On Wednesday, May 8th, the North Hills Varsity Baseball Team took on Seneca Valley for Senior Night at Herb Field. The game was an absolute nail biter, as the Indians won 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The game kicked off as a battle of fielding, with incredible pitching from Austin Bakowski and, later on, Ben Barr. According to senior catcher Zach Kuhn, “Either Ben or Austin… the pitching in general,” is what aided the win. Barr finished off the night with four strikeouts in three innings after coming in to relieve Bakowski. Like North Hills, Seneca pitcher Zyler Freeman pitched well, keeping the score 0-0 in the first inning. Then, North Hills went up 3-0 at the bottom of the second inning, waiting to see if Seneca would answer back. Seneca scored slowly with two runs in the third and fifth innings. The game came down to the wire, as at the top of the seventh inning, Seneca managed to tie the game with North Hills’ error, which could have sealed the game. With morale scattered across the board and tension in the air, junior Tristan Weimann stepped up to the plate for the first time that night and hit an automatic double. Ben Barr went in as a pinch runner and Zach Kuhn was up to bat. Kuhn made a witty decision to bunt, which allowed Barr to go all the way home, securing the victory and sending the crowd wild.
As for the senior players, the night couldn’t have been any more perfect. Over the past several days, weather conditions complicated the remainder of the season, and the game was changed from Thursday to Wednesday, springing the memorable night much earlier than expected. North Hills was set to have a double header against Seneca Valley first, then Baldwin canceled, forcing them to face a strong 6A team for their senior night. Despite the added pressure, North Hills responded well to the adversity, coming out on top. After the game, senior first baseman Logan Hunt reflected on the last minute challenge: “[The schedule change] made it more exciting because it gave us a more competitive attitude toward the game. I was still very confident in being able to win.”
This could have been the last regular season game for North Hills Varsity Baseball, as weather may affect their final game against Penn Hills Thursday, May 9th. Currently, North Hills sits second in the 5A WPIAL section and hopes to make a push for the WPIAL title. With the victory against Seneca, it should aid them with seeding in the playoffs and could play a deciding factor with a bye. As of now, the North Hills record is 10-5-1, and the team aims to keep climbing higher. As Coach Matt Beck said to the players, “ This is just a step in climbing the mountain.”
