GCC baseball avenges earlier loss to Jeannette, clinches section title

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, May 8, 2018 | 9:52 PM

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With the bad taste gone from a nightmare inning that compounded a tough loss to Jeannette earlier in the season, Greensburg Central Catholic refocused on the rival Jayhawks with a section championship on the line.

“After that game, we took the ball and threw it in the woods,” GCC coach Dennis Reist said. “Gone. Forgotten.”

No. 4-ranked GCC set out to make new memories — ones it wants to remember — and did so Tuesday with a 9-2 victory over No. 2 Jeannette at Bill Mazeroski Field at Hempfield Park.

With the senior day win, GCC (11-4, 10-1) clinched its third section title in four years and 12th since 1999.

Jeannette (11-3, 9-3) dropped its second consecutive game after losing to Monessen, 5-0, on Monday.

“It just put another chip on our shoulder against them,” said GCC senior second baseman James Rice, who had two hits. “They took the championship from us last year. We were prepared for this game. This was the section championship. This is just one step that we want to keep building off of. We want it even more every day.”

The teams met in last year's WPIAL title game with Jeannette winning 7-3. That coming after two losses to the Centurions in section play.

This time, the teams split but could see one another again in the playoffs, which begin next week. The WPIAL is scheduled to announce pairings Friday.

“We had to keep pushing,” said GCC senior third baseman Ethan Bailey, who had two hits, drove in four runs and was awarded the team's Centurion helmet as their player of the game. “We knew we could beat them. We knew we had to take care of business. We had to keep out foot on the pedal.”

Senior Antonio Cavallo, peppered by Jeannette last time, pitched 62⁄3 innings and struck out 10 to get the Section 2-A win for GCC. He gave way to Rice after 104 pitches and after Jeannette loaded the bases with one last chance in the top of the seventh.

Jeannette exploded for 12 runs in the sixth inning when the teams played April 26 in West Jeannette. Eighteen batters went to the plate in that inning as the Jayhawks won 15-7.

This time, GCC set the tone early by taking a 6-0 lead after three. Four Jeannette errors took away some of the heavy lifting for the Centurions.

“We didn't play well (Monday), and it sort of carried over into today,” Jeannette coach Marcus Clarkson said. “During the year, we were playing well defensively. Last couple games, we haven't fielded the ball well. That's disappointing. We still got life. Hopefully things will come around.”

A harmless looking infield popup by sophomore catcher Paul Rice dropped between three converging Jeannette defenders in the second inning, and a throwing error by catcher Zander Malik added up to a 2-0 GCC lead.

In the third, junior first baseman Bryce Kurpiel, who also had two hits, singled in a run, and Rice stole home for GCC before Bailey knocked a two-run single to center to make it 6-0.

“Ethan ripped the cover off the ball today,” Rice said. “All of our seniors stepped up. We all have our jobs, and we try to do them day-in and day-out.”

Jeannette left two in scoring position in the fifth but managed two runs. Shortstop Tyler Elliott, who went 2 for 4, singled in a run, and pinch-runner Zack Berginc stole home to make it 6-2.

But GCC added to its advantage in the bottom of the inning. Cavallo blooped a single to right to load the bases, and Bailey followed with a hard single to score a pair. A dropped third strike gave pinch-runner Ben Lacarte a chance to take off from third, and he scored to make it 9-2.

GCC's defense was strong behind Cavallo and made the routine plays.

“Antonio pitched fabulous after that other outing,” Reist said. “He came out and did what he needed to do. He hit the ball well today, too. with the senior group that we have, they knew what happened last year. They knew what we had to do to come back. They're doing what we need to do to win.”

Senior ace Tre Cunningham took the rare loss for Jeannette, allowing nine hits over six innings, with eight strikeouts. He had not lost since April 12 of last season against Jefferson-Morgan.

“We know they can hit,” Clarkson said. “You're going to have play defense against that team. If not, they're going to beat you. “Our defense let us down. You're going to have your ups and downs. We kind of hit the down the last couple of games. That's baseball.

“I told them, you didn't win the section last year, but you were able to persevere. We're going to have get our defense together and make a run at it.”

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

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Jeannette