Valley baseball defeats rival Burrell first 1st time since ’12
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Wednesday, May 2, 2018 | 9:33 PM
Valley beat Burrell on Wednesday for the first time in six seasons.
But the game went down to the final pitch.
Burrell scored two runs after two were out in the seventh, but Vikings reliever Andrew Serakowski got the final out with the bases loaded to nail down a 4-3 victory at Huston Middle School.
The Vikings (10-5, 8-2) have finished their regular season and have secured at least a share of the section title.
Burrell (7-2, 6-2) has games left with East Allegheny and Steel Valley. The Bucs are in third place behind the Ironmen (8-5, 7-2).
If the Bucs win both remaining games, there will be at least a two-way tie for the Section 1-3A title.
In that event, all schools will receive a section championship plaque, as per WPIAL policy. Both teams have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs.
“Finally got it after two years,” said Valley coach Jim Basilone of the win over its section foe. “The section's still tight. We wanted to beat our rival and position ourselves for a good playoff spot.”
Basilone gave Cayden Quinn the ball Wednesday, and the freshman responded with a strong performance, limiting the Bucs to a run and three hits over the first six innings.
“He gutted it out,” Basilone said of Quinn. “All week he's been asking me and asking me, and I decided to give him the ball. He was a real bulldog out there today.”
“I couldn't wait to play this game, I wanted to pitch so badly,” Quinn said. “I wasn't supposed to be a big part of the rotation, but I've worked my way in there. I'm glad we won this game.”
Quinn was in third grade the last time the Vikings beat Burrell on March 27, 2012, by a 10-0 margin.
Quinn pitched into the seventh where Nick Hwostow and Zach Miller recorded one-out singles.
With two outs, back-to-back walks to Luke Virag and Drew Cambal ended Quinn's day as he reached the 100 pitch-count maximum.
Corey Christie greeted Serakowski with a hard single to left on the first pitch to score Miller. But the ball got to Valley left fielder Nick Heuser so quickly that pinch runner Trent Valovchik had to hold at third.
Serakowski then induced Marshall McKallip to hit a pop foul to first to earn the save.
“We didn't play very well, and we didn't hit the ball well,” Burrell coach Mark Spohn said. “That's baseball. Sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn't.”
Valley broke through with three runs on five singles in the third. Three of the hits barely eluded the gloves of the Burrell infielders.
Heuser and Jake McNabb paced the attack with RBI singles.
“I stress to the guys to go to the plate and be selective and aggressive,” Basilone said. “If it's in the zone, we're aggressive at it. That's what they've been taught all year.”
Hwostow scored the first Bucs run on a groundout to first.
Shawn Demharter scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth, beating the throw to the plate on a fielder's choice.
George Guido is a freelance writer.
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