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By Jim Hammett
For the Mirror
JOHNSTOWN -- The Claysburg-Kimmel baseball team has been living on the edge this postseason and it caught up with the Bulldogs on Monday. Claysburg hung in there with top-seeded Bishop McCort Catholic, but in the end dropped a 2-0 decision to conclude the season with an 8-12 final record.
"I was proud of this team all season and I told them all year," Claysburg-Kimmel coach Ross Helsel said. "Every game, they never gave up whether we were down one run or 10 runs, they never stopped and just kept playing. I'm very proud of this ball club."
The Bulldogs won a narrow 2-1 decision over Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic on Friday to advance to Monday's quarterfinal round, and once again found themselves in a low-scoring affair. Claysburg-Kimmel ran into a buzzsaw of sorts in the form of Bishop McCort's ace pitcher Mason Pfeil.
The Crimson Crushers' senior hurler was superb. He yielded only three hits, did now allow a walk, and fanned 12 batters. Claysburg-Kimmel only reached as far as second base one time for the whole game.
"He shut our bats down," Helsel said of the McCort ace. "He definitely shut our bats down and he was a gem on the mound. He threw the ball really well and if he keeps pitching like that, they'll do alright."
Claysburg-Kimmel went toe to toe with the top-seeded Crimson Crushers thanks in large part to receiving its own stellar pitching performance. Sophomore Brayden Haney kept his team in the game by going all six inning, striking out five, and allowing just four hits.
"Good pitching from both sides," Haney said of Monday's pitcher's duel. "It was tough up at the plate going up against him, but behind me I had a bunch of good fielders and I didn't have to worry about anything because I knew they'd make their plays. It was a good game."
Bishop McCort opened the low-scoring game in the bottom half of the first. The host Crushers sent seven to the plate, but oddly enough, without a hit. Brock Beppler led off the game with a walk, stole a pair of bases, and ultimately came home on a Lucas Turner groundout.
The top-seed padded that lead slightly in the second. Brayden Jarvis singled and stole second. He came home on a shallow double hit into no man's land by Pfeil to make it 2-0, a lead that held up for the rest of the game for the Crushers.
It stayed with in striking distance because of Haney, however. The sophomore held his own against an older Bishop McCort lineup, which had scored double-digit runs in its previous two games.
"He did a good job of keeping us off balance," Bishop McCort coach Chris Pfeil said of Haney. "I know you've got to give him a lot of credit. I thought we were a little tentative at the plate and didn't go after some of the pitches we needed to and spray the ball like we have been in the last couple of games."
Claysburg-Kimmel's best chance to break through seemingly came in the top of the sixth. Zach Campagna reached on a dropped third strike and advanced to second on a wild pickoff attempt. Mason Campagna, the team's top hitter who was also coming off of a four-hit game against Bishop Guilfoyle, was at the plate. Mason Pfeil, however, was able to strike him out to end the threat.
The Bishop McCort pitcher became just the second player in school history top reach over 200 career strikeouts in the game on Monday. He's been one of the area's top pitchers for four seasons, and showed off his experience in that late-game sequence.
"He's just had an opportunity to pitch in big games and he was confident in the pitches we needed him to make," Chris Pfeil said of his son coming up with the big strikeout in the sixth.
Claysburg-Kimmel will look to turn the page toward next year and will only lose three seniors off this team. The Bulldogs will do it with building blocks in place, like Haney, who gained valuable experience going head-to-head with a top-seeded team on the road as a sophomore.
"It's tough, but we've still got next year," Haney said of the end of this season's journey. "But I am going to miss the seniors."
CLAYSBURG-KIMMEL (0): Z.Campagna ss 300, M.Campagna c 300, Simpson 1b 301, Haney p 302, Knisely 3b 300, Ebersole cf 300, Bush dh 200, Lehman lf 200, Slowik 2b 200. Totals 24-0-3.
BISHOP McCORT (2): Beppler cf 310, Pfeil p 401, Delia 2b 000, A.Radkowski ss 200, Turner 3b 300, E.Radkowski c 200, Stigers dh 301, Zasadini lf 300, Jarvis rf 212. Totals 22-2-4.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Claysburg-Kimmel 000 000 0 -- 0 3 0
Bishop McCort 110 000 X -- 2 4 1
E--Pfeil. 2B--Pfeil, Stigers. 3B-- None. HR-- None. RBI--Pfeil, Turner. WP--Pfeil. LP–Haney. SO--Pfeil 12, Haney 5. BB--Pfeil 0, Haney 6.
Records: Claysburg-Kimmel (8-12); Bishop McCort (13-8).