South Fayette takes down Ringgold to capture WPIAL Class 4A baseball title

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 | 11:06 PM

Previous Next

Previous Next

South Fayette's Richie Dell was excited that his coach chose him to start the WPIAL championship and it showed right away.

One pitch. One hit batter.

“I had the adrenaline working, that's for sure,” the right-hander said with a laugh, “but I was able to settle in after that and get to work.”

For the next 19 outs, Dell was dominant.

The junior allowed only three hits in 6 ¹⁄₃ innings and struck out 10 as No. 3 seed South Fayette defeated No. 4 Ringgold, 4-1, Tuesday night in the WPIAL Class 4A final at Wild Things Park in Washington. The WPIAL baseball title was South Fayette's second and its first since 1999.

Ringgold's only run was the batter Dell hit.

“We work a lot with just keeping our composure, staying even, not riding that emotional roller coaster that high school baseball can be,” South Fayette coach Kenny Morgan said. “You know what? Our kids epitomize it. … Coming in here, you get a rocky start. OK. So what?

“Whether I was playing or coaching, I've never been around a team like this. It's unbelievable.”

Trailing 1-0, South Fayette collected 10 hits and scored twice in third inning and twice more in the sixth. Mitch Dunay, Christian Gabriel, Tyler Bedillion and Matt Primm all had RBI singles for the Lions.

Dell tripled and scored in the sixth.

Ringgold managed only three singles and four walks against Dell, a Kent State recruit who improved to 6-1.

“He got better as the game went on,” Ringgold coach Don Roberts said. “Once he got in a rhythm out there, it's tough.”

Bedillion relieved Dell in the seventh and earned the final two outs for the save. Bedillion, who improved to 6-1 with a one-hit shutout in the semifinals, formed a dominant duo with Dell.

Either could have started the finals.

“We never really defined which guy was No. 1 for us: Tyler or Richie,” Morgan said, “and it was a really difficult decision.”

Morgan said he liked Dell's velocity against Ringgold's lineup, a matchup that worked in South Fayette's favor. The first inning was a struggle for Dell, who also issued a four-pitch walk and allowed a two-out RBI single. But he quickly bounced back and stranded five Ringgold runners in the first five innings.

“He was just locating his stuff really good,” Roberts said. “He was beating up the outside part of the plate. We just really didn't adjust and get that hit with runners on.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Ringgold, South Fayette