Knights bring home 1st state title with wild win
UNIVERSITY PARK — Cole Shinsky knew there was no need to scour the history books looking for stories detailing the Knoch baseball program's success.
There wasn't much to unearth before Shinsky and his teammates spent this season writing the Knights' best chapter.
Knoch survived a wild, up-and-down game to beat District 2 Champion Abington Heights 7-5 in the PIAA Class AAA title game Friday afternoon at Penn State University's Lubrano Park.
The win gave the Knights their first state team title in any sport.
Before this season, Knoch, which alson won the WPIAL crown, only had a single playoff win to its credit.
The Knights finished last season 8-9. Knoch ended this season with a program-best record of 23-2.
“We reached our expectations, but if you look at what we did last year and what we did the years before, it's pretty much a miracle,” Shinsky said. “We came out one year and had a Cinderella team and Cinderella story.”
What made Knights coach George Bradley most proud was how his team won. During the postseason run, every game had different heroes.
Against the Comets, Knoch had seven of nine batters come through with hits.
“It's amazing what you can do when you don't care who gets the credit,” Bradley said. “That's how this team was. That's why coaches try to work for that all the time. It sounds crazy, but I just experienced it.”
The adrenaline rush forced Chris Law to take a pause in one of the game's most critical moments.
Knoch sophomore Dominick Bucko preceded Law by smashing a two-out off the right-field wall.
Bucko's hit was the first time the Knights hit Abington Heights relief pitcher Tyler Ksiazek hard and it came with the game tied in the bottom of the sixth.
Law stepped out of the box with a 2-2 count and relaxed. Then he hit a pitch right up the middle that scored Bucko and put the Knights up 6-5.“It's my last at-bat in my high school career,” said Law on his thought process. “I knew that I had to come up big for my team and I couldn't let them down. After Bucko hit that triple, I knew we couldn't leave him stranded there. I took a deep breath and prayed a little bit and came up big.”Law then stole second and scored on a single by Shinsky to give Knoch breathing room.Shinsky had to overcome early wildness.His first seven pitches were balls. The Comets (18-4) loaded the bases in the first inning before Shinsky got Eric Salerno to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.Abington Heights did break through in the second.Sam Arnold reached on an one-out single off Shinsky. Arnold moved to third base on two fielder's choices and Zach Manasek drew a walk. Zach Spangenberg then drove both in with a single to center field.That put Knoch behind 2-0, its first deficit since a 4-3 win over Blackhawk in the WPIAL quarterfinals.“We hadn't played down this year,” Knights senior catcher Asa Adams said. “Especially this postseason, we've been playing up. It was the first sour taste in our mouths, going down early in the game on a play that wasn't deserving of two runs.”Adams didn't let Knoch stay down. He led off the bottom of the inning with a single. Alex Stobert then drew a walk off Comets starting pitcher Manasek and Garrett Traggiai singled to load the bases.Addis Crouch then reached on an error and Logan Hickey on a fielder's choice to tie the game. Dom Bucko drew a bases loaded walk and Shinsky singled to put the Knights up 4-2. Knoch chased Manasek from the game after 1 2/3 innings.The Knights added another run in the third when Traggiai singled in Adams, who went 2-for-4.Abington Heights tied the game by plating three runs in the fourth. Shinsky hit Matt McDonald with a pitch to lead off. He moved into scoring position when Jimmy Fayocavitz reached on an error. Campbell singled McDonald in, while Campbell and Fayocavitz scored when Ksiazek tripled them both in. Bucko made a diving attempt at Ksiazek's hit, but it bounced by him.Neither team scored again until Law's single positioned Knoch to create lasting memories.The trophy that came with it will make it hard for people to forget.“This is going to go down in history. When we're 30 or so and come back and see (the trophy) be like wow we did that,” Law said. “It's been a great, great season and I love each of those guys.”Abington Heights 020 300 0 — 5 8 2Knoch 041 002 x — 7 10 1W: Cole Shinsky 7IP (3K, 3BB). L: Tyler Ksiazek 2.2IP (2K,0 BB).Abington Heights (18-4): Jimmy Fayocavitz 1B, Zach Spangenberg 1B 2 RBI, Zach Campbell 2-1B, Tyler Ksiazek 2-1B 3B 2 RBI, Sam Arnold 1B.Knoch (23-2): Dominick Bucko 3B RBI, Chris Law 1B 2 RBI, Cole Shinsky 2-1B 2 RBI, Jordan Kowalski 1B, Asa Adams 2-1B, Alex Stobert 1B, Garrett Traggiai 2-1B RBI, Addis Crouch RBI.
Knoch joined a select list of Butler County teams to win a state championship with a 7-5 win over Abington Heights Friday at Penn State University's Lubrano Park. Here's a list of the other teams that won PIAA titles:<B>School - Sport - Year</B>Mars Boys - swimming - 2014Butler Girls - bowling - 2013Butler - Competitive spirit - 2013Mars Girls - soccer - 2011Mars - Hockey - 2011Butler - Boys tennis - 2010Mars - Hockey - 2010Seneca Valley - Baseball - 2007Karns City - Girls basketball - 2000Seneca Valley - Baseball - 1995Seneca Valley - Boys cross country -1983Butler - Girls gymnastics - 1982Butler - Girls gymnastics - 1981Mars Girls - Cross Country - 1976
