There’s a saying in baseball for a batter with two strikes: it only takes one.
The idea is everyone is one good swing away from something good.
That philosophy held true for the Bellwood-Antis baseball team yesterday in its District 6 2A semifinal against No. 1 Bishop McCort at Point Stadium in Johnstown. Despite being held scoreless for six of the seven innings, the Blue Devils made something special happen with one big inning early on and rode it to a 4-3 victory.
B-A will now face former ICC rival Mount Union in the 2A championship on Tuesday in Claysburg,
“This win means a lot to the players and the coaches,” said B-A coach Adam Plummer. “I’m proud of the way we competed. We are coming together and playing our best baseball at the right time.”
The Blue Devils went ahead 4-0 with a big second inning, jumpstarted by an RBI single from junior Brady McConnell. Later, classmate Alex McCartney doubled home two more runs and then scored after freshman Caleb Plummer – the coach’s son – got himself caught in a rundown long enough for McCartney to score from third. Plummer had bunted his way on before leaving early on a steal attempt to induce a throw from the pitcher.
The heads up move ultimately decided the game.
“Caleb’s bunt was huge and his rundown was huge,” McCartney said.
Knocking off the top seed meant a lot to B-A’s players, who at one point this season were playing sub-.500 ball and just hoping to get into the 2A bracket. They never secured a spot until the last week-and-a-half of the season.
“They had finished the season on a huge winning streak, so to get that big inning early was huge,” said junior Jackson Dorminy. “Our confidence after that early inning was an all-time high.”
The Crushers answered with a single run in the bottom of the frame, and left fielder Brady Page cut the lead to a single run in the third with a 2-run single from the nine-hole. But the big inning was cut short by B-A center fielder Brady Partner, who grinned down a runner at the plate.
Starter Killian Worthing pitched five strong innings, striking out three while walking only one. He held McCort scoreless for the nest two innings before giving way to Curtis Shedlock, who earned the save by pitching the sixth and seventh, striking out 1.
The Blue Devils continued to tear it up from the plate, producing nine hits. Chase Plummer, Landon Sneath, McConnell, and Caleb Plummer each had two hits.
“It’s a talented group of kids and the whole team is contributing,” Coach Plummer said. “Pitchers are throwing strikes and the defense is supporting the efforts we are getting on the mound.”
After struggling midway through the season, losing 5 of 7 at one point from mid-April to early May, the Devils have now won four in a row and improved to 12-9
Their opponent in the finals – No. 2 Mount Union – is 15-5 after defeating No. 3 Westmont Hilltop 4-0 in the other semifinal. But B-A will enter with confidence thanks to its late-season push.
“When we started getting hot, we got really confident,” said McCartney.
B-A’s run continues one of the more successful spring sports seasons in school history. The girls track and field team won the District 6 2A championship, and the softball team will play for a title on May 28.
