Thursday, the Bellwood-Antis baseball team traveled to Clearfield High School’s Bison Sports Complex to meet District 10 champion Eisenhower in the PIAA Western semifinals.
The Blue Devils (20-4) used a familiar prescription to carve out a 2-0 victory that sends B-A into a Western final showdown on Monday against Chartiers-Houston, an 8-2 winner over Bishop McCort, at a site and time to be determined.
First-year Bellwood-Antis head coach Steve Conlon gave the ball to senior left-hander Adam Plummer and hoped his offense would give Plummer some help.
Plummer combined an excellent pitching performance with some great glovework from his teammates to make sure the Blue Devils wouldn’t have to score many runs to win. Plummer tossed a four-hit shutout highlighted by 12 strikeouts and just two walks and received just enough offense to send the Blue Devils to their first Western Final since 1989 and just their second overall.
“Adam has just been the man all year,” said Conlon. “We put him out there every game and he gives us all heart, even when he probably doesn’t have anything left in his arm. He’s such a competitor out there, that he just battles and he’s not going to give up.”
Plummer helped himself by picking off Cody Vincent after the Eisenhower first baseman had singled with one out in the first. Second baseman Andy Brisbin made a great leaping catch of a line drive hit by Eisenhower pitcher Wes Schwanke in the second stanza, then came in to bat and lined a cliutch two-out single just inside the first base line in the bottom of the second to score Derrick Miller with the only run Plummer would need. Brisbin, just a sophomore, also made a great play in the fourth to start a second-to-short-to first double play that ended the inning.
“On defense, he made that diving catch,” Conlon praised his young second baseman. “Then he started the double play and got the hit. To get that first run in these playoff games, to get up on teams with the caliber of pitchers you see, is huge.”
In between, Eisenhower threatened in the third inning but a pair of great relay throws cut Eisenhower second baseman Tyler Cathcart down at third base for the final out of the inning. Cathcart had singled with two outs and tried to go from first to third on a base hit to right by Swede Backhus. Right fielder Ryan Myers fired a good throw to cutoff man Zach Stere, who in turn hit third baseman Chris Alley with a strike to nail Cathcart attempting to slide into third.
Miller reached base when his head-high line shot up the middle bounced off of Cathcart’s glove. Nate Carlson bunted Miller to second and a wild pitch moved him to third to set the stage for Brisbin’s single into right.
Nate Carlson, who had a perfect two-for-two game at the plate with the sacrifice, added an insurance tally for Plummer when he unloaded a home run over the high left field fence leading off the fourth.
“Nate had a great day at the plate,” said Conlon. “He hit the home run and one run is good, but a two-run lead is better. He also laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt and hit a double off the wall.”
Plummer pitched himself out of several would-be jams. In the fifth, Schwanke lead off with a double. Plummer then struck out Adam Hoisington, who had three hits in Eisenhower’s 6-1 over Cannevan Catholic on Monday, Ryan Irwin and Jamison Curtiss in order. Then in the seventh, when it appeared Adam might be tiring, Jacoby Curtiss was safe on an error by Myers and Schwanke walked to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Again Plummer did it himself, fanning Hoisington and Irwin again and added Tom Kibbey to end the game.
Plummer reduced his playoff ERA to a microscopic 0.43 (two earned runs in 32 and 2/3 innings) in picking up his fifth playoff win of the season. Adam is 8-0 overall with 96 strikeouts and 22 walks in 65 and 1/3 innings. His overall ERA is 1.37 and opponents are hitting a combined .180 against him.
“No team has ever won a state championship at Bellwood and only one other baseball team ever made it this far,” said coach Conlon. “For both the kids and the coaches, to go on this far, it means everything to us to maybe get a chance at the state title. I don’t think a dream season could go any better for my first year.”
PIAA Western Semifinals
at Clearfield Bison Sports Complex
Bellwood-Antis 2 Eisenhower 0
EISENHOWER – Backhus, cf, 2-0-1; Vincent, 1b, 3-0-1; Moon, lf-3b, 2-0-0; Jac. Curtiss, 3b-p, 3-0-0; Schwanke, p-rf-lf, 2-0-1; Hoisington, c, 3-0-0; Irwin, ss, 3-0-0; Jam. Curtiss, rf, 2-0-0; Riel, 3b, 0-0-0; Kibbey, rf, 1-0-0; Cathcart, 2b, 2-0-1. TOTALS 23-0-4.
BELLWOOD-ANTIS – Shannon, cf, 2-0-0; Stere, ss, 3-0-2; Plummer, p, 3-0-0; Weiand, c, 2-0-0; Miller, lf, 3-1-0; Carlson, 1b, 2-1-2; Myers, rf, 3-0-0; Brisbin, 2b, 2-0-1; Alley, 3b, 2-0-1. TOTALS 22-2-6.
Eisenhower 000 000 0 0-4-2.
Bellwood-Antis 010 100 X 2-6-1.
2B: Schwanke 1, Stere 1, Carlson 1.
HR: Carlson 1.
RBI: Carlson 1, Brisbin 1.
SO: Schwanke 3, Plummer 12.
BB: Schwanke 1, Plummer 2.
WP: Plummer LP: Schwanke.
