We all vividly recall that Cumberland Valley baseball team from 2007. Remember? The one that survived wild extra-inning games with Governor Mifflin and Wyoming Valley West to eventually reach the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals.
Well, there's a team out in Johnstown that is winning in much the same fashion as those let's-give-everyone-one-heck-of-a-show Eagles.
Convential wisdom says Bishop McCort, the District 6-A champion, should not be preparing for a PIAA Class A quarterfinal game tomorrow against District 7 third-place finisher Neshannock at the Burkett Complex in Robinson Twp. outside of Pittsburgh.
In the district final against Homer Center on Friday, the Wildcats loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth before Bishop McCort (19-4) wiggled out of the jam to gain the district's top spot in the PIAA field and avoid District 7 winner Serra Catholic (21-2), which ripped Homer Center, 7-1.
Still the Crushers had a date with District 7 runner-up Carmichaels (18-4), the team that lost to Camp Hill in last year's state final.
In that first-round game, Bishop McCort committed seven errors, stranded 15 runners and fell behind in the eighth inning. After tying it at 5-5 to force a ninth inning, Matt Kastelic knocked in his brother, Mike, with a single to win the game and keep the dream season alive.
“We made enough mistakes, like I told the kids, to choke a horse,” Crushers coach Denny Altimore to the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. “To beat a quality team like that, in spite of all of those mistakes, maybe that says something about our team.”
Overall, the Class A field provided the most fireworks from the first round. Old Forge worked eight innings to beat Sayre, 10-9, and Berks Christian survived a late-inning rally from Northern Bedford to win, 3-2.
The bottom half of the bracket saw Clarion dispatch Villa Maria, 11-9, in 11 innings. That game lasted over three hours while Neshannock and Coudersport combined for 34 runs in the former's 22-12 victory.
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