Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Zach Rohaley
School: Canon-McMillan
Year: Sophomore
Sport: Baseball
Rohaley’s week: The right-handed pitcher and third baseman led the Big Macs (8-4, 12-7) to two decisive wins and a playoff berth in Section 5-AAAA.
Rohaley started the week by throwing a complete game shutout with six strikeouts and allowed only two walks last Tuesday as Canon-McMillan defeated Bethel Park, 3-0.
The win improved his record to 6-2, but it was his bat that sent the Big Macs to the postseason. Rohaley delivered a three-run double in the top of the 14th inning in a 6-4 win over Peters Township, ending a game that lasted nearly five hours and preventing the Indians from clinching a share of the section title.
“The excitement of making it to the playoffs and coming up when the team needed it was exciting,” Rohaley said. “I did whatever I could for the team.”
Changing it up: As a freshman, Rohaley was the Big Macs’ closer and doubled as a third baseman when Matt Mish pitched. When Tim Bruzdewicz was hired as Canon-McMillan’s head coach in August, Rohaley approached him about converting to a starting pitcher.
Bruzdewicz, who pitched at Allegheny College and in the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization, told the promising right hander he needed to develop a changeup.
“When I first saw him throw, I thought we possibly had a front-end starter for the next three years,” Bruzdewicz said. “We taught him the changeup in August, he ran with it and now it’s his best pitch. It’s really a testament to him with what he’s done with that pitch.”
Opposing batters can speak to that. Rohaley struck out 16 in a win over Upper St. Clair and 11 against Baldwin earlier this season. With a reliable breaking pitch that throws off a batter’s timing, Rohaley can use his velocity to keep them off balance.
“At first, I was leaving some right down the middle, but coach worked on it with me and I started hitting my spots,” Rohaley said. “It started to become more of a deadly pitch than I thought it could have been. Now, I go to my changeup more than my curveball.”
Playoff bound: With the Big Macs’ playoff fate hanging in the balance and Rohaley on only three days rest, Bruzdewicz turned to Mish, a senior, against Peters Township. Mish, senior Tanner Piechnick, freshman Cameron Weston and sophomore Ian Hess led the Big Macs to the win. They also have senior Austin Berger, who was warming up before Rohaley gave C-M the lead.
The group makes up one of the top rotations in the WPIAL.
“Everyone I put out there I trust 100 percent. I call the pitches for every pitcher, but they all have the power to veto my call and shake me off,” Bruzdewicz said. “In the beginning of the year, they did not. They had to earn my trust before I let them shake me off. They have it now.”
The Big Macs will find their playoff fate Friday, when pairings are released, and recent success has them thinking big.
“We’re on a hot streak right now, and it’s going to be hard to stop us,” Rohaley said.
Compiled by Lance Lysowski