Sewickley Academy baseball focuses on final playoff push

By: Greg Macafee
Friday, May 3, 2019 | 5:00 PM

Earlier this week, the Sewickley Academy baseball team was in prime position to return to the Class 2A WPIAL playoffs after missing out last season.

They trailed Northgate by a game in the Section 4 standings and had four section games remaining, two of which were against teams that they had beat earlier this season. And in their first game of the season, the Panthers defeated Northgate, 15-4.

So, when the two teams faced off again Wednesday, Sewickley Academy had a great opportunity to improve their position in the standings. Instead, Northgate handed Sewickley Academy its seventh loss of the season.

“We knew what was at stake, and the other team they came up with timely hitting and put the ball in play,” Sewickley Academy coach Andrew Petruska said. “I think we ended up with six errors and those are gonna kill you.”

The Panthers rebounded with a 16-1 win over Sto-Rox on Thursday, which keeps them within striking distance for the fourth spot in Section 4.

While Sewickley only has two section games left, Northgate has to maneuver its way through four section games in the next six days. Three of those games are against the section’s top three teams, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Avonworth and Carlynton.

But no matter the outcome of Northgate’s games, Petruska knows his team has to focus on what’s right in front of them.

“As a coaching staff, we are still 100 percent confident in all of our players and it just comes down to the kids believing in themselves,” Petruska said. “It’s just about staying with the team as much as possible and that’s the biggest thing that we have been trying to motivate them to do.”

The Panthers are set to take on OLSH and Avonworth, two teams who they lost to earlier this season, 10-0 and 9-1.

Both teams provide a big challenge for the Panthers. But, after seeing what happened during their first matchups, Petruska has an idea of what he wants to see from his team as they try to make one final push to the playoffs.

“Playing as a team, staying positive, and not getting down on yourself if we go down a couple runs,” Petruska said. “We’ve preached to them all year, single, single, single, just get on base, make yourself available and play as a team. A lot of the guys are understanding of that.”

Tags: Sewickley Academy