PIAA playoffs: Cole Constable comes through with heroic hit for Cathedral Prep baseball

Josh and Cole Constable have an understandable rule as members of Cathedral Prep’s baseball program.

Long ago, they agreed their relationship would strictly be coach and player on the diamond, but always father and son off it.

That rule was tested by the end of Monday’s PIAA Class 4A game between the Ramblers and Montour at Mercyhurst University. Cole Constable was the reason for the breakdown.

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However, there was no paternal lecturing from Josh Constable, or any other Rambler, after his son’s go-ahead, three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

When reliever Andrew Malec retired the Spartans’ side in the top of the seventh, it officially turned what minutes earlier felt like an agonizing end to Prep’s spectacular season into a dramatic 6-5 victory.

“I haven’t had a chance to embrace him as father and son yet,” Josh Constable said, “but we will have that moment (Monday) night.”

Making Montour pay

It appeared Robinson would be relieved with two outs and two Prep runners on in the bottom of the sixth. Montour coach Bob Janeda, though, left the right-hander on the mound to face Cole Constable, though the University of Maryland recruit reached base for his first two at-bats and flew out to deep right for his third.

Constable made the Spartans regret their decision when he socked a 2-1 pitch from Robinson onto Mercyhurst’s left field bleachers.

Prep’s John Koshan, who reached on a fielder’s choice, and Nick Jackson, who walked, also scored on the senior's heroic homer.

“I thought (Robinson’s velocity) went up a little bit the second time I saw him (at the plate),” he said. “The rest of game, I saw his pitches better. I didn’t get many off-speed pitches from him, just a lot of fastballs.”

“I assumed a fastball was coming again (on the home run), and I got it all.”

Another WPIAL opponent for Prep

Cole Constable did more than gain the Ramblers (22-1) a berth in Thursday’s state quarterfinals. It’s then and there they’ll face Hopewell, the District 7 champion, at a site and time to be determined.

Prep also assured the PIAA will have a new 4A baseball titlist come its June 16 final at Penn State University.

Montour (20-5) was the state’s 2022 champion for that class. The McKees Rocks team was seeded first for last week’s WPIAL tournament, but was upset in its semifinal.

The Spartans rebounded to win that tournament’s third-place game, which is why they faced the Ramblers a state round earlier than anticipated.

An Erie County team has never won a PIAA baseball championship and only two from District 10, Rocky Grove in 2018 and West Middlesex in 2019, have achieved that.

Such facts, though, didn’t concern Constable over the late innings of Monday’s playoff.

“When we came back to the dugout in the fifth (after Montour took the lead) at 5-3, I said, ‘This is not the way we’re ending our careers,’” he said. “This was not the way we seniors wanted to go out. This was not the end of our careers.”

“We kept battling and battling until we got to my (homer).”

Fairview responds in big situation

Fairview pitcher Coin Bolla found himself in a normal situation Monday as he was racking up scoreless innings on the mound. What wasn't a usual situation took place in the fifth inning as Traynor Janosko ripped a two-out RBI double to give East Allegheny (14-8-1) a 1-0 lead.

Fairview (18-2) responded right away in the bottom of the fifth inning. Tyler Benford led off with a single before Brady Baker drew a walk. Caleb Szklenski followed with a sacrifice bunt, which was misplayed and the bases. Adam Skelly then had his big moment of the year as he went the other way for a two-run double to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

"We were struggling to hit but we were trying our best," Skelly said. "Outside pitch, I took it the other way. As a team we are always trying to go with where the ball is pitched."

Vinny Campoli added a run with a groundout as Fairview hung on to a big 3-1 win over East Allegheny.

Pitching decision coming

Fairview spent most of the season splitting innings between Penn State Behrend recruit Colin Bolla and rising standout Vinny Campoli on the mound. Once the starter reached 75 pitches they'd go to the other pitcher to keep everyone eligible throughout the year.

Fairview went against its normal rotation on Monday in a scoreless game. Coach Joe Spinelli left Bolla in the game hoping the Tigers would get the bats going at some point.

"We had to win. We had to survive and advance," Spinelli said. "We had to ride our guy and fortunately we scratched across some runs and we're moving on."

