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Sheetz reached the George B. Kelley Federation championship series last season but lost in four games to a Tyrone Legion team loaded with players who had just won a PIAA state championship.
After making it back to the Kelley Federation championship series this year, Sheetz was laser-focused on finishing the job.
After winning the opening game of this year's best-of-three championship series, 12-4 over Barton's Plumbing and Heating on Saturday at Vets Field, Sheetz took home the title Sunday afternoon by carving out a 6-4 victory over Barton's in a game that ended in steady drizzle at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
Jeremy Chaplin closed out his first season as the Sheetz manager with a league championship and was quick to point out the hard work and diligence of all of his players in the aftermath.
"These boys worked hard all season long, every single game,'' Chaplin said. "We were shorthanded in every single game, for various reasons, but these players always battled.
"This is my first year on board as manager of this team, but this team has been building toward this for a long time, and they got it done this year. I'm very proud of all of my players for stepping up.''
Right-handed pitcher Kyle Wilson, a 2021 graduate of Altoona Area High School, put forth a solid effort on the mound for Sheetz. Wilson worked 6• innings, allowed just five hits, two runs and one earned run, while striking out three batters and walking three.
"I couldn't ask for a much better game from him,'' Chaplin said of Wilson. "He pitched a gem.''
Wilson mixed speeds well and kept the Barton's hitters guessing.
"I just executed,'' Wilson said. "I was hitting my spots with my fast ball, and when I needed to throw a strike with my curve ball, I did. Everything was going for me today.''
Sheetz, which entered the playoffs as the top seed after winning the regular-season championship, built a 2-0 lead on a two-out, two-run single to left field by Brayden Harbaugh in the top of the third inning.
Barton's shaved the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning, when Owen Dombrosky reached on a two-out infield single and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Sheetz scored a run in the sixth inning to go up 3-1, as Braxton Zitsch hit a leadoff single, stole second, and eventually crossed home plate on Jake Detwiler's sacrifice fly.
Sheetz gained some valuable separation with three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 6-1 advantage. Aden Diehl's two-run triple to deep center field scored Brayden Winters, who had walked, and Jaxson Ferguson, who had reached on an error.
"That triple opened up the game for us,'' Chaplin said. "That's really what got us going. Every one of our boys stepped up today. We got the hits when it mattered.''
Barton's manager Tommy Williams agreed.
"We were still in it (trailing) 3-1, but then they tacked three more on,'' Williams said. "They put the ball in play today.''
Even so, second-seeded Barton's, which stranded 10 baserunners in the game, made things very interesting in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring three runs on RBI singles by Braylon Williams and Lex Dixon, and loading the bases with two outs before reliever Dalton Gochnour struck out Hamilton Gates to end the game.
The Barton's team is made up of players from Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School who will benefit from this year's deep Federation playoff run.
"This was a great opportunity for our younger players to see quality pitching and quality opposition,'' said Tommy Williams, who is also BG's long-time head baseball coach.
For the Sheetz players, Sunday provided an opportunity to complete some unfinished business.
"This feels great,'' Wilson said. "I've never had an opportunity in my baseball career to win a championship, and I've never wanted to do it more than I did with this group of players.''
On Saturday, Detwiler and Winters each had two hits, three RBIs and scored a run for Sheetz. Dombrosky had two hits, and Devyn DeGennaro drove in two runs for Barton's.
SUNDAY
SHEETZ (6): Zitsch 1b 411, Harbaugh cf 301, Wilson p-2b 200, Detwiler c 200, Gochnour 3b 300, Winters 2b-ss 210, Ferguson EH 210, E. Chaplin lf 100, Ledford lf 200, Diehl ss-3b 221, A. Chaplin rf 210. Totals - 25-6-3.
BARTON'S PLUMBING & HEATING (4): Dombrosky c 311, Negola cf 412, Beauchamp p-ss 311, Williams ss 401, Dixon 2b 401, DeGennaro 1b 100, Foor rf 100, Fochler ph 101, Gates rf 200, Hofer 3b 200, Barnhart-Horton ph 110, Cacciotti lf 100, Warmath ph 100. Totals - 28-4-7.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Sheetz 002 001 2--6-3-3
Barton's P&H 001 000 3--4-7-1
E--Diehl 2, Harbaugh, Hofer. 3B--Diehl. RBI--Harbaugh 2, Diehl 2, Detwiler, Williams, Dixon. SAC--Cacciotti. SF--Detwiler. SB--Negola 2, Dombrosky, Beauchamp, Zitsch, Ferguson. HBP--DeGennaro (by Gochnour). LOB--Barton's 10, Sheetz 4.
PITCHING
Sheetz: Wilson (W) 6.1IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 3BB, 3SO; Gochnour 2/3IP, 2H, 2R, 0ER, 0BB, 1SO.
Barton's: Beauchamp (L) 5.1IP, 2H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 9SO; Williams 1.2IP, 1H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 2SO.
Records: Sheetz wins best-of-three series, 2-0.
Umpires: Brett Stoner (plate); Gary Stitt (first base); Patrick Minnoia (third base).
Time of game: 1:57.
SATURDAY
BARTON'S PLUMBING & HEATING (4): Dombrosky lf-1b-cf-lf 402, Negola cf-p-cf 211, Williams ss 310, DeGennaro 1b-p-1b 411, Foor p-lf-2b 400, Hofer 3b 400, Dixon 2b 201, Narnhart-Horton rf 200, Cacciotti rf-lf-p 110, Warmath c 100, Fochler ph 100. Totals -- 28-4-5.
SHEETZ (12): Zitsch 1b-lf-1b 321, Harbaugh cf 421, Wilson c 210, Detwiler p-1b-3b 312, Gochnaur 3b-p 301, Ferguson 2b-p 321, E. Chaplin lf 000, Ledford lf-eh 411, Jones eh 000, Bra. Winters pr-eh-2b 312, Diehl ss 311, A. Chaplin rf 210. Totals -- 30-12-10.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Barton's P&H 211 000 0--4 5 2
Sheetz 160 104 X--12 10 3
E--Williams, Dombrosky, A. Chaplin, Gochnaur, Bra. Winters. 2B--Ledford. 3B--Detwiler. RBI--DeGennaro 2, Warmath, Detwiler 3, Bra. Winters 3, Diehl, Ledford, Harbaugh. Zitsch. WP--Ferguson. LP--Foor. SO--Detwiler 4, Ferguson 2, DeGennaro 4, Negola 3, Cacciotti 2. BB--Detwiler 6, Foor 3, DeGennaro 1, Negola 1, Cacciotti 4.