Baseball fueled by doubt for PSUAC tourney
The Penn State Fayette baseball team is back in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) playoffs for the second straight year, and the team is fueled by doubt. Second-year coach Ryan Encapera spoke about returning to the postseason.
"Earning a trip to the postseason is meaningful for us for a number of reasons," he said. "First, it shows the toughness and resilience from our guys for making it through some off-season adversity (ineligible players, players leaving the program) and some in-season adversity we faced with a number of injuries. Next, it's important to us because we set goals before the season and attaining the post-season was one of those and along with winning more than 15 games. Finally, we took it personal when the PSUAC issued a preseason preview, and we were not included when it was initially issued (it was later edited to include us). I felt like it was a sign of disrespect for a team that had a playoff appearance in 2022 with a number of players who had USCAA All American and All PSUAC Conference performances. As a coach, it motivated me to prove that our guys had the ability to find a way to win ball games and we did. Moving forward, I am certain that the PSUAC will not forget about us."
Last year, the team played Penn State Mont Alto in the first round at Penn State DuBois, but this time, roles are reversed. Saturday, Fayette plays DuBois in the first round at Mont Alto.
Fayette (17-22 overall, 11-9 PSUAC) is the third seed in the West division while DuBois (21-13, 15-5) finished second. Encapera spoke about what his team has to do against DuBois.
"For us to win we have to have quality at bats with runners in scoring position and score as many runs as we can and play for the big inning," he said. "On the other end, our pitchers and defense will have to minimize any threat and collect outs one inning at a time and stay out of the big inning. Keeping our composure under pressure will be important as well although I'll emphasize to our guys that we are playing with 'house money' and that we have nothing to lose."
Who will be the key hitters?
"All of our guys can really swing it, but Andrew Despot, Sawyer D'Andrea, Cade Warrick, Ethan Rendulic, Josh Burns, AJ Segarra, and Dylan Bohna have had great seasons and we hope two or three of them can get hot and carry us."
Despot (Moon, PA/Moon Area HS) is fifth in the PSUAC with a .413 average, D'Andrea (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park HS) is tied for third with 34 RBIs while Warrick (Mill Run, PA/Connellsville HS) is tied for second with four home runs.
Fayette set school records for runs and hits this season, and it is in the top-10 in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) in six categories: hits, runs, average, home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases.
Jorge Palmas (Upper St. Clair, PA/Upper St. Clair HS) will take the mound for Fayette.
"Jorge will be the starter because he has been our guy, but we will use every pitcher we have to come out with a win," Encapera said of Palmas, who is 3-4 this season. "If we have to 'bullpen the game,' we will. We will play the matchups and will have everyone ready to go as needed. Unlike our conference series where we have to manage four games in a weekend, this situation is totally different, and I'll manage it accordingly."
DuBois took three of the four games in the season series. Fayette won the opener of a double header on April 2, 11-7, when it scored 10 runs in the seventh inning against the DuBois bullpen before DuBois won a slugfest in the nightcap, 13-11, in a game Fayette led 11-2. The next day, DuBois swept two games at Fayette, 2-0 and 16-3.
Fayette closed the conference schedule being swept by Mont Alto, but it defeated Kent St. Tuscarawas in thrilling fashion Wednesday to close the regular season on a positive note.
"To win the final game of the regular season was important to send off our seniors with a win along with getting some live at-bats and getting our pitchers some work to prepare for the playoffs," Encapera said. "We had some clutch at-bats during the game and I'm hoping that will propel us with momentum in the playoffs."
This one game will determine if Fayette advances to the PSUAC double elimination tournament. The winner advances to play West division winner Mont Alto (29-11, 17-3). The tournament will be held at Medlar Field on the campus of Penn State University.
Action in the East division began Thursday at Penn State Brandywine as the hosts (26-12, 12-4) downed Penn State York (17-12, 11-5), 10-1. York advanced to face Brandywine after beating Penn State Schuylkill (18-10, 11-5) in the first round, 6-4, in the first game of the day.
For more information on the Penn State Fayette baseball team, go to https://www.psathletics.com/sports/bsb/index or follow the team on Instagram @fayetteathletics.
To learn more about the PSUAC baseball championships, go to https://www.psuacsports.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/2023_PSUAC_Baseball_Championship.
Written By: Bill Hughes