Good day gets better for Evan Dunlap, Hempfield in win over Norwin
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Monday, March 31, 2025 | 9:31 PM
Hempfield meets Evan Dunlap at the plate after the first of his two home runs against Norwin on Monday.
Hempfield coach Timothy Buzzard celebrates with Evan Dunlap after Dunlap’s second home run against Norwin on Monday.
Hempfield starting pitcher Dylan Firmstone reacts after a strikeout to get out of the fifth inning against Norwin on Monday.
Norwin’s Jake Knight scores behind Hempfield catcher Ian Kovalcik on Monday.
Hempfield’s Dylan Firmstone scores behind Norwin’s Ben Geissler on Monday.
Hempfield starting pitcher Dylan Firmstone throws against Norwin on Monday.
Hempfield shortstop Chase Damaska tracks down a ball hit by Norwin’s Jake Sincak on Monday.
Hempfield’s Maxwell Bowin cuts off a ball to hold Norwin’s Brayden Wardinski to a single Monday.
Hempfield’s Owen Shuglie lashes an opposite-field hit against Norwin on Monday.
Hempfield’s Chase Sikorski (21) celebrates with Colin Polechko after scoring against Norwin on Monday.
Hempfield’s Joshua Cayer tracks down a ball for an unassisted out on Norwin’s Derek Berger on Monday.
Junior infielder Evan Dunlap was in a good mood before and after Monday’s section opener.
So were his Hempfield teammates.
Dunlap belted a pair of home runs, and the Spartans limited host Norwin’s effectiveness on the basepaths to take the first game of the teams’ Section 2-6A baseball series, 7-3, in cool, cloud-covered North Huntingdon.
“It was a good day in school. I ate the right food and felt happy today,” said Dunlap, who hit a two-run blast and a solo shot for Hempfield (3-3, 1-0), which will host the second game at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Junior Chase Sikorski, senior Colin Polechko and senior Maxwell Bowin all had two hits with Sikorski adding two RBIs for Hempfield.
Senior Dylan Firmstone, a Penn State commit, settled in after a slow start to earn the win for the Spartans. Hempfield trailed 1-0 in the first before pulling ahead of the Knights (2-4, 0-1), who left 12 on base and saw a two-game winning streak end.
“Dylan did an excellent job after a tough first inning,” Hempfield coach Tim Buzzard said. “He got out of a jam, then started cruising. Josh (Cayer) came in did a nice job, and our defense played really well.”
Cayer, a senior, relieved Firmstone after 4 1/3 innings and limited Norwin, which got two hits, including a triple, from senior shortstop Nate Silberman.
Firmstone threw 89 pitches before exiting.
“Dylan threw a nice game for them,” Norwin coach Craig Spisak said. “He settled down.
“Hempfield took advantage of their opportunities. We’ll look to bounce back in the next game.”
Norwin took the early lead on a sacrifice fly by Trevor Vitsas, but the Knights left runners at the corners.
Dunlap hammered a pitch over the fence in center for his first homer of the season to make it 2-1 in the second.
“I was looking for a good, hard pitch to hit,” Dunlap said. “I went for it.”
Firmstone worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third before the Spartans added to their lead in the fourth.
Sikorski and Polechko singled, and Bowin stepped in with two outs. He ripped a two-run single to make it 4-1.
The Spartans had 13 hits.
Sikorski added his own two-RBI single in the fifth for a 6-1 advantage.
Norwin again loaded the bases, thanks to a hit batsman and two walks, but Cayer recorded two strikeouts to shut down the threat.
“Our guys made some big pitches,” Buzzard said. “They were able to limit what Norwin could do. They worked out of it.”
Norwin added a run when junior Derek Berger was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
But in the sixth, Dunlap struck again. He went opposite field for his second homer, watching the wind carry his drive deep to right.
“I saw it go to right and then (the outfielder) kept going back,” Dunlap said. “Winning the section opener is big for us. It is big momentum. We got behind our defense.”
Silberman, a Seton Hill commit, tripled to start the sixth, and Wardzinski knocked him in with a single to make it 7-3.
Norwin used three pitchers in Matt Rivera, Matt O’Neil and Tyler Faust.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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