Warriors need only five innings to top Tigers

By LIAM BELAN

lbelan@yourmvi.com

After suffering four one-run losses in a strong Section 3-4A, Elizabeth Forward swept a two-game stint with McKeesport to lock up fourth place in the conference on Tuesday.

A day after a 12-0 away victory for the Warriors (8-7, 4-6), they were able to defeat the Tigers (2-13, 2-8) 11-0 in five innings Tuesday at Wylie Field.

“I thought we played well today,” Elizabeth Forward coach Frank Champ said. “I thought JB (Crovak) pitched well; I thought he was very efficient today. We were hitting the ball well and just putting balls in play, so it was a good quality win. You can never assume anything in section play. We have a strong section, so I’m glad we picked up another win.”

Crovak and Charlie Nigut put up key performances for the Warriors, who have two remaining matchups against Yough and Indiana.

Crovak earned the win on the mound, allowing three hits and no runs while striking out four over five innings of work. Nigut showed off his wheels with two doubles on three hits. Six different batters posted hits for EF, including Crovak and Nate Grimm, who led the squad with two RBIs each.

McKeesport’s Garrett Tarker was tagged with the loss after giving up eight hits and 11 runs, only four earned, in two innings of work. The Tigers struggled behind him defensively as they posted six errors in the defeat.

“We’re not going to make the playoffs, and that’s tough, but there’s a reason why they fell in love with baseball,” McKeesport’s first-year skipper Sam Ligeros said. “I told them to go home tonight and write it down. Ask yourself, ‘What is your why?’ And that’s what you play for the rest of the year. It may not mean playoffs, but it’s going to mean something to them. Especially for our seniors, because you’re playing for your legacy the rest of the way.”

Brady Boyle, Colton Kotouch, Jordan Keller and Tarker make up that senior class for McKeesport, and they’ll be looking to flip the script against Nazareth Prep and Gateway before the end of their high school careers.

“I want to thank them for all that they’ve done for McKeesport baseball,” Ligeros said about the group. “They’ve been our leaders since day one. They’ve helped bring the younger guys up and shown them how to do things as we look to build the program here. They’re going to be remembered by how they played and who they played with. They won’t remember their high-school record. They’ll remember how much fun they had, and they’ll remember being with their brothers.”

The Tigers came close to plating a run in the first inning, but it was the Warriors that quickly jumped out to a 3-0 advantage.

After two outs to open the game, Boyle singled to center field to give McKeesport its first base runner of the game. Boyle was replaced by courtesy runner Isiah Brentley, who made his way to second when Brayden Lindsey was walked. Matt Miller then singled, but Brentley was thrown out at home to end the inning.

Nigut started things off for Elizabeth Forward with a leadoff double before an error and a walk loaded the bases with no outs.

Tarker forced two straight infield fly balls to tally two outs, but his balk brought Nigut in and opened the scoring for EF. Crovak then ripped a 2RBI single to left field to cap off the first inning scoring at 3-0.

Tarker and Nigut were the only batters to manage hits in a scoreless second inning before the Warriors exploded for eight more runs in the third.

Justin Frank and Jacob Peterson found themselves on second and third after a single for Peterson and an error allowed Crovak, who was replaced by Frank as a courtesy runner, to reach second. Grimm hit a double to right field to score both runners before scoring himself on an erroneous throw to make it 6-0.

With no outs and the bases now empty, Elizabeth Forward quickly got runners back in scoring position.

Daniel Spence singled and Mitchell Vuick walked before the latter reached home on a double from Nigut. Vuick then scored on an error that put AJ Grese at first and Nigut at third to make the score 8-0.

Kaden Faychak hit an RBI single to left field to bring Nigut home and end Tarker’s day in the bottom of the third. With Keller on the rubber, Grese and Faychak also crossed home plate to end the scoring at 11-0.

Elizabeth Forward will be looking forward to postseason baseball this season after standing strong with two of the top Class 4A teams in section opponents Thomas Jefferson (15-2) and West Mifflin (15-2). The Warriors dropped a 4-3 result against the Jaguars and lost 3-2 against the Titans.

“In section, we were very close with West Mifflin, TJ and Chartiers Valley, so there were four section games there that I felt could’ve gone either way. I feel like that puts us in a good position moving forward and gives us belief that we can compete with the best teams because we have. If we can play with those teams in our section, I feel like we can compete with anyone in the playoffs.”

For the rest of McKeesport’s season, it will be about the finer details.

“On the field, it’ll just be the little things,” Ligeros said. “We’ve instituted our system, so it’s just going to be about executing it moving forward. It starts way before the start of the season, so the younger guys will be able to keep it in mind for the future.”