Micah Olayer’s blast helps Seneca Valley baseball even WPIAL section series with North Allegheny
JACKSON TWP — Even having secured a WPIAL Class 6A baseball playoff spot, Seneca Valley hasn’t quite peaked just yet.
“We’ve gotta work on everything. It’s never good enough,” senior catcher/first baseman Micah Olayer said Tuesday after the Raiders’ 4-2 home win over neighboring foe North Allegheny.
OK, maybe he was selling himself a little short.
His third-inning swing sure wasn’t short.
Olayer’s two-out, two-run shot over the tall left-field fence was part of a big offensive frame for Seneca Valley (10-6, 5-3 in WPIAL Section 1-6A).
Kayden Cahall led off with a walk before Owen Voelp and Mason Durst both singled. Durst’s base knock came on a bunt that forced a throwing error to score Cahall. Voelp came across on a Mason Fisher sacrifice fly, leaving Durst on second when Olayer stepped into the batter’s box.
“The guy on the mound for them (Lucas Manczka) had a really good curveball all day,” Olayer said. “And he threw me a fastball. I put a good enough swing on it, did a (good) job. I was looking for the fastball.”
Whether that blast found a car in a parking lot full of them was another thing.
“I do worry about it,” Olayer said, laughing. “I see it happen in BP all the time, but I always park way down — far, far away.”
Raiders coach Eric Semega doesn’t believe his team has a player known for home-run power, but a handful can lift one over the wall with a good swing.
“You go shake that kid’s hand,” Semega said. “He’s a strong kid, man. His strength knocked that one out, and I think the wind was blowing a little bit that way. ... He hits for power.”
The Tigers (8-5, 5-3) scored a run in the fourth and fifth innings, but freshman pitcher Parker Mell’s five-inning effort on the mound impressed Semega. Cahall shut the door on North Allegheny, allowing a hit over two frames.
“Everything he’s done so far this year is, one, he knows his sense of belonging,” Semega said of Mell. “And two, he pounds the zone and he gives us a chance to field the ball. As a freshman, that’s all you can ask for.”
With four games left in the regular season, Seneca Valley is focused on smoothing out some rougher edges.
“The importance is how we’re playing the game moving forward into the playoffs,” Semega said. “The section is the section. It’s how we’re playing and what we’re doing right, what we’re not doing right. And what we need to do is continue to minimize what we’re doing wrong.
“Yesterday, we walked 11 people with hit batsmen. You can’t win that way. We out-hit them 9-3. You should be in a ballgame (that way).”
Olayer saw a solid response this time around.
“We rally around each other, and we wanna pick up steam going into the playoffs just like we did last year,” Olayer said.
The Raiders close out the three-game section bill with North Allegheny on the road Thursday night.
North Allegheny 000 110 0 — 2 7 1
Seneca Valley 004 000 x — 4 3 1
W: Parker Mell 5IP (6K, 2BB). L: Lucas Manczka 6IP (4K, 3 BB)
North Allegheny (8-5, 5-3): Jake Fritz 1B, Nate Fritz 2B, JJ Mancuso R RBI, Mason Dratfinsky 2-1B RBI, Dominic Williamson 2-1B, Carter Boehm 1B R.
Seneca Valley (10-6, 5-3): Micah Olayer HR 2RBI R, Kayden Cahall R, Owen Voelp 1B R, Mason Durst 1B R.
Thursday: Seneca Valley at North Allegheny
