Clement, Butler shut out Pine-Richland
JACKSON TWP — Seemingly, all Butler needed was a run.
Brady Gavula gave the Golden Tornado two — and Madden Clement didn’t give Pine-Richland a thing in tossing a three-hit shutout Monday afternoon in a 5-0 WPIAL Class 6A baseball quarterfinal win at Seneca Valley.
Gavula hit a two-run homer down the left-field line in the fourth inning, snapping a scoreless tie and sending Butler (15-5) on the way to its sixth consecutive victory.
“I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that ball go over the fence,” Clement said. “It was good to have a lead.“
The junior left-hander kept that lead, striking out 10 and not allowing a runner to reach third base until the seventh inning.
“Sometimes you have to take your hat off to the other team,” Pine-Richland coach Kurt Wolfe said. “Madden was attacking with his fastball early in the count. We couldn’t get to him.”
“Madden was electric today,” Butler coach Josh Forbes said. “Everything he threw was working for him.
“Brady’s home run was such a huge hit. Last time we played Pine-Richland, we didn’t score a run and left runners in scoring position. That same pattern was developing here until Brady hit that homer. I jumped up and screamed when he that ball. I knew how big it was.”
Gavula said he turned on an inside fastball and drove the ball out.
“That one felt pretty good,” he said. “We all got excited. This is the closest-knit team I’ve ever played on. We all pull for each other.”
While Clement was quieting the Rams’ bats, he widened the Tornado lead. After an Ethan Trettel triple to right plated Lance Slater with the game’s third run in the sixth inning, Clement drilled a pitch well over the right-field fence to account for Butler’s final two runs.
Clement had three hits on the day to go along with his performance on the mound. He threw 104 pitches in tossing the complete game.
“I’ve never squared up a ball like I did that one,” Clement said of his home run. “I can’t remember ever hitting a ball that well.”
As for his pitching, Clement added that “It was mainly fastballs and curves. I was getting a lot of swings at curveballs in the dirt. I only threw maybe four sliders and a couple of changeups all day. That was about it.”
Wolfe said Clement’s home run hurt Pine-Richland as much as his pitches did.
“At 3-0, the game is still attainable,” Wolfe said. “It was going to be tough, the way he was pitching, but the score was within reach. Once he hit that home run ... we were in trouble.”
The Rams (11-10) had only one runner reach second base before the seventh inning. With runners on second and third and two outs, Clement struck out Joseph Connell looking to end the game. Connell had two of the three hits against him.
Butler plays the North Allegheny-Upper St. Clair winner in the semifinals Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
“Madden’s had only one rough start all season,” Forbes said. “He always gives us a chance to win. That’s all you can ask of your starting pitcher.”
Butler0002030 — 5100
Pine-Richland 0000000 — 032
W: Madden Clement 7IP (10K, 2BB). L: Andy Swartout 5.1IP (3K, 1BB)
Butler (15-5): Ethan Trettel 3B RBI, Madden Clement 2-1B HR 2-RBI, Cooper Baxter 1B, Conner McTighe 1B, Brady Gavula HR 1B 2-RBI, Mac Schnur 1B, Kyle Yost 1B
Pine-Richland (11-10): Owen Henne 1B, Joseph Connell 2-1B
Tuesday: Butler vs. North Allegheny-Upper St,. Clair winner, WPIAL 6A semifinal, site and time TBA
