Jun 2, 2021 4 min read

This has been a landmark season for the McGuffey High School baseball team. The Highlanders won the program’s first section championship, and a victory over South Allegheny in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs was the initial postseason win for McGuffey.

Next week, the Highlanders will be going where no McGuffey baseball team has gone before – the PIAA playoffs.

The Highlanders clinched a spot in the state tournament by holding off a seventh-inning rally by Avonworth and defeating the Antelopes 2-1 in the WPIAL’s third-place consolation game Wednesday afternoon at Washington & Jefferson’s Ross Memorial Park.

Winning pitcher Jake Orr took a shutout into the seventh inning and hit a key run-scoring double, Austin Beattie got the game’s final two outs for a save after inheriting a full-blown jam, and Brock Wallace scored both McGuffey runs.

The Highlanders (15-5) will play District 10 champion Hickory (17-4) Monday at a site and time to be determined.

“This is history for us and we want to keep writing it,” McGuffey coach George Linck said. “This is unchartered territory, but it’s as fun as can be.”

Much of the third-place game was tension-filled and even a bit frustrating for McGuffey. The Highlanders took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, made the score 2-0 with a run in the fifth and then had to wiggle out of a dangerous spot in the bottom of the seventh. McGuffey had several chances to break open the game but stranded 10 baserunners.

That didn’t leave Orr with much room for error, but he didn’t need any.

The Highlanders had pitched shutouts in postseason wins over South Allegheny and Derry before Orr was touched for nine runs in a semifinal loss to top-seeded Hopewell. Since then, it was a rough eight idle days for Orr and the Highlanders, but they were back in top form. Orr took a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning by allowing only two hits to that point. He did not walk a batter and struck out nine.

“The loss to Hopewell was tough because I didn’t feel like myself that day,” Orr said. “When I threw my first two warmup pitches (Wednesday), it felt like me. I was able to command my fastball and my breaking ball was good.”

Avonworth starter Ethan Tinker had trouble finding the strike zone in the top of the first inning. He hit Wallace with a pitch to begin the game, then walked Beattie and Orr to load the bases with no outs. McGuffey, however, could muster only one run, that coming on a sharp RBI single by Austin Hall.

“Getting out of that first inning with only one run scoring, I thought that was going to be enough for us,” Avonworth coach Chris Bardakos said. “But their pitcher commanded the game well enough that the one run proved fatal.”

It stayed 1-0 until the fifth when Wallace led off with an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error. Wallace moved to third when Beattie’s foul fly down the right-field line was caught by Avonworth first baseman Jonah Sommers.

Orr then laced a low fastball from Avonworth reliever Colin Crawford to left field. The ball bounced over the fence for a book-rule double that scored Wallace.

In the bottom of the seventh, Orr gave up a leadoff infield single to Noah Osborn. After a strikeout, consecutive singles by Kamden Otstot and Sean McAleer loaded the bases with one out as Orr reached the 105-pitch limit.

Beattie relieved, inheriting the bases-loaded jam and almost escaped on a weird play. Avonworth attempted a suicide squeeze but Andrew Gannon missed the pitch. Osborn, who was breaking from third base on the pitch, stopped and retreated with McGuffey catcher Logan Seibert in pursuit. Seibert played it safe and didn’t throw the ball and Osborn dove safely back to third base.

Meanwhile, Otstot, who began the play at second base, was only a few steps from third when Osborn dove back to the base. Otstot quickly returned to second without drawing a throw.

Osborn eventually scored on a wild pitch to cut McGuffey’s lead to 2-1, but Beattie ended the game with a strikeout and flyout to Logan Hatfield in right field.

“We never talked about the Hopewell game,” Linck said. “We felt fortunate to have the opportunity to play again and wanted to show what kind of team we have. … We set a goal to play in June. If you do that, then you know you had a successful season. It’s June and we’re still playing.”