WPIAL baseball playoffs: OLSH baseball reacts after win over New Brighton
OLSH baseball head coach Phil McCarren and players react after semifinal win over New Brighton.
WEXFORD — Late in the regular season, OLSH and New Brighton faced off in non-section play with New Brighton getting the best of OLSH in the first matchup.
But in the second meeting on Tuesday, May 20, it was the other way around as OLSH shut out New Brighton advancing to the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals for the second consecutive season with an 8-0 win.
“We knew that they [New Brighton] was going to be a great fielding team,” OLSH pitcher Iseia Schulz said. “That team is great all around and as a team knew that we would have to play our best baseball to beat them.”
That is exactly what the Chargers did at North Allegheny High School as OLSH struck for its eight runs in its final three times at the plate.
OLSH first baseman Dean Douglass was a force in the cleanup spot going 3-for-3, including a double, with three RBIs while also scoring two runs.
The freshman used the past meeting against New Brighton and his previous at-bats against pitcher Vernon Krepps to his advantage in his productive day at the plate.
“I faced [Vernon Krepps] before and I had a good day the last time I faced him,” Douglass said. “I took that same mindset into today’s game and hit the ball hard.”
Along with Douglass’ effort at the plate, OLSH played some old school baseball laying down three bunts in the team’s four-run fifth inning making things tough on the New Brighton fielders.
While the art of bunting in the game of baseball for the most part has gone by the wayside, it is part of OLSH’s identity and its hitters have found success with it.
“Bunting is part of our offensive repertoire,” OLSH head coach Phil McCarren said. “We might not bunt every game but we do it regularly. We don’t call it small ball, we call it pressure ball. We’re not just dropping down bunts to give our batters up but to put the pressure on the other team and force them to make some plays and we did that today.”
The quarterfinals marked the end of the road for New Brighton as Schulz shut the New Brighton bats down which for most of the season were tough outs.
Schulz allowed just three hits and three walks in the contest tossing a complete game shutout.
“He was aggressive and came right at us,” New Brighton head coach Bob Zahn said. “He wasn’t afraid and we couldn’t connect. There were times when there were fastballs that we were taking over the plate that we should have jumped on. I have to tip my hat to him, he did a great job, he’s a legit pitcher.”
OLSH will now move onto the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals and will take on either Burgettstown or Riverview on May 21 at 4 p.m. at a site to be determined.