Free passes help Mt. Lebanon sweep Baldwin

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 | 10:12 PM

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Tuesday was a beautiful day in Southwestern Pennsylvania to get out and run, jog or walk around a nearby park.

The Mt. Lebanon baseball team chose the last of those three choices.

The Blue Devils converted four walks and four hit batters into seven runs and held on to beat host Baldwin, 7-5, for a two game sweep of a section series against the Highlanders.

“That was an exhausting game,” Mt. Lebanon coach Patt McCloskey said. “A typical game at Wallace (Baldwin’s home field), you never know what can happen.”

A day after coming from behind to beat Baldwin, 7-3, Mt. Lebanon used the wildness of Highlanders starting pitcher Colton Brain to jump out to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings.

Eli Heidenreich was hit by a pitch and stole second base, and after Tanner Donati walked, both advanced on a wild pitch.

Tyler Smith drove the first run home on a groundout and then Matthew Delvaux singled to make it 2-0 Blue Devils.

Joey Daniels was hit by a pitch to start the second inning for Mt. Lebanon, which added three more runs on an RBI single by Colin Plesco, a run-producing fielder’s choice by Heidenreich and Donati’s RBI double.

The Blue Devils plated those five runs on four hits.

“It takes the pressure off,” McCloskey said. “It’s not to say that we are snakebit here, but no lead is safe.

“Since I’ve started here, they (Baldwin) always play well at Wallace, so to get up really took the pressure off.”

Working on short rest, the sophomore Smith was dominant through four innings. However, the Highlanders finally got to him in the fifth.

Senior Fletcher Hindman homered over the right-field fence, which was followed by a Brain single and a Dylan Wyse double off the fence. Jon Rauch drove in a run on a groundout and Liam Guttendorf drove in another run with a single.

“My hat’s off to them,” McCloskey said. “I thought we were going to roll it a little bit. My hat’s off to them because this was a game that could have got away in a heartbeat.”

Both teams scored one run in each of the sixth and seventh innings.

Smith allowed three earned runs on six hits in five innings with two walks and nine strikeouts.

Senior Jameson Hartnett earned the save by allowing two unearned runs in the final two innings. Baldwin brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning, but pinch hitter Zach Ingold grounded out to end the game.

“(Smith) has done a great job, whether out of the pen or putting together a great start,” McCloskey said. “You’re not going to outwork him. Today he did not have his best stuff, but he competed.”

The win improves Mt. Lebanon to 4-4 in the section and 6-6 overall and clinches a playoff berth for the Blue Devils.

The Highlanders fall to 2-6 in the section, 3-8 overall, and their playoff hopes are on life support with two section games left.

“I was really proud of our kids,” McCloskey said. “We competed really hard. We certainly want to play better moving forward. The competing was there on all fronts in what was really a tight one.”

Tags: Baldwin, Mt. lebanon