WPIAL Class AAA and Class AA Baseball Consolation Recaps

By: Bruce Markey
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 | 3:06 AM

With a PIAA state playoff berth at stake, both the Class AAA and Class AA WPIAL consolation baseball games were thrillers all the way down to the final at bat. A walk-off sacrifice fly and a walk-off triple helped keep the 2013 baseball season alive for both Shady Side Academy in AA and Keystone Oaks in AAA.

CLASS AA Consolation:  Shady Side Academy Indians 7 – Deer Lakes Lancers 6
This one was for Deacon. 14th-seeded Shady Side Academy (15-8), playing without their Head Coach, won the WPIAL AA Consolation Game in walkoff fashion, 7-6, over No. 4 Deer Lakes (17-5) on Tuesday at Ross Memorial Park. Jake Kleindl would double and score on a sacrifice fly by Brian Hannon in the bottom of the 7th, lifting the Indians to the win. Sitting on career win total 199, Bob Grandizio was noticeably absent from the Indians' dugout, as he and his wife were at the birth of their adopted son, Deacon. Deer Lakes plated the first two runs in the top of the 1st, as Matt Olesnivich and Kevin Begley would single, advance on an error and then score or a RBI groundout by Todd Coleman and a RBI double by Zach Hudicek. But Chuckie Scales would triple to lead off the bottom of the 1st and score on an RBI fielders choice by Paul McCullough, cutting the Lancers lead to 2-1. In the 2nd, the Indians would tie the game as Eric Larkin would single and eventually score on a sacrifice fly by Alex Hartz. But the Lancers would respond, rattling off 3 runs in the top of the 3rd on 4 singes by Begley, Coleman, Hudicek and Jimmy Feil. Josh Plocki would plate Hudicek on a sacrifice fly to give Deer Lakes a 5-2 lead. The bats would cool off for the next couple of innings, but heat back up in the 5th. Chuck Calabrese and Scales would both walk. Calabrese would score on a RBI single by Chris Sawicki. Scales and Sawicki would then score on a 2-RBI triple by McCullough, who would be plated on a single by Kleindl in the following at bat, giving the Indians a 6-5 lead after 5 innings of play. In the following half inning though, Deer Lakes would equalize the game as Feil would single and score on a RBI single by Olesnivich, tying the game at 6-6. In the bottom of the 7th, Kleindl would lead off with a double and then advance to 3rd on a single byEvan Eisner. After an intentional walk was issued to Larkin, Hannon would deliver a fly ball to left field that was deep enough to score Kleindl, giving Shady Side Academy the 7-6 win and advancing the Indians to the PIAA Baseball Playoffs. Coleman, who relieved starter Adam Fredley, picks up the loss for Deer Lakes after pitching 1.2 innings and allowing 1 run on 4 hits, while striking out one batter and walking another. All 6 runs given up by Fredley were earned. He walked 3 batters and struck out one, while hitting another and surrendering 6 hits in 4.2 innings of work. McCullough, who finished with a game-high 3 RBI, went the distance and earned the win for the Indians. He allowed 6 earned runs on 9 hits, while striking out 4 batters and walking a pair. Shady Side Academy, the 3rd place finisher out of District 7, will next play on Monday June 3 against the District 6 Champion. Deer Lakes was led by Hudicek, who went 2-for-4 with a double, 2 RBI and a run scored for a Lancers team that finishes one of the best baseball seasons in school history. 

Class AAA Consolation:  Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 1- West Allegheny Indians 0
Keystone Oaks Senior ace Jared Skolnicki is not done yet. Skolnicki hurled his 7th shutout of the season and the 5th-seeded Golden Eagles (18-5) received a RBI, walkoff triple from Freshman Nick Riggle in the 7th inning, winning the WPIAL AAA Consolation Game, 1-0, over No. 6 West Allegheny (17-7) on Tuesday at Ross Memorial Park. Skolnicki, a Kent State recruit that has allowed just 3 earned runs in 62 innings of work this season, struck out 5 batters and allowed just 3 hits in the complete game effort. But the senior would be out-dueled through the first 6 innings by West Allegheny sophomore Colin Claus. Claus, who did not allow a hit until the 5th inning, pitched 6.2 innings, allowing just 2 hits, 1 earned run and striking out 9 batters, while walking 2. After allowing a walk to Skolnicki in the 1st inning, Claus would retire the next 10 Golden Eagles batters before surrendering a hit to Taylor Lehman in the 5th inning. He then would sit down the next 8 batters he faced and, with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th, would walk Lehman. Riggle would then drive a ball over the head of Indians' Centerfielder Tyler Amedure, scoring Lehman from first base and sending Keystone Oaks to their first PIAA Playoff appearance in school history. The run was the first for Keystone Oaks in 16-plus innings of baseball, as the Golden Eagles were blanked by South Park in the AAA Semifinals 1-0. West Allegheny finishes the season with 17-straight scoreless innings, as the Indians were shutout by Hopewell in the AAA Semifinals as well. The Golden Eagles will face Slippery Rock Area in the PIAA 1st Round on Monday, June 3 at a site and time to be determined. 

Tags: Deer Lakes, Keystone Oaks, West Allegheny