They're in after a win
JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley beat the rain, beat Butler and beat the odds.
Despite having no returning starters from last season, the Raiders qualified for the WPIAL Class AAAA baseball playoffs by posting a 7-2 victory over Butler Wednesday at Raider Field.
The game was played in a steady rain that intensified at times. Umpires stopped play after Butler was retired in the top of the sixth.
"We heard it was going to start raining around 3 p.m. and get worse later on," Seneca Valley coach Eric Semega said. "We were racing the clock a little bit, but things worked out for us.
"These seniors were stuck behind an awfully talented group of players the past three years. I'm glad they're getting the opportunity to experience the playoffs because they deserve it."
Seneca Valley snapped a two-game losing streak while Butler lost for the fifth time in six games.
The Raiders and Golden Tornado wound up tied for third in Section 1-AAAA with 6-6 records. Butler clinched a playoff berth Tuesday when SV lost to North Allegheny.
North Hills would have forced a three-way tie for third and would have qualified for postseason as well with a win Wednesday over North Allegheny. The Tigers claimed a 6-5 decision, however.
The Tornado jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against Raiders left-hander Nick Kendrick. Singles by Tyler Slepski, Dustin Uhlman and John Crummy loaded the bases with one out in the first inning and Eric King delivered a sacrifice fly to right field.
Roman Bargo walked to start the Butler second inning, was bunted to second by Tanner Master and scored on a two-out double off the center-field fence by Cody Herald.
"When Nick walks the first batter to begin an inning, he struggles," Semega said. "Once he settled down, he pitched a nice game for us."
Kendrick allowed no hits after the second inning, struck out eight and retired the final nine batters he faced."We had a chance to score a few more runs in that first inning and didn't," Butler coach Dave Florie said. "That missed opportunity came back to bite us."The Raiders tied the game against Butler pitcher Joe Marak in the bottom of the second. Jake Double led off with an infield single and moved to third on a wild pitch and passed ball. With two outs, No. 8 hitter Blake Henderson drew a walk.Marak was called for a balk, plating Double and moving Henderson to second. No. 9 hitter Kyle Sasala singled to center to knot the score.With two outs and Matt Kloos at second in the third inning, Double hit his second home run of the season."I was just trying to hit the ball through the hole on the right side," Double said. "I got hold of the pitch and it carried out for me."Seneca Valley added on from there. Henderson reached on a bunt single in the fourth and scored on a two-out single by Vinny Rice. Jay Condit tripled to left to highlight a two-run fifth inning.The plate umpire slipped and fell in the mud while trying to see the play at third on Condit's triple. Two Seneca Valley fielders slipped while trying to field an infield pop-up in the sixth.Marak threw 106 pitches in five innings for Butler, including 32 in the fifth inning. Kendrick threw 102 pitches in his complete-game win."I'm happy for Nick," Semega said. "Things didn't go well for him against Pine-Richland (a 10-2 loss May 1), but he bounced back when we needed him."<B>Butler 110 000 x— 2 4 2Seneca Valley 022 12x x — 7 8 0W:</B> Nick Kendrick (6 IP) 8 K, 3 BB. <B>L:</B> Joe Marak (5 IP) 3 K, 2 BB.<B>Butler (11-9, 6-6)):</B> Cody Herald 2B RBI, Tyler Slepski 1B, Dustin Uhlman 1B, John Crummy 1B, Eric King RBI<B>Seneca Valley (9-6, 6-6):</B> Vinny Rice 2-1B RBI, Jay Condit 3B, Jake Double HR 1B 2-RBI 3-R, Brad Johnson 1B RBI, Blake Henderson 1B 2-R, Kyle Sasala 1B RBI<B>Today:</B> Hempfield at Seneca Valley
