Hempfield outslugs Norwin in Section 2-6A win

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, April 12, 2018 | 9:45 PM

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On an afternoon when the wind was whipping so harshly that it turned routine pop-ups into base hits and deep fly balls into moon-shot home runs, no lead was safe.

So Hempfield knew it couldn't stop swinging away and riding the jet stream to more scoring.

Even in sustained 30 mph gusts that blew off hats and drove outfielders mad, Norwin was no pushover.

The fourth-ranked Knights rallied but visiting Hempfield made sure it stayed far enough ahead to prevail 14-9 in a Section 2-6A baseball slugfest Thursday in North Huntingdon.

The teams combined for 27 hits, nine that went for extra bases.

“We sure had some hits that may not have been hits on different days,” Hempfield coach Tim Buzzard said. “There were a couple home runs both ways, all hit hard, but not sure if they would have been out. Both teams swung the bats very well today.”

Sophomore Tyler Weiderstein and junior Tyler Dancu hit back-to-back home runs — Weiderstein's a three-run bomb to center — during a five-run fourth inning as the Spartans (5-1, 2-0) built a 10-3 advantage.

Norwin (2-2, 1-1) cut the margin to 10-6 in the bottom of the frame and 12-7 in the fifth before Hempfield gained some additional breathing room.

Senior Seton Hill recuit Nick Zona and sophomore Aidan Shephard homered for the Knights. Shephard's two-run shot came in the bottom of the seventh off Hempfield junior reliever Shane Stuchell, who struck out his final two batters to finally end it.

Weiderstein, a Michigan recruit, went 3 for 5 with five RBIs.

The home run was the first of his high school career.

“Knowing what the wind was doing, you just wanted to put it in the air and hit line drives,” he said. “We all hit the ball today.”

Junior left fielder Luke Hudson had three hits, including two doubles, and made a diving catch in the sixth.

“It was a blast,” Hudson said of playing in the swirling conditions. “We took the wind into consideration and hit the ball really well … it was just so much fun; everyone was hyped up.”

Hempfield led 5-0 after the first inning, which served as a preview of how much the wind would affect play. Justin Wright's pop-up started foul down the first-base side but drifted back into play and fell in for a hit to load the bases. Hudson was hit in the head by a drifting pitch to bring in the first run.

Catcher Tyler Granatire singled in a pair with a single that floated over two outfielders' heads.

Hempfield chased Knights' starter Derek Turkovski with two outs.

“We have to throw more strikes,” Norwin coach Mike Liebdzinski said. “We got in trouble in the first inning. … to get behind by five that dictated what we did pitching-wise. We used our one and two (Wednesday) to beat Plum so we were kind of shorthanded today, and once we got behind we decided to save some of our guys for Penn Hills (Friday).”

Zona homered to open the home half of the third for Norwin, and Seton Hall recruit Brady Sigut doubled off the fence before Shephard singled him in to make it 5-3.

Zona, though, tweaked his hamstring and left the game after going 2 for 2 with a double. Shephard drove in three runs.

“After the first couple innings I said it may take 10 or 15 runs with the way this is going,” Buzzard said. “They were swinging the bats that well. We were lucky to keep enough to keep the momentum going.”

Logan Liebdzinski, Ryan Belchick and Owen Sabol drove in runs to make it 10-6 but Hudson doubled to deep center and Weiderstein followed with a single to increase Hempfield's lead to 12-6 in the fifth.

“Norwin is one of those teams that fight every inning,” Hudson said. “We knew we had to get up early and get runs every inning. A new inning is a new day, in a sense. We had to keep pushing.”

Wright picked up the win for Hempfield.

Hudson's diving catch was a highlight play made that much more impressive because of the gusts.

“It was such a pain out there,” Hudson said. “Every inning, every at-bat, we're picking up grass trying to figure it out.

“I saw the ball and I'm like, ‘I have to get this. The wind was coming in, but I felt like I had it so I jumped on the ball and felt confident.”

With so many early-season postponements, teams are playing catch up and dealing with, in both of these teams' case, games on consecutive days. That magnifies pitch counts with no days to rest arms — the bittersweet return of spring.

“Nine runs should be enough to win a game,” Mike Liebdzinski said. “Next time around maybe we'll have (Jayden) Walker or (Aidan) Shephard to throw against them, and I'd like to see how they match up against their lineup. (The Spartans are) always good. They've had our number for years.

Hopefully next time we'll give them a better contest.”

Norwin outhit Hempfield, 14-13.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Hempfield Area, Norwin