No. 2-ranked Canon-McMillan takes down Upper St. Clair in Section 3 baseball opener
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Wednesday, April 4, 2018 | 10:06 PM
With winds gusts around 25-30 mph sending ball caps flying off players heads all over the field from start to finish, Canon-McMillan ace pitcher Zach Rohaley never lost his head and helped the Big Macs beat Upper St. Clair, 11-4, in a Section 3-6A opener Thursday at Wild Things Park in Washington.
Rohaley was dominant early with five strikeouts in the first two innings. After Canon-McMillan scored four runs in the bottom of the second, Upper St. Clair loaded the bases on a single, an error and a walk before Jacob Pikras cleared the bases with a triple to the fence in right-center field.
But after Jonah Auslander walked, USC tried to steal a run by putting Auslander in motion. Rohaley stepped off the rubber and threw a strike to second base for the out on Auslander before the tying run could score. The Panthers would get no closer.
“Ro is our horse,” Canon-McMillan coach Tim Bruzdewicz said. “We expect him to come out on Christmas doing what he does. He really battled today under very tough elements.”
The “Christmas” comparison was a good one as the game was played with on and off snow flurries and a wind chill dropping the temperature in the 20's.
The No. 2-ranked Big Macs (4-1, 1-0) put the game away in the fifth inning when they scored six runs off Upper St. Clair reliever Eli Shedd, highlighted by two-run singles by Brandon Rea and Ian Hess. Rea also had a run-scoring single in the four-run second for Canon-Mac.
Nick Serafino had three hits, three runs scored and three RBIs from his leadoff spot.
“Nick has been hitting well,” Bruzdewicz said. “As Nick, Ro and Hess go, we go. We aren't playing great baseball yet, but we will get there.”
Rohaley pitched five innings, allowing three unearned runs on two hits with four walks and eight strikeouts.
Starter Nate Hamel took the loss for Upper St. Clair (5-1, 0-1). He yielded five runs, four earned, on six hits as the Panthers lost for the first time in six games.
Don Rebel is a TribLive High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.
Tags: Canon-McMillan, Upper St. Clair
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