The 2024 Holy Ghost Prep baseball team made history Thursday afternoon.
The Firebirds rallied from a three-run deficit in the fifth inning to defeat District 7 runner-up Indiana 6-5 in the PIAA Class 4A state championship game at Penn State to capture the school’s first state baseball title in dramatic fashion.
Sophomore designated hitter Mat Riendeau’s walk-off double down the left-field line in the bottom of the seventh inning scored sophomore Colin Davis, who had singled, from first base with one out. That set off quite a celebration.
“We are ecstatic,” said Riendeau, who lives in Holland. “It’s almost unreal.”
The first-pitch fastball “just lit up in my eyes,” according to Riendeau.
“It looked like a beach ball so I swung. When it hit the bat, all I thought was he (Davis) better get home.”
Head coach Greg Olenski and Holy Ghost came close to a state championship in 2022, falling to Montour 10-9 for the 4A championship. The state playoffs began in 1977.
Trailing 5-2, Holy Ghost (18-8) closed the gap to 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth on sophomore left fielder Tyler Bergkoetter’s RBI infield single after sophomore shortstop Jake Keaser was hit by a pitch and sophomore center fielder Eddie Rosado singled up the middle. The Firebirds had runners on second and third with one out, but Indiana reliever Ryan Okopal got a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.
They tied it in the sixth on sophomore right fielder Matt Evans’ triple to deep center field that scored junior pinch hitter Alex Hubbard (single) and Keaser’s sacrifice fly.
Senior left-hander Justin Lucas was the starting pitcher for the Firebirds and went 4⅔ innings, allowing two earned runs, before sophomore Bam McNab contributed 2⅓ innings of one-hit shutout ball to earn the victory.
Indiana went ahead 5-2 in the top of the fifth inning with three runs on an Andrew McGee sacrifice fly and Charlie Manzi’s two-run single on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded. McNab induced a ground out to end the frame.
Holy Ghost took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Keaser and Rosado (two singles) were hit by pitches and senior first baseman Joey Amati walked to load the bases with one out. Bergkoetter (two hits) followed with an RBI single to right field, but hard-throwing junior Greg Minnick, a Texas Tech commit, escaped further damage with a fielder’s choice and strikeout.
Third baseman Ben Ryan tied the score at 2-2 with a solo home run to left field to lead off the top of the fourth. Ryan also homered to left with two outs in the first to give Indiana an early 1-0 lead.
HGP tied it at 1 in when Riendeau walked and scored when the Indiana left fielder lost junior second baseman Logan Novak’s fly ball in the sun.
Nine-time District One champ Holy Ghost advanced to the title game with a 20-0 victory over District 12 runner-up Constitution in three innings in the state opener, then topped District 2 champion Dallas 14-6 in the quarterfinals and earned a come-from-behind 8-6 win over Danville in Monday’s semifinals.
The Firebirds, with consistently seven sophomores in the starting lineup, closed out the season by winning 11 of 12 games.
Indiana (16-11), which was trying to win its first state title, downed District Three third-place finisher Fleetwood 10-3 in the semifinals.
Article by Tom Moore, courtesy of Bucks County Courier Times
Photo: Holy Ghost Prep celebrates its dramatic 6-5 win over Indiana in the PIAA 4A State Championship game Thursday at Penn State (image via Craig Conlin/Holy Ghost)
