JOHNSTOWN - Ryan Woo got himself out of a mess in the fourth inning and then cleaned up Nick Lassak's in the fifth while leading seventh-seeded Bishop Carroll to a 9-2 victory over third-seeded Ferndale in the District 6 Class A high school baseball semifinals Thursday.
"We played one of our best games today," Woo said. "We were all sharp, we played together and we played as a team today."
With the Huskies leading, 2-1, in the fourth inning, Woo headed to third on a groundout. The problem was that BC's Josh King was standing on third. The grounder was too sharp to send King home, but somehow Woo managed to slide around the tag at second and scamper back safely.
A couple pitches later, Nick Maruca smashed a three-run homer to right field that gave Bishop Carroll a cushion it did not relinquish.
"It was a tough play," Ferndale coach Steve Clawson said. "We could have had Woo at second, but we didn't get him. Then when they hit the home run, that deflated us a little bit."
Ferndale picked up a run in the bottom of the fifth when J.R. Gartrell singled and eventually scored on an Ian Helsel single, but with the tying run at the plate, Woo relieved starting pitcher Nick Lassak and got consecutive strikeouts to escape the jam.
"Ryan has been escaping jams all playoffs," Bishop Carroll coach Matt Pfeil said. "That first game against Bishop Guilfoyle, he had the bases loaded twice and struck out the side, he did it against Portage and he did it again today. He's got ice water flowing through his veins."
With the victory over Ferndale, Bishop Carroll advanced to the championship game where it will play Bishop McCort, a 7-2 winner over Homer-Center Thursday, at Blair County Ballpark Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Huskies will have the rare opportunity to win a district championship in football, basketball and baseball.
"It would be great," said Woo, who plays in all three sports. "It would be a great team accomplishment for us to win it in three sports."
Bishop Carroll certainly got a team effort Thursday. Along with Maruca, Woo and Taylor Makin homered. Luke Tatarko singled in a pair of runs and the Huskies had 10 hits and held Ferndale to just four.
"At the end of the regular season, we dropped four straight, and we were battling it," Pfeil said. "Now we're back to the basics and just having fun, and these kids came out and showed their heart and dedication. We're rolling, and the kids look good."
BISHOP CARROLL (9): Link 2b 400, Lassak p-lf 401, McCabe ss 300, Makin c 322, King 3b 412, Woo lf-p 432, Sammarco cf 411, Maruca dh 311, Strong 1b 000, Tatarko rf 311. Totals - 32-9-10.
FERNDALE (2): Helsel ss-p 311, Eisenhuth 2b 400, Mi. Dorchak c 301, Ma. Dorchak p-rf 300, Hess 3b 301, Toth pr 000, Blasko 1b 200, Kulback cf 200, Gartrell rf-p-ss 311, Davidson lf 300. Totals -26-2-4.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Bishop Carroll010 403 1-9 10 3
Ferndale100 010 0 -2 4 1
E-Makin, Lassak, Sammarco, Eisenhuth. 2B-King, Mi. Dorchak. HR - Makin, Maruca, Woo. RBI-Maruca 3, Woo 2, Tatarko 2, Makin, Lassak, Helsel, Mi. Dorchak. WP-Lassak. LP-Ma. Dorchak. S-Woo. SO-Lassak 4, Woo 4, Ma. Dorchak 1, Gartrell 1, Helsel 1. BB-Lassak 2, Woo 3, Gartrell 2. SB-Woo 2, Sammarco, Tatarko
Records: Bishop Carroll (14-8); Ferndale (13-5).
