Greensburg Central Catholic ends PIAA baseball playoff drought with wild win over West Middlesex
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Monday, June 2, 2025 | 9:25 PM
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Ian Shipley scores as he slides into West Middlesex catcher Wyatt Hoffman during the eighth inning of their PIAA Class A first round state playoff game on Monday, June 2, 2025, at Slippery Rock University.
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Ian Shipley celebrates after driving in a run with a triple against West Middlesex during their PIAA Class A first round state playoff game on Monday, June 2, 2025, at Slippery Rock University.
Greensburg Central Catholic catcher Anthony Grippo tags out West Middlesex’s Aiden Puskar at home plate during their PIAA Class A first round state playoff game on Monday, June 2, 2025, at Slippery Rock University.
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Anthony Grippo celebrates after driving in a run against West Middlesex during their PIAA Class A first round state playoff game on Monday, June 2, 2025, at Slippery Rock University.
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Anthony Grippo celebrates after scoring against West Middlesex during their PIAA Class A first-round playoff game Monday.
West Middlesex’s Kam Miles breaks up a double play under Greensburg Central Catholic’s Brody Bothell during their PIAA Class A first state playoff game on Monday, June 2, 2025, at Slippery Rock University.
Greensburg Central Catholic pitcher Tyler Samide throws against West Middlesex during their PIAA Class A first round state playoff game on Monday, June 2, 2025, at Slippery Rock University.
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Ian Shipley (14) greets Robert Smithnosky at the dugout after scoring against West Middlesex during their PIAA Class A first round state playoff game on Monday, June 2, 2025, at Slippery Rock University.
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Ian Shipley scores as he collides with West Middlesex catcher Wyatt Hoffman during the eighth inning of their PIAA Class A first round state playoff game on Monday, June 2, 2025, at Slippery Rock University.
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Ian Shipley celebrates after driving in a run with a triple against West Middlesex during their PIAA Class A first round state playoff game on Monday, June 2, 2025, at Slippery Rock University.
SLIPPERY ROCK — The Greensburg Central Catholic baseball team had not won — or even played in — a PIAA playoff game since 2018.
And the Centurions also were riding a two-game losing streak, which placed them fourth in the WPIAL.
But those streaks ended Monday in the opening round of the PIAA Class A playoffs at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park. The Centurions pounded out 15 hits, scored six runs in the top of the eighth inning and held on to defeat District 10 champion West Middlesex, 12-9.
GCC (19-4) now plays Clarion, a 3-2 winner over Serra Catholic, on Thursday at a site and time to be determined.
The top of the order did the most damage for the Centurions.
Freshman leadoff hitter Bobby Smithnosky went 4 for 6 with an RBI and three runs scored, and junior No. 2 hitter Ian Shipley went 3 for 6 with 3 RBIs and two runs scored. Smithnosky had two doubles and Shipley two triples.
The Centurions had seven extra-base hits.
“I do not know how many extra bases we had, but I know my arm is hurting from waving them around,” GCC coach John Boyle said.
GCC scored single runs in the first three innings to build a 3-0 lead.
West Middlesex (12-9) which had 12 hits, took advantage of three GCC errors in the fourth inning to score five times and take a 5-3 lead.
“We got up on them early, which we tend to do,” Boyle said. “We just did not get up enough. And as I tell the boys all the time, at some point in the game they’re going to get punched in the face, and it is how you react to it that tells the tale.
“These guys never got down on themselves. A couple errors and it is easy to get down on themselves and it is easy to get down on people, but these guys picked each other up.”
When West Middlesex starting pitcher Kyle Gilson reached his pitch limit with a runner on and two outs in the top of the sixth inning, the Centurions feasted on the Big Red bullpen.
Shipley greeted relief pitcher Tyler Blanton with an RBI single to trim the lead to 5-4. Anthony Grippo, who went 2 for 3 with two intentional walks, then tripled home Shipley to tie the score, and Brody Bothell singled home Grippo for a 6-5 lead. Bothell had two RBIs.
West Middlesex tied the score in the bottom of the inning when Logan Kent singled and scored one out later on a triple by Aiden Puskar.
Puskar tried to score on a grounder to Shipley at third but was thrown out on a bang-bang play at home.
“That team did not go away,” Boyle said. “They took advantage of our mistakes. They hit the ball, too. Their bottom of the order picked them up.”
Tyler Samide worked into the sixth inning before Alex Martin came on in relief.
In the eighth, the Centurions put the game away. Smithnosky singled and scored on Shipley’s triple. Shipley scored on a fielder’s choice for an 8-6 lead.
The Centurions plated four more runs. Collecting RBIs were Jackson McMullen, Nick O’Mahoney, Blase Bugosh and Smithnosky.
The Big Red did not go quietly, scoring three runs before Martin got the final three batters, two on strikeouts and the final out on a grounder to Shipley.
“We just fought back,” Shipley said of the comeback. “We never quit. We got their left-hander out and went after them. We hit the ball well, and we picked each other up.”
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Greensburg C.C.
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