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Underdogs from Seton LaSalle top Serra Catholic again to repeat as WPIAL Class 2A baseball champs

By: Nathan Breisinger
Wednesday, May 29, 2024 | 4:34 PM

Nothing could stand in Seton LaSalle’s way of repeating as WPIAL Class 2A champion.

Not the underdog tag, playing without its star player or even an hour weather delay as the Rebels took down top-seeded Serra Catholic for the second consecutive season.

Mark Weber shut down the Eagles on the mound and the Rebels scored timely runs, including a two-run double from Brayden Carter, as No. 3 Seton LaSalle claimed its fourth district title with a 5-0 victory at Wild Things Park on Wednesday.

“Not many people here wanted us to win besides the Seton LaSalle Rebels, so it felt good to make a little bit of people upset,” Carter said.

For the second straight year, the Rebels entered the title matchup as the lower seed against a favored Serra Catholic program that moved nearly flawlessly through the regular season, dropping just one game. However, that did not stop the Rebels from completing the upset bid.

“Facing a team and program that’s as quality and high-level as they are, it’s special,” Seton LaSalle coach Brad Bestic said. “To know that not only are you repeating, but you’re arguably beating the best program in 2A every year, it’s outstanding for our guys.”

Limiting teams to 1.6 runs per game — the second-best mark in the WPIAL — Serra Catholic (17-2) has kept teams quiet, except for the Rebels. Seton LaSalle’s five runs tied the most the Eagles have given up in a game all season. Last year, the Rebels found similar success in an 8-1 championship win, scoring the most runs given up all season by the Eagles.

“We just play our game. I wish I was a mad scientist drawing up stuff at home that I’m bringing to practice, but I’m not,” Bestic joked. “I feel like we have a great mindset as a collective and we just translate it well on the field.”

Seton LaSalle brought that approach from the first pitch. Leadoff batter Aric White forced a walk before Michael Todd was hit by a pitch. Using some aggressive baserunning, White took off for third. Instead of a throw to get White, Serra Catholic catcher Jake Holmes attempted to nab Todd at first, who gambled too far away from the base. However, the ball redirected down the first-base line into the outfield after a collision at the bag, providing a brisk jog home for White.

Serra Catholic’s starting pitcher, Tyler Skaggs, entered the championship matchup boasting a 2.42 ERA with 43 strikeouts, but he could never find his groove in the early going as the Rebels continued to flood the bases.

After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top of the second, Skaggs once again filled up the bases in the third with two runners in scoring position and no outs. Connor Rothaar sent a deep sacrifice fly into right field to bring in the Rebels’ second run.

Two batters later, with runners on the corners, Carter drilled the first pitch he saw into the left-field gap as Dacien Loman scored with Roman LoNero motoring in behind him to make it 4-0.

“I saw first-pitch fastball and my plan is to hit first-pitch fastball,” Carter said.

Added Bestic: “It was outstanding for him. For him to drive the ball opposite field in the gap in that type of situation with some pressure is a testament to him.”

While Skaggs struggled to throw any swing-and-miss material, his defense did not handle the ball well behind him with three errors through the first three frames, including a low throw from Zach Black that could not be scooped by his brother Max Black, allowing Carter to wheel around from second for the Rebels’ fifth run.

Following an hour and 11-minute weather delay, Serra Catholic worked quickly to load the bases on Mark Weber with one out. Clean-up hitter Jake Holmes stepped to the plate with an opportunity to do damage, but it was Weber that received the fortunate bounce to third for a 5-3 inning-ending double play.

On multiple occasions, Serra Catholic threatened, but nice defensive plays thwarted any of those chances.

“It’s tough to simulate the severity of situations like that in practice. We’ve been fortunate, we have a great group of individuals contributing to make sure situations like that we’re prepared, and we were,” Bestic said.

Weber then slammed the door on the Eagles’ lineup as the Rebels senior ace struck out eight batters, while allowing no runs in six full innings.

“He’s unbelievable,” Carter said. “He never misses a spot, and I always have my full faith in him.”

Freshman Josh Burkholder came in to close out the game for the Rebels in the seventh, getting Owen Dumbroski to ground out for the final out of the championship-winning effort.

Seton LaSalle played without senior shortstop/pitcher Gio LoNero, a North Alabama recruit who led the WPIAL with a .644 batting average this season. LoNero was ejected in the semifinals and was suspended for two games.

For Serra Catholic, Isiah Petty collected three singles, while Jake Holmes recorded the lone extra base hit in the sixth inning.

“The big hit wasn’t there, errors early in the game, just unfortunate,” Serra Catholic coach Brian Dzurenda said. “It wasn’t our day today.”

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