Moniteau downs WPIAL champion Seton LaSalle in PIAA Class 2A baseball tournament
UPPER ST. CLAIR — If nothing else, last week’s heartbreaking extra-innings District 9 Class 2A title game loss galvanized Moniteau.
That much showed in the Warriors’ 5-3 win over Seton LaSalle in the opening-round of the PIAA Class 2A bracket Monday.
“It definitely motivated us,” said senior Dawson Wallace, who pitched six innings for Moniteau at Upper St. Clair’s Boyce Mayview Park. “(We were) ticked off, so we wanted to come out and get a W.”
The Warriors (13-8-1) pinned an early run on the scoreboard as Ian Ross’s two-out single up the middle pushed across Connor Ealy, who reached via a throwing error to lead off the top of the first inning.
“We were just going to attack them,” Wallace said. “We know we can play with anyone, so that was kind of our mindset. Just go play our game. I think it showed on the field that we can compete with anyone.”
Ealy shared the same attitude. He reached base safely in all four of his trips to the plate on the day.
“I think we definitely scared them right off the bat because any WPIAL team isn’t going to think that Moniteau is going to come out and beat them,” Ealy said. “If we come out and just attack people and make them scared — put it on them at the very beginning — that’s huge.”
Rebels coach Brad Bestic said the setback to begin the game didn’t take his team by surprise.
“We knew we were going to need more than one run to win this game today against a team like Moniteau,” Bestic explained. “We tried to stick to our game plan. They field the ball exceptionally well. The guy (Wallace) threw a ton of strikes and we just hit it where they were and they made nice plays.”
Seton LaSalle (17-4) didn’t help itself. A pair of throwing errors in the top of the third opened the door for the Warriors to plate four, extending their lead to 5-0.
“That was our big inning,” Ealy said. “That was huge. I know the inning after that ... they had some hits, but we weren’t even flustered. ... Everybody was hitting the ball 1-9 today.”
No. 9 hitter Chason Rugg started that frame with a single and Ealy and Wallace followed suit. The latter base knock scored Rugg, then the Rebels tried for a force at third, allowing Keagan Book to fill the bases.
Ian Ross hit a sacrifice fly and Dawson Cook an infield single that drove in Wallace’s courtesy runner, Derrik Moyer, after an errant throw to first base. James Gillen’s squeeze bunt tacked on one more before Alex James popped out with the bases loaded two batters later.
“It’s uncharacteristic,” Bestic said. “We’ve been pretty solid. I would hang our hat on our defense the majority of the year. ... They put the pressure on and every time we made an error, they made us pay for it. We couldn’t skate by that.”
In the bottom portion of that inning, Wallace got into a no-out, bases-loaded jam. Brayden Carter scored when the first baseman, Rugg, returned Michael Todd’s bouncer to home — trying for the force-out — but Book couldn’t hold on. Dominic Breisinger got across on a one-out sac fly after he was given a free pass earlier in the frame.
“Obviously, you get set back a little bit with the walks, but then you look at the scoreboard and we have a big lead,” said Wallace, who followed with three scoreless innings. “Just having that lead is everything.”
Dawson Cook walked Aric White on four pitches in the top of the seventh, then Todd doubled. Josh Burkholder’s RBI ground-out provided the Seton LaSalle’s final score.
A bobbled grounder put runners on the corners after that, then Cook induced Connor Rothaar to pop out to second and fanned Roman LoNero.
LoNero’s older brother, DiMaggio, didn’t play in the game, serving the second of a two-game suspension after being ejected from the Rebels’ WPIAL semifinal matchup. The elder LoNero was one of the best statistical hitters in the entire WPIAL this spring.
Moniteau will play Bald Eagle Area, a 9-3 winner over Lakeview, on Thursday. The time and location are yet to be determined.
Moniteau 104 000 0 — 5 10 2
Seton LaSalle 002 000 1 — 3 7 3
W: Dawson Cook 6IP (3K, 3BB). L: Nathan Baxendell 2.1IP (1K, 0BB).
Moniteau (13-8-1): Connor Ealy 2-1B 2R, Dawson Wallace 1B RBI, Derrik Moyer R, Keagan Book 2-1B, Brennan Kelly R, Ian Ross 1B 2RBI, Dawson Cook 1B RBI, James Gillen RBI, Landon Kelly 1B, Chason Rugg 2-1B R
Seton LaSalle (17-4): Aric White 3-1B R, Michael Todd 2B, Josh Burkholder RBI, Roman LoNero 2-1B, Nathan Baxendell 1B, Brayden Carter R, Dominic Breisinger R
