UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jayce Park plunked an Avonworth batter with his very first pitch of the game Friday.
The Antelopes didn’t have nearly as much luck trying to hit Park.
Park fired a one-hit shutout and Andrew Dankanich hit a walk-off grand slam as Neumann-Goretti erupted late offensively to capture a 12-0, five-inning win against Avonworth in the PIAA Class 3A championship at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Avonworth (19-9), which had one PIAA victory all time coming into the season, came up short in its first PIAA championship appearance two weeks after winning its first WPIAL title in 32 years. Neumann-Goretti (21-6), which plays in the Philadelphia Catholic League, captured its third title and first since 2017.
“These are like my brothers now,” Avonworth sophomore second baseman Cooper Scharding said. “It’s been the most fun baseball I’ve ever played in my life, and I’m glad we made it this far.”
Park, a senior right-hander and Old Dominion recruit, hit Brandon Sapolsky to begin the game before quickly settling down. Park, the Philadelphia Catholic League’s pitcher of the year, had two strikeouts in each of the first three innings and finished with eight punch-outs compared to just one walk. Avonworth’s lone hit came on Jack Dolan’s single to start the fourth. Park improved to 8-1 on the season.
“I just think he had us off-balance,” Scharding said. “His off-speed was really good. He was throwing hard. He was a good pitcher.”
Avonworth threatened just once, and it ended in controversy. Following Dolan’s hit and Park walking Hunter Blackson, the Antelopes found themselves with runners on second and third with two outs in the top of the fourth. Scharding hit a ground ball to Neumann-Goretti shortstop Richie Rosato, who threw onto first base to apparently end the inning. But Avonworth argued that first baseman Anthony Coppola dropped the ball, and as the argument escalated, the play continued and two Avonworth runners crossed the plate. The umpires huddled and decided the play stood, leaving Avonworth coach Jeff Bywalski and the Avonworth faithful furious.
“Momentum is everything in a championship game. You guys saw it. The guy dropped the baseball,” Bywalski told reporters afterward. “They said he didn’t. The umpire said he didn’t drop the baseball. He said he possessed it. We all saw it. The guy had to go down to the ground, pick the ball up and make a throw. Guys, it’s a whole different baseball game. It is.
“Momentum is everything in the championship game, and we lost it. It cost us. The at-bats for them in the next inning become a lot more confident at-bats. Instead of being down two when you’re ripping the bats, it changes. Hats off to them. They won the baseball game. For us, it’s a tough one to take like that.”
Scharding recounted what he saw as he ran down the line.
“I thought his foot was off the bag,” Scharding remembered. “I didn’t even see him drop the ball. I just saw the ball at the plate. I mean, the umps called it the way they did. You can’t change anything.”
After digesting a shot of momentum, Neumann-Goretti began chugging on it furiously as it took advantage of the short-handed Avonworth pitching staff. Neither of Avonworth’s top two starters pitched, as Scharding had a sore arm and Aidan Tinker “wasn’t able to go,” according to Bywalski. Sophomore righty Carson Franc got the start, leaving senior Jacob Hanny as the only other player who had pitched more than 7⅔ innings the entire season.
Franc was solid the first three innings, giving up a hit and two walks, but the fourth and fifth innings were an absolute nightmare for Franc and the rest of the Avonworth pitching staff. After Franc retired Christian Cerone to begin the fourth, eight of the next nine Neumann-Goretti batters reached base as the Saints built a 7-0 lead. The Saints benefited from four consecutive Avonworth walks, the final three of which (Chris Meitzler, Billy Smith and Coppola drew them) brought in runs. Hanny replaced Franc after the walk to Meitzler. It looked like the bleeding might stop at three runs, but Rutgers recruit Evan McCoach ripped a two-out, three-run triple to center and Cerone followed with a run-scoring single. Patrick Bykowski, Avonworth’s third pitcher of the inning, then came in and needed just one pitch to close it out. Bykowski had thrown only 3⅔ innings all season.
“I told my guys it doesn’t really matter who we see. We have to compete,” said Neumann-Goretti coach Nick Nardini, adding that he expected Scharding to get the start. “It’s the state championship. It doesn’t matter who we’re facing. They were ready. They answered the bell.”
And an inning later dealt the knockout punch. After Neumann-Goretti loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, Coppola delivered a run-scoring single and Dankanich followed by smacking a ball off the foul pole in left for a game-ending grand slam that ended Avonworth’s nine-game win streak and state title dreams.
“Once they got a couple of runs, it kind of just defeated us,” Scharding said. “I felt that for some of us, that was the end of our game.”
Neumann-Goretti scored the 12 runs on only seven hits. The Saints, though, drew seven walks and were hit by pitches twice. Avonworth pitchers threw 106 pitches, only half of them going for strikes.
Avonworth’s loss meant that the WPIAL went 0-3 in PIAA championship games this year. Eden Christian lost in the Class 1A final earlier Friday and Indiana was defeated in the Class 4A title game Thursday. Since the PIAA moved to six classifications in 2017, it marked only the second time that no WPIAL teams won a PIAA title. It also happened in 2019.
The Antelopes might have come up short of achieving their ultimate goal, but they remain optimistic considering their young roster. They started five sophomores and a junior Friday.
“I think we’ll be back and better than ever next year,” Scharding said. “I know we’re losing a lot of key parts, but I think we’ll have some good pitching coming back. I think we’ll get the job done. I think this is just a taste. I think the culture here is different now, and I think we’ll be back and be better.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.