Can loaded No. 1 seed Butler finally win its first WPIAL baseball championship?
No. 1 seed. Ten-game winning streak. Only three losses all season.
Butler baseball is in a position no Golden Tornado team has been before. When Butler (17-3) takes on Mt. Lebanon (12-7) in a WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Monday at North Allegheny High School, it hopes it’s the beginning of an unprecedented journey.
Butler has never won a WPIAL baseball crown.
“Let’s go get it done. Let’s be the first,” Tornado coach Josh Forbes said. “We want to make history.
“We believe we’re the best team. We are definitely the favorite, but that doesn’t mean anything. Whether we’re the No. 1 seed or No. 7 or 8, we’re going about our business the same. Find a way to win.”
Butler enters postseason play with a 1-2 pitching combination no other 6A team can match. Kyle Casteel is headed to West Virginia University. Nolan Stefaniak is headed to Penn State. Scouts have been attending games they pitch ahead of the Major League Baseball draft this summer.
Their numbers are mind-boggling.
Casteel has allowed one earned run in 35.1 innings this season, surrendering 14 hits while striking out 57 and walking four. Stefaniak has not allowed an earned run in 28.2 innings, permitting eight hits while striking out 45 and walking 10.
“Their numbers are insane,” Forbes said.
While Forbes has not made his starting hurler decision against Mt. Lebanon public yet, Casteel isn’t concerned about that decision.
“It doesn’t matter. We’re both gonna pitch,” Casteel said. “We feed off each other. We love being a 1-2 punch.”
They also know the pitcher Butler will be facing Monday: Mt. Lebanon right-hander Graham Keene, who is committed to Vanderbilt.
“We know each other well,” Casteel said. “We all work out together at Battleground (Baseball Group) in Callery. He’s extremely talented. The playoffs ... any game ... it’s about finding a way to win.”
The Butler-Mt. Lebanon winner faces the Norwin-Central Catholic survivor in the semifinals Wednesday. The Tornado would likely have a pitching edge in the next round.
“Canon-Mac has one pitcher going to Cincinnati, another to Winthrop,” Forbes said. “They’re good, but major league scouts haven’t been on them like they’ve been on our guys. That’s the only other team with two real (pitching) standouts.
“We’re confident, but we have to execute.”
With the PIAA pitching rules, Casteel and Stefaniak could log every inning in the tournament. Any pitcher who throws 50 or fewer pitches in the first round is eligible to pitch in the second round. The district title game isn’t until May 26 or 27.
While the Tornado’s collective ERA is a microscopic 0.58, their batting average is .279. But it’s a loud .279.
“We’ve got 50 extra-base hits, and the first five batters in our lineup have all homered here (at Pullman Park),” Forbes said. “We’ve hit eight balls over the wall at Pullman this season. In the years I’ve been coaching, I’d only seen three balls go over this fence, total, by anybody, before this year.”
Stefaniak is hitting .395 with seven extra-base hits. Trent Best (.390, 12 runs, 12 RBIs), Jake Szbalskie (.359) and Mavrik Clement (.310, two homers) are other Butler players hitting over .300 on the year.
Clement is heading to the University of Pittsburgh next year, and shortstop Boden Lenyk (.229, 14 runs, nine RBIs) will play at Division II South Carolina-Aiken.
“We’ve got power, but we can play small ball, too,” Stefaniak said. “We’re good at bunting and moving runners around. If we have to scrap for runs in a low-scoring game, we can do that.”
Clement, Butler’s catcher, is a former shortstop who moved behind the plate for the first time during his sophomore year. It has served him well learning to manage a talented rotation and become a better hitter.
“I get a closer look at different pitches, the spin, and use that knowledge when I bat,” Clement said. “And being involved in every play of the game has helped me get to know the game.”
For now, Clement’s mind is on the present.
“It would mean everything to me to win a WPIAL championship,” he said. “My brothers (Mattix and Madden) had great careers at Butler and didn’t win it. I’d love to be part of the team that does it.
“I’ve been playing baseball with these guys all my life.”
Casteel echoed that sentiment.
“To go through a season like this with your best friends ... there’s nothing like it.”
