Apr 7, 2016 4 min read

As the wind and rain whipped around a frigid Consol Energy Park, it took everything for Canon-McMillan first base coach Dan Devitis to stay warm.

Jumping up and down between did the trick, but only some of the time.

Thankfully for Devitis, he was able to spend a majority of the five-inning non-section game waving on 17 of his players who reached base safely in Canon-McMillan’s 12-1 victory over defending PIAA Class AAA champion Knoch Thursday afternoon.

While the conditions were far from ideal, the situation could not have been better for Canon-McMillan (4-3), which was facing an opponent playing its third game in as many days.

As the Knights (2-2) rested its top-two starters, Cole Shinsky, an Ohio Unviersity commit and Alex Stobert coming off a loss to Deer Lakes, the Big Macs took advantage of Knoch’s inexperienced pitchers early a as the first four batters reached safely. Canon-McMillan senior Matt Mish’s sacrifice fly was followed by a two-run double down the left-field line by first baseman Jordan Castelli that put the Big Macs ahead 4-0. Castelli went 2-for-2 with four RBI and three runs.

“It was huge for us to not only get guys on base, but to knock them in,” said Canon-McMillan head coach Tim Bruzdewicz. “Yesterday, we were not able to do that against Upper St. Clair as we left eight guys on base. It is key for us offensively to get the big RBI and to not leave guys out there.”

The Big Macs were not done there. After squeezing another run out of the first inning, C-M sent 13 batters to the plate over the next two innings, scoring four more runs as Knoch’s pitchers continued to struggle.

“We have only had one scrimmage, played a non-section game against Burrell and started into section play,” said Knoch head coach George Bradley. “Even though we lost to a great program, we found some things out about ourselves today.”

Castelli helped C-M evoke the mercy rule by driving in two more runs after he singled to left field, giving the Big Macs a 12-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.

“Castelli started the year for us as a designated hitter and it really just did not work out for him,” said Bruzdewicz. “This was his first time back out for about three games and he came up huge today.”

Not only did C-M send at least five batters to the plate every inning, sophomore Ian Hess was able to shut down the Knights. The right hander pitched four innings and struck out two to earn the win.

Despite Knoch’s leadoff hitter reaching in each of the first three innings, Hess only allowed one run on the five hits he gave up, and a double play allowed him to escape a bases-loaded jam in the second.

“(Hess) was able to get valuable innings last year as a freshman,” said Bruzdewicz. “We feel that we are able to keep a lot of teams down with our pitching. He missed a week of practice, so it was good to get him some work today.”

Mish sealed the victory after retiring three consecutive batters in the fifth inning.

With the cold weather, the Knights used four pitchers in four innings on the slippery mound, which resulted in five walks and two hit batters.

“You never want to go into a game thinking you are going to lose, but I knew Canon-McMillan has a good team,” said Bradley. “It is good to see a quality team out of your section and witness the little signs of progress that we did today from guys, many of which have not seen the lineup much. It will benefit us down the road.”

On the other hand, Canon-McMillan, which lost to Upper St. Clair in a Section 5-AAAA game Wednesday, will benefit from a balanced roster nearly too big for the lineup card, as all nine starters reached base safely with eight scoring at least one run.

“That is a good problem to have,” said Bruzdewicz, who worked 14 players into the game. “Every time Zach Rohaley is ready to go he is going to get the ball. Being able to hit the rest of the season is going to be the key.”