked four and struck out three before giving way to junior Hunter Brown, who came on in the sixth with a man on first to pitch a hitless inning.
“I feel like I’m on top of the world right now,” Bernadowski said. “Pitching a complete-game shutout here is definitely at the top of the list.”
It was Bernadowski’s first home game on the mound this season for the Panthers.
With the game scoreless, Penn-Trafford threatened to break through first in the top of the fourth.
But with two on and two outs, a spectacular, diving catch by Franklin Regional center fielder Cole Brinker robbed Carmen Metcalfe of a potential extra-base hit and denied the Warriors at least one run.
“Great play in center field,” Cortazzo said. “That saved a run right there.”
It was enough for Bernadowski, who retired nine consecutive batters over the final three innings.
“He was dealing today,” Saddler said. “He was attacking hitters. Everything seemed to be working.”
Bernadowski said he used all four of his pitches — four- and two-seam fastballs, a slider and a changeup — to keep Penn-Trafford off balance.
“I knew I had to locate all my pitches and have my best stuff today against a lineup like that,” he said.
An inning before Brinker’s game-saving catch, Penn-Trafford loaded the bases in the third before Bernadowski struck out Chuck Fontana to end the threat.
Saddler, a Penn-Trafford graduate and former Warriors baseball player, did his best to control emotions that were forcing a smile from time to time.
“This is why you coach,” he said. “To see players go out in big-time moments and execute and come out on top. We played arguably our best baseball the last two games.”
A day after ending Penn-Trafford’s 13-game winning streak with a 6-2 victory, Franklin Regional handed the Warriors another loss as payback for P-T’s two-game sweep in the final regular-season series a year ago, eliminating the Panthers from playoff contention.
Saddler, though, said he wasn’t thinking about anything more than Tuesday’s outcome.
“As a coach, I’m always forward thinking,” he said. “I try not to reflect back. I think the players knew it in the back of their mind. But in the forefront of their mind, they needed to be thinking how to execute, how to move forward these seven innings and not reflect back on last year.
Saddler said the Panthers “were fortunate to come out on top” in such a high-intensity atmosphere.
“It’s a great rivalry,” he said. “The players know each other, they want to compete, they want to play at the highest level against each other, and I think the last two games showed that.”
Tags: Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford
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