KC baseball knocks off WPIAL champ Seton LaSalle
WEXFORD — Mallick Metcalfe was well aware of the tall task that he and the rest of Karns City’s baseball team faced as it arrived at North Allegheny High School on Monday for a PIAA Class 2A first-round playoff against Seton LaSalle.
“Most people didn’t give us a chance to beat the WPIAL champion today,” he said, “but we showed up and gave it our best shot.”
And that turned out to be enough as the Gremlins eliminated the Rebels, 2-1, to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
It’s the second PIAA victory in KC baseball history and first since 1996.
Metcalfe doubled, tripled and scored a run at the plate while proving to be very stingy on the mound. He allowed just one run on three hits to earn the win.
“Mallick was the best player on the field today,” said KC coach Josh Smith. “That much was clear.”
The senior struggled through the bottom of the sixth, walking Brian Reed, Cole Starrett and Aric White to load the bases with two outs before getting Corey Meyers to pop out to end the threat.
The Rebels were six days removed from defeating Serra Catholic in the WPIAL championship game.
“Our bats have been streaky lately,” said Rebels coach Brad Bestic. “It’s been enough to get by, though, and we had been getting timely hits. It was uncharacteristic for us not to get the big hits with runners in scoring position today, but hats off to Karns City. They’re a well-coached team and they did what they needed to do to win.”
Metcalfe ended the frame with 105 pitches in the game and the Gremlins turned to Mason Sherwin in the seventh. He set the Rebels (17-5-1) down in order to seal the victory.
“I throw a little harder than Mason,” Metcalfe said. “We work good together, a good 1-2 punch.”
The Gremlins (16-7) had plenty of scoring chances in the first three innings, but had just a 1-0 lead to show for it.
In the bottom of the second, Reed allowed back-to-back singles to Jacob Callihan and Troy Nagel prior to walking Koen Williams to load the bases. Sherwin then hit a sacrifice fly that scored a run, but Reed got out of the inning without further damage. KC stranded seven base runners in the first three innings.
“This game could have looked a lot different if we score a few more runs there, but with Mallick on the mound, we knew he was going to give us everything he had and he did for 105 pitches,” Smith said.
Metcalfe needed just 41 pitches to get through the first three frames.
“My fastball was tailing low and away and my change-up was going up and in and their hitters had trouble adjusting,” said Metcalfe.
Seton LaSalle took advantage of KC’s lone error of the game in the fourth. It allowed Mark Weber to reach base with one out and with two gone, White singled in the tying run.
But the Gremlins answered quickly. Metcalfe led off the top of the fifth with a triple and he later scored on a passed ball.
The Gremlins’ previous game was an 8-0 loss to Redbank Valley in the District 9 title game May 29.
“We had great practices the last few days and came in here with confidence,” Smith said. “Walking off the field, I saw my dad, Mike ”Snuffy“ Smith, cheering for our team and the win. He’s a Karns City grad, Class of 1972, and always wanted to give back. He’s the biggest reason I’m still involved in baseball. To see him happy for us, it brings out a different kind of pride in me.”
The Gremlins will take on Bald Eagle, a 10-4 winner over McConnellsburg, in a quarterfinal Thursday at a site and time to be determined.
Karns City 010 010 0 — 2 4 1
Seton LaSalle 000 100 0 — 1 3 2
W: Mallick Metcalfe 6 IP (6K, 4BB). L: Brian Reed 5 IP (9K, 3BB). S: Mason Sherwin 1 IP (2K, 0BB).
Karns City: Jacob Callihan 1B R, Troy Nagel 1B, Mason Sherwin RBI, Mallick Metcalfe 2B 3B R
Seton LaSalle: Mark Weber R, Aric White 1B RBI, Ethan Richardson 2B, Corey Meyers 1B
Thursday: Karns City vs. Bald Eagle, PIAA Class 2A Quarterfinal, TBD
