Top 15 baseball finals in 15 years at Wild Things Park: McKay, Blackhawk edge Belle Vernon in 2012

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, May 26, 2018 | 8:22 PM

The TribLive High School Sports Network is counting down the Top 15 WPIAL baseball championship games held over the past 15 years at Wild Things Park.

Catch all the postseason action on the exclusive broadcast home of the WPIAL baseball playoffs, the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Here's a look at No. 3:

2012 Class AAA championship: Blackhawk 1, Belle Vernon 0

Just because it had one of the top pitchers in WPIAL history, it didn't guarantee a championship for Blackhawk. But in the end for the Cougars, beating Belle Vernon in the 2012 Class AAA title game was as easy as 1-2-3.

Brenden McKay had his golden moment in his decorated high school career as a sophomore in pitching Blackhawk to a 1-0 triumph over Belle Vernon.

The battle of green and gold in the title game was not expected when the Class AAA brackets came out. Blackhawk was an easy top-seed choice based on its 18-2 regular season.

Belle Vernon finished as co-champion in Section 2 with Greensburg Salem, but the Leopards were seeded No. 7. After beating Beaver in the first round, Belle Vernon upset No. 2 Mars, 7-1, in the quarterfinals and No. 3 Hopewell, 9-8, in the semifinals, scoring 21 runs in three district postseason games.

But those red-hot Leopards' bats were silenced by the left arm of McKay, who pitched a perfect game for 5 ²⁄₃ innings before Dean Manown became the Leopards first base runner with a single to right.

Another sophomore also was shining bright on the hill at Consol Energy Park that day. Belle Vernon's Dylan Pietrantoni pitched six strong innings, allowing only one run on six hits.

That lone run came in the fourth inning when Tyler Craig led off with a double, was sacrificed to third on a bunt by Steve O'Hara and scored on an RBI single by Joe Lopez.

McKay's masterpiece was nearly shattered by a Belle Vernon rally in the seventh.

Adam Ferita drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on a single by Dom Francia. Joe Simsic then walked to load the bases. With Matt Callaway at the plate, McKay launched a wild pitch. But Ferita could not score from third because the ball hit the backstop hard and bounced right back to Blackhawk catcher Matt Emge.

The next pitch was bounced back to McKay, who threw home for the force out at the plate. Emge then gunned it to first for the 1-2-3 game ending double play that produced Blackhawk's second of three WPIAL baseball championships.

McKay finished with a two-hitter while striking out 11. The title was the only one for McKay as Blackhawk would lose in the quarterfinals to Hopewell his junior year and was stunned by West Allegheny in the finals his senior season.

The final score was ironic for Blackhawk, which defeated Chartiers Valley in the quarterfinals and Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals by the same 1-0 score.

Don Rebel is a TribLIVE High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Blackhawk