DuBois Returns to Championship Game, Shenango Impresses
DUBOIS, Pa. - Day two of the PSUAC Baseball Championship Tournament featured some old rivals meeting in the winner's bracket, but Penn State Shenango's run of success in its first-ever tournament appearance may be the story of the middle day.
After winning their opener on Friday to advance to the double-elimination bracket, Shenango fell to Penn State DuBois later in the day to fall into the loser's bracket. In that loser's bracket, Shenango met the East's top seed Penn State Schuylkill on Saturday morning in another elimination game. Falling behind 1-0 after an inning, Shenango plated three runs in the third on the strength of a double steal and a Troy Bachman RBI double. Schuylkill scored three runs in the fifth inning to grab the lead with Brandon Pupek ripping a two-run single as part of the rally. Shenango was not out of it, dropping four runs of their only in the top of the sixth as Dominic Fornataro and Dante Micaletti finished off the inning with RBI doubles. Nate Evans went the distance, striking out six.
Despite the new blood in the tournament, a pair of seasoned veterans occupied the winner's bracket match-up. DuBois and Penn State Mont Alto renewed their recent rivalry, meeting in the postseason for what seems like the 20th straight season. While certainly an exaggeration, the two teams have often met in the winner's bracket and championship games over the last six seasons with Mont Alto being the only team not named DuBois to win a baseball championship during that stretch. And like many of their games over the past six years, this one did not disappoint.
DuBois jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings and that lead held until the sixth inning. Mont Alto jumped on the board with four runs in the sixth as they finally were able to get to starter Taylor Boland who had otherwise been rolling. James Sibert crushed the first pitch of the inning over the left centerfield fence to cut the DuBois lead to 2-1. Garrett Worth drove in two with a single and gave his team the lead. But DuBois would not let their starter's strong effort go to waste, exploding for seven runs of their own in the top of the seventh. Grant Lillard picked up a pinch-hit RBI as did Colby Bodtorf, two of five RBI singles that DuBois strung together as they grabbed back the momentum that Mont Alto had taken for themselves just minutes earlier.
The 9-4 win propels DuBois to Saturday's Championship game where they'll face Mont Alto once again after their thrilling 8-7 win over Shenango in the loser's bracket final. Shenango picked up an early run on a Bachman sacrifice fly, but Mont Alto hit right back with four in the bottom of the inning. Cameron Bailey smashed a grand slam over the left field building for a 4-1 advantage. Shenango wouldn't go quietly, plating three runs of their own in the second on a Nate Evans RBI single and a Remington Hart two-run homer. Mont Alto's James Sibert untied it with a solo homer in the second inning before the teams traded a scoreless frame in the third.
Shenango once again grabbed a lead in the fourth on a Logan Cypher homer off the scoreboard in right, but Sibert answered with a solo shot of his own in the fifth to knot it at 6-6. After an RBI single from Cypher in the sixth, Bailey homered again to tie it and Kyle Neuendorf singled in the go ahead run four batters later to take an 8-7 lead. It held up as Luke Davis completed the game and picked up the win with 1.2 innings of scoreless ball.
The PSUAC Baseball Championship will begin at 12 p.m. at Showers Field on Sunday, May 4, 2025. DuBois and Mont Alto will meet again--a common occurrence at this stage of the postseason in the PSUAC.