Fuller answers call as Avella holds off Fort Cherry

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McMURRAY – Opportunity knocked … and knocked … and knocked.

And just before it appeared that opportunity might turn its back on the Avella High School baseball team and exit, Eagles sophomore catcher Brayden Fuller answered.

Fuller hit a tiebreaking, two-out, bases-loaded double into shallow left centerfield that produced three runs in the fifth inning and sent sixth-seeded Avella to a 6-3 victory over third-seeded Fort Cherry in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals Monday afternoon at Peterswood Park.

The win sends Avella (11-5) into the semifinals for the first time in school history. The Eagles will play second-seeded Eden Christian today.

Fuller’s hit came with the score tied 2-2 and on the heels of Avella leaving six runners on base over the first four innings. The Eagles left the bases loaded in the third inning and stranded runners on second and third in the fourth.

“I was thinking that might come back to bite us,” Avella coach Jason Fogg admitted.

Avella, however, got another golden scoring opportunity in the fifth. Brian Martos reached on a one-out infield single and Westley Burchianti was hit by a pitch with two outs. Hayden Gatewood followed with a walk off Fort Cherry starter Ryan Huey. That loaded the bases for Fuller, who was 0-for-2 at that point.

Fuller hit a soft line drive over Fort Cherry shortstop Matt Sieg and the ball died in the grass in left centerfield as Martos and Burchianti raced around to score. When Fuller sped toward second base, the relay throw from the outfield was errant, allowing pinch-runner Nate Rankin to score and Fuller to advance to third base. It gave Avella a 5-2 lead.

“Fortunately, our sophomore catcher came through when we needed it most,” Fogg said, “because up until that point we had struggled with runners in scoring position.”

Fort Cherry (12-4) also struggled to generate offense. Some of that had to do with the pitching of Avella righthander Bryce Wright, who won his second postseason game. Wright held Fort Cherry to four hits over 6⅓ innings.

The Rangers, the Section 1 champions, had not played a game that counted in the past 12 days, so some of their struggles could have been layoff related.

“I think that was a big deal,” Fogg said. “They had been idle for a while.”

Fort Cherry coach Bob Sawhill didn’t want to hear that the layoff hurt his team.

“I won’t say that. We did scrimmage South Fayette,” Sawhill pointed out. “I think we just had one of those days when things don’t work out for you. We didn’t put the bat on the ball. We hit a lot better than we did today.”

Fort Cherry and Avella split their regular-season series with the Rangers winning 14-4 before the Eagles bounced back for a 14-8 victory.

Runs were harder to produce this time.

Avella took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. The Eagles loaded the bases with no outs but settled for only one run, Wright scoring when Martos grounded into a double play.

The Eagles made it 2-0 in the second. Burchianti led off with a single, advanced on a wild pitch and a passed ball, and scored on an error.

After being held hitless through the first three innings, Fort Cherry tied it in the fourth. Blake Sweder hustled and scored from second base on a groundout to first by Colton Temple. Ben Damascal’s single to right field scored Luke Sweder to make it 2-2.

After Fuller’s big hit, Fort Cherry scored one run in the bottom of the fifth. Ethan Faletta walked, advanced on a wild pitch and scored when Huey hit a book-rule double to left field, cutting the Rangers’ deficit to 5-3.

In the sixth, Avella made it a three-run lead again on an RBI single by Cole Jaworowski that scored Wright.

Wright was taken off the mound after walking Faletta with one out in the seventh. Isaiah Bradick was brought in to pitch and he got the final two outs for a save, but not before FC was able to get the potential tying run to the plate.

Fogg didn’t say who his starting pitcher will be in the semifinals.

“We have enough left to get through,” he said. “We’ll piece it together. We just have to hit.”