Notebook: Senior misses title game for boot camp
UNIVERSITY PARK — Knoch senior Joel Zacherl doesn't have any idea the Knights won their first-ever PIAA Class AAA baseball championship Friday at Penn State University's Lubrano Park.
Zacherl went to boot camp for the United States Marine Corps Monday in Parris Island, S.C., and doesn't have cell phone access.
After the Knights beat Abington Heights 7-5 in the championship game, Zacherl's mom accepted the medal for him wearing his No. 1 jersey.
He also missed Knoch's 8-2 win over Donegal in the semifinals Thursday at Mount Aloysius College.
Rain delay not a curse for Knoch
The Comets tied the game at 5 in the fourth inning before heavy rain moved into the State College area. It forced a 23-minute postponement.
Both team's pitchers — Knoch's Cole Shinsky and Abington Heights Tyler Ksiazek — came back into the game after the delay.
Ksiazek came on in relief during the fourth inning, while Shinsky started the game. Knights coach George Bradley didn't think about taking Shinsky out.
“I can't say I wouldn't have taken him out. It depended on what his answer was going to be,” Bradley said. “I asked Asa, 'Has he had enough? He says, 'Yeah.' I said, 'How did they get five runs?' He said, 'Coach, he's putting it where I tell him to put it, they are just hitting it. They are good.'”
Shinsky finished the game, while Ksiazek was chased when Knoch plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth to go ahead. Shinsky issued three walks, hit three batters and allowed eight hits.
Shinsky's first seven pitches — and 30 of the other 92 pitches he threw — were balls.
“I'd say the heat was bothering me,” Shinsky said. “I didn't come out as focused as I should have been. It took me a while to get loose.”
After the delay, Shinsky only allowed two batters to reach base.
Knoch catcher Asa Adams thought the delay helped everyone.
“We got together in the dugout and started talking, 'This is the last chance we have to play together,'” Adams said. “We have two innings left and had a chance to come out on a good note. We rallied around that and Cole Shinsky took it to heart.”
Ksiazek's struggles can be attributed to workload. He pitched all seven innings of Abington Heights' win in the state semifinals last Monday.
Bradley's not sure what impact the delay had.
“Momentum is a big thing,” Bradley said. “Unfortunately for that team, they had the momentum at that point because they just tied it up. It didn't get us excited, but it may have played to them a little bit.”
Knoch's baseball players insisted throughout the playoffs their offense would find a way to pick up. After relying mostly on timely hitting for their first six playoff games, the Knights had 22 hits in their PIAA semifinal and championship games.Knoch had 10 hits against Abington Heights and 12 vs. Donegal in the semifinals. Shinsky, Adams and Garrett Traggiai each had two hits against the Comets.The Knights' typically strong defense made a few miscues, but their offense helped save them in the finals.“Whatever it takes to get it done,” Adams said. “Every game isn't going to be pretty. It was a sloppy game a little bit today. We won, that's all that matters.”
Knoch's baseball program was started in 1990. One member of that team, Sean Hall, is an assistant coach for the Knights. ... Abington Heights was playing for its second state championship, the Comets won their only title in 2009. ... The Knights became the first WPIAL Class AAA team to win a state title since Pine-Richland beat Sun Valley 4-0 in 2006. Chartiers Valley was the last WPIAL Class AAA team to reach the final, losing 3-2 to the Comets.
