Mars' WPIAL title bid foiled in 11th
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The only thing longer than the game was the faces.
For the second season in a row, it was a painful WPIAL Class 5A championship game for the Mars baseball team.
For a while, it looked as if the Planets would snag their first WPIAL crown. Their ace, Will Bednar, was on the mound and hitting the low 90s routinely on the radar gun, and Mars had a 2-1 lead with just six outs separating it from a win over North Hills.
But the Indians scratched across a run in the bottom of the sixth inning and then managed to manufacture the winning run with one out in the bottom of the 11th on a flare single to center by Joey Pusateri to sink Mars, 3-2, at Wild Things Park Wednesday night.
It was the first appearance in the WPIAL baseball final for North Hills since 1974.
“I told them, 'I need one inning from you guys to grind out a victory,'” said North Hills coach Randy Miller, “and that's exactly what they did. What a heart-pounding, exhilarating win.”
For Mars, it was another crushing defeat in the WPIAL title game.
Last year, the Planets lost to Latrobe at Wild Things Park.
Mars (15-6), which had its eight-game winning streak snapped, now finds itself in familiar territory heading into the PIAA playoffs.
“We kind of know what to expect,” said Mars coach Andy Bednar. “The job for our coaching staff now is to keep those guys motivated. It's really tough because this was an emotional game, and you have to go out to Harrisburg to play a team you know nothing about.”
Mars and North Hills knew plenty about each other.
The teams share the same section and split during the regular season. The Indians were the section champs and Mars tied for second place with Hampton.
The game played out as if both teams were familiar with each other.
Will Bednar was masterful again, striking out 10 in 6 2/3 innings. He was forced to leave with two outs in the seventh because he reached his pitch-count limit.
Pusateri got the start for North Hills and matched Bednar pitch for pitch until he was forced to exit after seven innings.
Both starters gave up just two runs.
North Hills scored first on an unearned run in the bottom of the second inning, but Mars answered with a run in the top of the third. Rowen Fletcher was hit by a pitch and then scored on a RBI-triple by freshman Jon Wetherholt.
Mars took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth when Fletcher tripled and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Wetherholt.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth inning when Miller delivered a two-out RBI single to set up the extra-inning drama.
The game ended up in the hands of both teams' No. 2 pitchers — although both coaches refer to them as 1As.
They pitched like aces.
Frank Craska fanned five in 3 2/3 innings for Mars and Miller gave up just one hit over four frames.
“We just couldn't muster any offense in the last four innings,” Andy Bednar said.
Mars had a chance to score more than one run in the third inning, but Wetherholt was thrown out trying to score from third on a chopper to second baseman Jordan Albright. It was a bang-bang play at the plate, but Wetherholt was called out.“Early on, we had a couple of chances, but we couldn't cap it with a big hit,” Andy Bednar said.North Hills (20-3) made both Will Bednar and Craska work, taking and fouling off a slew of pitches.“You can't ask for more than (what those two gave us),” Andy Bednar said. “They really battled Will at the plate and they battled Frankie. We were tough when we had to be tough. I'm really happy with the way our guys battled.”Pusateri had a unique WPIAL final. He threw the first pitch of the game and hit the last pitch of the game.“He doesn't get to swing the bat much because he's our ace pitcher,” Randy Miller said, “but he came through with the big hit. I love him like a son.”1 out when winning run scoredMars 001 010 000 00 — 2 7 1North Hills 010 001 000 01 — 3 7 1W: Steven Miller 4 IP (4K 0BB); L: Frank Craska 3.2 IP (5K, 4BB).Mars (15-6): Rowen Fletcher 3B 2-R, Jon Wetherholt 3B 2-RBI, Tyler Kowalkowski 1B, Anthony Michalski 2-1B, Mitchell Schultz 1B, Will Bednar 1BNorth Hills (20-3): Jordan Pitchford 1B, Jordan Albright 1B, Garret Barto 2B, Miller 1B RBI, Tyler Zozos 2B, Joey Pusateri 1B RBI, Connor Warner 1BMonday: Mars vs. Ephrata, PIAA Class 5A first-round playoff, TBD
