Mt. Pleasant baseball stuns No. 5 Ringgold
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Wednesday, May 15, 2019 | 9:44 PM
Mt. Pleasant’s catcher Pete Billey gets an out on Ringgold runner Jake Rongus as he attempts to grab a score on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in the WPIAL Class 4A first round high school baseball playoff game at Seton Hill University.
Mt. Pleasant’s Asher O’Connor celebrates a score on Ringgold with teammates in the dugout on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in the WPIAL Class 4A first round high school baseball playoff game at Seton Hill University.
Ringgold’s Chase Angotti throws back to first against a Mt. Pleasant base runner on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in the WPIAL Class 4A first round high school baseball playoff game at Seton Hill University.
Mt. Pleasant outfielder Asher O’Connor lays out to make a catch against Ringgold.
Mt. Pleasant’s Jared Wagner pitches in the final inning against Ringgold on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in the WPIAL Class 4A first round high school baseball playoff game at Seton Hill University.
Mt. Pleasant’s Kyle Jones recovers the ball at third base as Ringgold base runner Dylan Wujcik charges for third on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in the WPIAL Class 4A first round high school baseball playoff game at Seton Hill University.
Mt. Pleasant’s Joe Shrum pitches against Ringgold on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in the WPIAL Class 4A first round high school baseball playoff game at Seton Hill University.
Mt. Pleasant’s Mike Secosky bats against Ringgold on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in the WPIAL Class 4A first round high school baseball playoff game at Seton Hill University.
Mt. Pleasant’s Aaron Alakson gets an out on Ringgold base runner Sam Daerr on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in the WPIAL Class 4A first round high school baseball playoff game at Seton Hill University.
Mt. Pleasant picked a good time to play its best baseball game of the season.
The Vikings combined clutch pitching, solid defense and timely hitting to stun returning PIAA Class 4A champion No. 5 Ringgold, 8-0, in the opening round of the WPIAL playoffs on Wednesday at Seton Hill.
The No. 12 Vikings will play Blackhawk (14-4) on Monday at a site and time to be determined.
Mt. Pleasant, which reached the WPIAL Class 3A finals in 2017, used a defensive play and a Ringgold error to seize the early momentum.
It started when Mt. Pleasant center fielder Trevor Mason threw out Jake Rongaus at the plate trying to score on Josh Peters’ single to end the second inning.
It continued in the top of the third when Kyle Jones, who singled with two outs, scored when Asher O’Connor’s fly ball to center field was dropped by Dylan Wujcik.
“We built off their error,” Mt. Pleasant coach Chris Firmstone said. “We worked all season on capitalizing on opponents’ mistakes. We did and it carried over to the next inning and then we put some hits together and it carried us through.
“If you make the routine plays and don’t give teams extra outs, good things happen and it did. We didn’t give them any extra outs or plate appearances.”
Mt. Pleasant’s bats came alive in the fourth inning. Mike Secosky hit a bases-loaded double to score two and make it 3-0, Cody Surma singled home a run, and Jones doubled home another. The fifth run scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-0.
“It wasn’t one of Josh’s better games,” Ringgold coach Don Roberts said. “He left some pitches up, and they were hitting everything. They came out and played better than us.”
Vikings starter Joe Shrum allowed five hits and three walks while blanking Ringgold over five innings. Jared Wagner pitched the final two innings and allowed a single.
Shrum relied on his defense to make plays. The Vikings turned a double play after Ringgold’s Nicholas Kolano opened the fourth with a hit.
“Joe has been playing the best games of his life,” Wagner said. “Even when we don’t score runs, he never hangs his head. He keeps our morale up. It’s nice to have someone like that keep us up.”
Firmstone said even though Shrum’s record isn’t as good, he has turned in a lot of good performances.
Mt. Pleasant tacked on two insurance runs in the seventh as Pete Billey doubled in one run and Secosky singled in another.
“We hadn’t hit the ball well all year,” Secosky said. “But we were excited to play Ringgold. They were the defending state champions, and we wanted to knock them off.”
Secosky had two hits and three RBIs and Jones went 3-for-3 with two doubles. Billey and Surma each had two hits.
“We had a nice break out today,” Firmstone said. “Our bats have been quiet over the season. We broke out of it and had some fun.”
Kolano had two of Ringgold’s six hits.
“No one gave us a chance,” Firmstone said. “Ringgold is a very good team. It should give a boost of confidence heading into the next game.”
The effort put a smile on the face of team manager Landon Carlson.
“We hit the ball,” Carlson said. “We did the job. Our performance was awesome.”
Check out an archived broadcast of this game on the TribLive High School Sports Network.
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: Mt. Pleasant, Ringgold
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