Another first for McGuffey
Holli Tonini/For the Observer-Reporter
McGuffey’s Luke Wagner slides to make the catch Thursday against South Allegheny in the Highlanders’ 5-0 victory over South Allegheny.
Holli Tonini/For the Observer-Reporter
McGuffey’s Jake Orr looks back as he runs home to bring the score to 4-0 against South Allegheny.
Holli Tonini/For the Observer-Reporter
McGuffey’s Jake Orr pitched a four-hit shutout against South Allegheny to help the Highlanders win 5-0.
Holli Tonini/For the Observer-Reporter
McGuffey’s Luke Wagner points his fingers to the sky after hitting an RBI triple in the sixth inning Thursday against South Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 3A baseball playoffs.
Lady Luck hasn’t been kind to McGuffey baseball throughout its history.
Maybe she’s starting to ease up.
In Claysville, where the varsity team once went 49 games without a win and had never won a playoff game, what used to be one of the WPIAL’s cupcakes are starting to hit back in a big way.
The Highlanders had a historic regular season, finishing 12-4 and winning their first section title.
Coming into its first-round matchup Thursday with South Allegheny as a fourth seed playing a No. 13, the favored Highlanders swam in unfamiliar waters, especially for late May.
It was a day McGuffey coach George Linck has looked forward to since he took over after the 2018 season, and although the program is worlds ahead of where it was three years ago, Link said the right mindset was already there amongst his players when he took over.
“My first meeting, I saw a group of kids that had a strong desire to learn baseball and play winning baseball. We just worked hard. Three years ago, they were a hard-working group.”
Now, it’s a winning group. McGuffey made history in the regular season, and, as the favorite, were expected to make some more in their first playoff game. They didn’t disappoint, beating South Allegheny, 5-0, in a Class 2A game at Ross Memorial Park.
With some help from Madame Fortune as well.
To win in the postseason, a team needs to get a few breaks, and McGuffey (13-4) got a few.
In the bottom of the second, Luke Wagner reached on an error to lead off the inning – the first of three made by South Allegheny – and two batters later, Logan Seibert singled to right field. South Allegheny (8-11) right fielder Zachary Jordan’s throw to third base looked like it would nail Austin Hall, who reached on a fielder’s choice. Instead, the throw went past third baseman Damon Campano, and what should have been a confidence boost for the underdogs turned into a blessing for McGuffey.
The Highlanders doubled their lead in the bottom of the fourth when, after leadoff man Brock Wallace reached on error No. 3, Austin Beattie singled him home to make it 2-0.
In the top of the fourth, the good fortune extended to McGuffey’s defense. With one out and Campano on second, Jimmy Knapton singled to right field. Campano then ran through the stop sign and was easily thrown out at home plate to keep the game 2-0.
Of course, McGuffey made some of its own breaks as well. Its starting pitcher, Jake Orr, was superb, throwing a complete-game, five-hit shutout, and his defense made every play he needed it to make.
In the top of the fifth, center fielder Wagner made a sliding catch to rob South Allegheny’s Sawyer Pribanic. One inning later, Ethan Rendulic had a base hit taken away with a diving stop/throw by Highlanders second baseman Wallace. With Orr primarily pitching to contact, it was important for the Highlanders’ defense to make plays behind him.
“It’s awesome,” a grateful Orr said. “I’m so comfortable out there with all the guys. They make plays all the time. They hustle. They work hard, and it’s a lot easier to be confident in my pitches whenever I know they’re going to make some plays behind me.”
“Defense wins games,” Linck said. “We played a great game defensively. We stress in practice competitive balls. We don’t just hit balls at you; we make you go for them. Once you build your confidence in challenging competitive balls, it gives you the ability to go for that during the game.”
The Highlanders picked up an insurance run in the last of the sixth on a Wagner triple, scoring Orr, who helped his cause with an infield single. The Highlanders added two more in their final at-bat.
South Allegheny’s Nick Bryner pitched well amidst misfortune. Bryner only allowed two hits in his first five innings, and two of McGuffey’s five runs against him were unearned.
Orr struggled early on, giving up three hits in the first two innings, but only grew stronger as the game wore on, retiring the final 10 Gladiators.
“In the first inning, I was going mostly fastballs to get a feel for the hitters. They got a couple of hits off me, but after that, I adjusted, threw some more breaking balls. I was getting strikes, I was throwing hard and I was spotting my stuff. So it worked out for me.”
The Highlanders will next play Derry. While this win is to be enjoyed, Linck and his team want more.
“It’s a feather in a cap to our team,” he said. “We just want to keep writing history. We don’t want this to end.”