UNIVERSITY PARK – There was no heart-thumping, close win this time. The Avonworth baseball team that had won four one-run postseason games and three in extra innings ran out of dramatic wins.
Instead, Avonworth found itself on the wrong end of a game that tied for the biggest blowout in state championship history. About the only dramatics came in the way the contest ended — with a grand slam.
Avonworth’s first trip to a state baseball championship didn’t go well Friday. Neumann-Goretti, a Philadelphia Catholic League team, broke open a scoreless game with a big fourth inning and went on to defeat WPIAL champ Avonworth, 12-0, in the PIAA Class 3A championship at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The game was stopped in the bottom of the fifth because of the 10-run rule after Neumann-Goretti’s Andrew Dankanich hit a grand slam to left field.
It was a tough way to end a fabulous season for Avonworth (18-10), which had won one PIAA game in school history before this year. The Antelopes didn’t have either of their top two starting pitchers. Cooper Scharding had a sore arm, and Aidan Tinker was unavailable for undisclosed reasons.
So the Neumann-Goretti Saints went marching to a 12-run win. It tied for the most lopsided state final since the PIAA started championship games in 1977. The other 12-run margin was in 2012 when Bishop McCort beat Montgomery, 14-2.
“If we had our two best guys to throw today, it probably would’ve been a different story,” Avonworth coach Jeff Bywalski said. “I’m not going to say we would’ve won, but it would’ve kept us in the game.”
Meanwhile, Neumann-Goretti had its ace pitching. Senior right-hander Jayce Park, an Old Dominion recruit, was selected the Philadelphia Catholic League Pitcher of the Year this season, and he limited Avonworth to one hit while striking out eight and walking one. The win lifted Park’s record to 8-1.
“He’s been an absolute horse for us this year, and having him to be able to pitch in this game was huge,” Neumann-Goretti coach Nick Nardini said.
After the game, Bywalski complained about an umpire’s call that he felt affected the game. Avonworth had runners on second and third in the top of the fourth when Scharding hit a grounder to short. First baseman Anthony Coppola appeared to bobble the throw to first and he immediately threw home as if he didn’t get the out at first. The throw home was high, allowing Avonworth’s Hunter Blackson to score what appeared to be the second run. But the first-base umpire ruled Scharding out, canceling the two runs.
“The guy dropped the baseball. We all saw it,” Bywalski said of Coppola. “That’s a whole different baseball game [because of the out call]. We lost momentum. It cost us.”
But video of the play doesn’t show Coppola dropping the ball. After the controversial play, Neumann-Goretti came to bat and blew the game open with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Sophomore Carson Franc started for Avonworth and lasted until the fourth. With one out, Franc gave up a single, hit a batter and then walked two. The second walk brought home a run, and Jacob Hanny was brought in to replace Franc. But Hanny walked two to bring home two more runs and make it 3-0.
Then, with the bases loaded, Neumann-Goretti right fielder Evan McCoach smacked a three-run double to deep center to make it 6-0. Christian Cerone followed with an RBI single, and Patrick Bykowski was then brought in to replace Hanny.
In the fifth, Coppola singled in a run to make it 8-0. Dankanich then followed with the walk-off grand slam.
Despite the loss, Avonworth has great memories of this season. The Antelopes won only their second WPIAL title.
“The good thing is we lose only three seniors who played in the field in this game,” Bywalski said. “We’ve got our catcher back, our right fielder and four sophomores who started. We’re going to be back here [in the state final] someday.”
Avonworth was the third WPIAL baseball team to lose in the state final this season. It is the first time since 2019 that the WPIAL didn’t win a PIAA title.
Article by Mike White, courtesy of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
