When Shaler and South Fayette’s WPIAL first-round playoff game was called Wednesday night in the bottom of the first inning because of severe weather, Shaler’s Brady Alexander was batting with a 1-0 count and with two runners on base as his team trailed, 1-0.
“To take that 1-0 count overnight and to be thinking about it, I told him to imagine good things happening,” Shaler coach Brian Junker said Thursday after the completion of the game.
Alexander must have had some sweet dreams, because he took the second pitch he saw Thursday and deposited it over the right-field fence at Gateway High School for a three-run home run, and defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A champion Shaler held on to claim a 3-2 win in a game that began a day earlier 30 miles away at Boyce Mayview Park.
It was the sixth win in seven games for No. 8-seeded Shaler (16-5), which dealt No. 9 South Fayette (8-6) its fifth loss in eight games. The Lions had reached the quarterfinals the previous two seasons.
South Fayette had taken a 1-0 lead Wednesday courtesy of a run-scoring single by Adam Caye, but Shaler set the stage for Thursday when Brady McGuire and Chase Beran hit back-to-back singles. After taking the only pitch he saw Wednesday for a ball, Alexander, an Ohio recruit, belted the second pitch he saw Thursday for a home run.
“I knew he put a big swing on that,” Junker said. “That was a big boost for the team.”
After South Fayette pitcher Ethan Rose helped his own cause by delivering a run-scoring single in the third to cut the Shaler lead to 3-2, Alexander provided the Titans with another big boost, only this time with his defense. Alexander, the right fielder, made a diving catch in shallow right field to rob Tyler Schepis of a hit before throwing to first base and doubling off Brayden Harris, who had reached on an infield single.
“If that gets by him, [Harris] would have easily scored,” Junker said.
Offense didn’t come easy for either team, with South Fayette finishing with seven hits and Shaler four. The game featured an excellent pitcher’s duel between Shaler’s Colby Weber and South Fayette’s Ethan Rose. Both went the distance, with Weber, an East Carolina recruit, pitching a 1-2-3 seventh.
Shaler will take on No. 1 West Allegheny (16-3) Tuesday in a quarterfinal matchup. The Section 3 rivals split their regular-season meetings, with Shaler winning, 12-0, and West Allegheny winning, 7-6. West Allegheny and North Hills split the section title, while Shaler placed third.
“[West Allegheny coach] Bryan [Cornell] and I don’t want to see each other,” Junker said. “That’s a great program and a great culture, year in and year out. They’re tough to beat. We definitely don’t want to see each other, but here we are. And we do have some revenge on our minds because they beat us out for the section.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.