Bolla threw 111 pitches and struck out 13 batters in 6⅔ innings. Aari Fox came in to get the final out, which was one of the most exciting plays in the game. Fairview committed an error but also recorded an out at home to end the game.

Spinelli didn't say who will pitch for Fairview on Thursday in a showdown with WPIAL champion Riverside, but Campoli is the likely candidate followed by Fox.

D-10 champs out of PIAA softball play

Cathedral Prep and Cambridge Springs will likely remember the 2023 PIAA softball playoffs for opportunities missed.

Both sides had ample chances in Monday’s first-round games at Penn State Behrend. For both District 10 champions, however, a mix of unforced errors and wasted offensive opportunities helped spell an early exit from the state tournament.

Prep fell in Class 4A to Elizabeth Forward 7-2, before Cambridge Springs lost to Chartiers-Houston 13-3 in Class 1A. With a big inning contributing to each outcome, the legs of Monday’s doubleheader mirrored each other in a way — and not one that was advantageous to the representatives from D-10.

Ramblers sent home early

Prep’s season ended at the hands of an Elizabeth Forward (19-1) group that was unbeaten and the top seed in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) playoffs before an upset loss to Belle Vernon in the semifinals.

Prep left the bases loaded twice, and after falling behind early, EF’s four-run sixth inning helped the Warriors pull away.

“(EF) is a good team; you can’t give them runs,” said Prep head coach Scott Baldi. “They had a big inning, we wanted to make sure we didn’t let them get a big inning, and we just couldn’t get one ourselves.”

Julia Resnick sparked EF’s offense from the leadoff spot, finishing 3-for-3 at the plate with three triples, two RBI and a walk. Madison Simmerman and Emily Dudenhoeffer each drove in a run for Prep, which had high hopes for the PIAA tournament after winning the program’s fourth District 10 championship.

“We wanted to make a little deeper run but, coming in here in October, I had a lot of changes to make, and the girls had to learn a new system,” said Baldi, whose first year as skipper coincided with the program’s identify shift from Villa Maria to Prep. “The girls adjusted well and they were great.”

Errors cost Cambridge Springs

Like Prep, Cambridge Springs (14-5) trailed the entire way. Both surrendered two runs in the top of the first inning and, despite offering multiple rebuttals, couldn’t overcome the deficit.

Chartiers-Houston (15-6), the WPIAL’s third-place finisher, broke open what had been a three-run game by scoring eight in the seventh inning. The Blue Devils left the bases loaded twice — as did Prep hours before — and they committed seven errors.

“We left too many runners on base and unfortunately couldn’t get that clutch hit, and then we made some uncharacteristic errors,” said Cambridge Springs head coach Angie Mumford. “When that happens, it’s just not your day, and today just wasn’t our day.”

Hailee Rodgers was 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI for CS, while Morgan Dunton and Maddie Dragosavac each drove in a run. Ella Richey led C-H’s offense with a 2-for-3 afternoon which included two walks, four runs scored and a three-run home run.

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“At one point today, you saw a freshman at shortstop, a freshman on the mound, a freshman behind the plate and a freshman at third base,” Mumford said. “(Our) future looks bright.”

What's next?

Monday’s winners advance to Thursday’s PIAA quarterfinals, where two D-10 softball and five baseball teams remain.

Sharpsville advanced in Class 2A with a 15-4 win in six innings against Moniteau, setting up a quarterfinal date with Neshannock. Jamestown, meanwhile, completed its first PIAA victory in school history by beating Waynesburg Central, 6-4, to reach the Class 3A quarters, where it will meet Chestnut Ridge. Fort LeBoeuf's season ended with a 12-2 loss to Avonworth in another 3A first-rounder.

In baseball, McDowell lost to North Allegheny 11-5, but the other five D-10 teams won. West Middlesex beat Union 12-2 in five innings and Saegertown beat Bishop Canevin 6-0 in 1A. If the Big Reds beat Southern Fulton and the Panthers upset Clarion, the two D-10 teams would meet in the PIAA semifinals on Monday.

Sharpsville rounds out the baseball winners with a thrilling 7-4 win over Serra Catholic. The Blue Devils play Burgettstown on Thursday.

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