Logan Hickey stops East Butler, 6-0
JEFFERSON TWP — East Butler knew its margin for error would be small, but Logan Hickey made the team's task nearly impossible.
For the second time in the span of a week, Hickey shut out East Butler on just one hit as Saxonburg claimed its third straight Butler County American Legion baseball title with a 6-0 decision at Laura Doerr Park Tuesday evening.
The first 1-hit gem came in the winner's bracket final, a 12-0 Saxonburg win July 18.
“I knew East Butler can hit the ball,” said Hickey. “I got together with my catcher (Dylan Swarmer) and came up with a plan, but it basically just came down to throwing strikes because the defense behind me is really good.”
Saxonburg center fielder Dom Bucko helped seal East Butler's fate, first with his glove, then with his bat.
East Butler's lone hit of the game was Isaiah Lucas' one-out single in the top of the second inning, though Hunter Scott appeared to have extra bases when he laced a pitch into the left-center field gap with one out in the fourth frame. Bucko made a diving catch and moments later, Hickey wrapped up one of his five 1-2-3 innings in the game.
In the bottom of the fourth, Bucko came to the plate with teammate Isaac Love on first base and the former clubbed a two-run home run to give Saxonburg a 5-0 lead.
“That really took the wind out of their (East Butler's) sails,” said Saxonburg manager Mike Hickey.
East Butler's biggest offensive threat came in the sixth frame. Braxton Hilderbrand reached on a fielding error and Luke Harbison walked.
Mike Hickey paid a visit to the mound to talk things over with his son and Swarmer. The next two pitches yielded flyouts from Brandon Hilderbrand and Garet Banner. Swarmer then picked off Harbison at first base.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game for us when we saw that he (Logan Hickey) was on the mound,” said East Butler manager Russ Scott. “We wanted to be aggressive. You can't sit around in a game like this playing small-ball.”
Saxonburg (19-1) tallied five runs against Lucas, East Butler's starting pitcher. In the second inning, Ethan Sloane drove in a run on a groundout and Love singled home another for a 2-0 lead.In the third, Swarmer's fielder's choice brought home a third run. Lucas lasted four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He was relieved by David Matson, who allowed one run in two innings.East Butler's season ended with a record of 12-10.“We fought all season long and have a solid core for next year,” Scott said.Logan Hickey is one of five Saxonburg players who capped their legion career with a league championship. This was also the last year of eligibility for Bucko, Alex Stobert, Jeff Smolen and Derek McGill.“It's a great feeling,” Logan Hickey said. “All of our hard work paid off.”“Saxonburg also won league titles in bronco, pony and colt,” said Mike Hickey. “So as an association, it's been a strong year for us.”East Butler 000 000 0 — 0 1 1Saxonburg 021 201 x — 6 8 1W: Logan Hickey 7 IP (2K, 2BB). L: Isaiah Lucas 4 IP (0K, 2BB).East Butler (12-10): Isaiah Lucas 1BSaxonburg (19-1): Dom Bucko HR 2RBI, Logan Hickey 1B R, Mike McCarty 1B RBI, Dylan Swarmer 1B R RBI, Alex Stobert 2B R, Ethan Sloane R RBI, Jeff Smolen 1B, Isaac Love 1B 2B R RBI
