Mikes upend No. 2 Eden Christian to reach final
Carmichaels鈥� baseball team isn鈥檛 one to be intimidated.
Last year the eighth-seeded Mikes scored three runs in the first inning and held on from there to knock off top-seeded Union, 3-1, to reach the WPIAL Class A final four.
Carmichaels used a similar formula in Friday鈥檚 game against second-seeded Eden Christian at Gateway High School.
The sixth-seeded Mikes rang up four runs in the first inning and that was just enough to defeat the Warriors, 4-3, and advance to the WPIAL championship game for the first time since 2014.
Colin Andrew pitched into the seventh inning to earn the win and scored what proved to be the deciding run on a hustle play and Robbie Wilson-Jones tripled and recorded the final two outs as Carmichaels improved to 15-4.
The Mikes will play top-seeded Serra Catholic in the final at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Washington Wild Things鈥� EQT Park.
鈥淚 told our guys before the game you belong here,鈥� Carmichaels coach Dickie Krause said. 鈥淎fterwards, I just looked at them and said, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to the WPIAL championship,鈥� and there was a big roar, and I made sure they understood they belong in the final, too. I pointed out to them, GCC is 17-3 and one of their losses is to you. Eden Christian is 15-5 and one of their losses is to you. Leechburg is 15-4 and one of their losses is to you.
鈥淚 told them they earned this. They deserve it.鈥�
Carmichaels will be seeking its fourth WPIAL championship.
The Mikes struck for four runs on just one hit in the first inning against Warriors starting and losing pitcher Brady Hull who failed to retire a batter.
Wilson-Jones drilled a triple off the right-field fence leading off the game and Hull walked Dayton Reynolds and Jordan Davis to load the bases. Colin Andrews and Brayden Andrews followed with consecutive run-scoring walks to make it 2-0.
Jacob Janicki relieved Hull and after a strikeout seemed like he might escape the jam without any further damage when Cooper Richards hit a grounder that Eden Christian attempted to turn into an inning-ending double play. The throw to first was low, however, and first baseman Noah Emswiler couldn鈥檛 come up with it cleanly as the Mikes not only scored one run on the play but Colin Andrews raced home from second as well to make it 4-0.
鈥淭hey rushed the throw from second and it short-hopped the first baseman,鈥� Krause explained. 鈥淚 just kept him moving all the way around third. When they bobbled the ball at first base it kind of trickled away, not more than two or three feet but that was enough where they needed a perfect throw to get the out at home. It wasn鈥檛 and we scored standing up.鈥�
Richards was credited with two RBIs on the play and those runs proved to be the difference in the game.
The Warriors got a run-scoring single from Emswiler in the bottom of the first to make it 4-1 and cut the gap to one with a two-run third on an RBI single by Hull and a run-scoring grounder by Levi DeFazio.
Andrews kept the Warriors at bay after that but on his 105th and final pitch Brett Feldman reached on an error by shortstop Wilson-Jones. Unfazed by his miscue, Wilson-Jones took the mound when called on by Krause and earned the save with three pitches. Feldman advanced to second when Janicki grounded out to third baseman Davis, and Hull, who was 3 for 3 at that point, swung at the first pitch and grounded out to shortstop Krieg to end the game and the Mikes celebrated.
Janicki pitched seven scoreless innings in relief of Hull, allowing four hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
Andrews surrendered three runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
鈥淐olin has been just an absolute workhorse,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淚 think the only game he hasn鈥檛 pitched into the seventh inning was at GCC. He has just battled all year. He and Robbie have been tremendous senior leaders for this baseball team.
鈥淩obbie has also had a great season. He had a solid junior year but he just jumped up leaps and bounds his senior year, catching, shortstop and pitching. He鈥檚 been our closer. I can鈥檛 say enough about him and what he鈥檚 done for the team, his attitude and the leadership he鈥檚 demonstrated. He was so calm and poised the whole night. He didn鈥檛 let that error bother him.鈥�
Both teams had five hits. Richards had two hits, including a double, and Brody Pratt also doubled for the Mikes.
鈥淭hese kids have worked really hard to get to this point,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淣o one was expecting this from us. But there鈥檚 nobody that practices more than us. We鈥檙e a six-day-a-week team. We put in the time. We put in a lot of hours. We do all kinds of optional things. So I鈥檓 really happy for them that we鈥檝e gotten this far.
鈥淲e have one more big step to go.鈥