Butler wins first WPIAL baseball championship in program history over North Allegheny
NORTH FRANKLIN TWP, Washington County — Nolan Stefaniak was staring an ugly fifth inning in the face, with the bases around him full.
The senior Butler ace didn’t waver.
Having already allowed No. 3 North Allegheny to even Wednesday’s WPIAL Class 6A baseball title game at two runs apiece, he fired a pitch past the Tigers’ Dom Williamson for a called strike, prompted a whiff on the next and — after a foul ball — got Williamson to bounce a grounder back his way.
Stefaniak stabbed it and walked halfway to first baseman Ryan Rattigan before underhanding it to him, extinguishing the fire and setting the stage for the two-run bottom half of the frame that vaulted the top-seeded Golden Tornado to a 4-2 win and their first-ever district baseball crown in front of a huge student section that took up the about half of the first-base-line seats.
“I know I’m pretty good at baseball, so I just gotta trust my stuff and trust my defense, and that’s what I did,” Stefaniak said. “Obviously, extra focus, especially this game — I know if that run maybe scores, maybe we lose this ballgame.”
“There was no doubt in my mind he was gonna finish that, honestly just to minimize (the damage),” Butler coach Josh Forbes said. “Yeah, they got a couple across, they scratched some across, but just only (giving up) one in those situations was pivotal.”
The Golden Tornado capitalized on the opportunity.
Nash Cuffman reached second on a throwing error to lead off the home half of the fifth. Two batters later, Mavrik Clement’s RBI double one-hopped the center field wall, and Stefaniak’s bloop single to center added an insurance run with two gone.
“To see (Clement) just continue to fight through, fight through, fight through — and he’s had a lot of failures and a lot of unfortunate outcomes in his high school career — and for him to come up in that moment and ultimately give us the game-winning hit and the game-winning RBI, there’s no more deserving person than that guy right there,” Forbes said.
“There’s no better feeling than hitting an RBI later in a game — in a close game, too,” Clement said.
The Tornado will play in the PIAA tournament for just the second time — the first came in 1992, when they made the state semifinals after their last WPIAL championship appearance.
Butler will play District 6 champion Mifflin County in the first round Tuesday at a site and time expected to be announced later this week.
“Just to do this for the community for the first time ever in school history is pretty awesome,” Forbes said.
The offense got things going in the bottom of the third inning. Jake Szebalskie legged out an infield single to lead off, then with one out Boden Lenyk lifted one over the left field fence, staking Butler to a 2-0 lead.
Stefaniak struck out six over the first three innings, including sitting down the side in the third. But he gave up a lead-off triple to Jake Fritz, who came across on a one-out passed ball. Dom Williamson and Mason Dratfinsky singled in back-to-back at-bats, but the former was tagged out trying to score on a wild pitch.
Stefaniak limited the damage by striking out JJ Mancuso on a check swing.
Blake Scott hit a bloop single to left field to get things going in the bottom of the fourth, moved to second on a ground out and third on a fielding error. He was cut down at the plate after tagging up on Szebalskie’s fly out to center.
The Tigers’ Gavin Ust led off the fifth with a single up the middle. He stole second with one gone, then Carter Boehm’s two-out single pushed him across to level the scoreboard at two runs apiece. Jake Fritz got on with an infield single and Nate Fritz via a fielding error to turn the heat up on Stefaniak.
Stefaniak finished his day on the mound after five innings, allowing six hits, two earned runs and striking out nine while walking none. Fellow senior Kyle Casteel pitched the final two frames, striking out the side in the seventh as the standing Butler fans roared, setting off a celebration decades in the making.
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Butler players dogpile on the mound after beating North Allegheny 4-2 in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship game Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at EQT Park. Seb Foltz/Special to the Eagle
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Butler players celebrate on the mound after beating North Allegheny 4-2 in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship game Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at EQT Park. Seb Foltz/Special to the Eagle
