UNIVERSITY PARK — Cole Shinsky couldn't believe his eyes when he watched Knoch centerfielder Dominick Bucko dive for a ball only to see it bounce by his glove.

“When I saw that ball hit the ground, I thought something was wrong with him,” Shinsky said. “He makes almost every single catch.”

Abington Heights senior Tyler Ksiazek turned it into a two-run triple that tied the PIAA Class AAA baseball championship game in the top of the fourth inning.

“I was pretty mad at myself” Bucko said, “but I didn't show it.”

But he did make up for it.

Only a sophomore, Bucko provided composure amid a cast of colorful characters. He batted leadoff and drew a bases-loaded walk in the Knights' four-run second inning.

Bucko promised Shinsky, his starting pitcher, that he would make up for the misplay with his bat, just like he has done all season.

“I knew he'd come back,” Shinsky said of his neighbor and best friend. “He told me he was going to get me one more run. That's all I needed. I told him, ‘Get me one more run and we'll win this game.' ”

It proved prophetic.

It wasn't the only bold prediction about Bucko. Before the bottom of the sixth, senior shortstop Chris Law showed his confidence in Bucko by saying he would hit a triple in his next at-bat.

On the mound was the undefeated Ksiazek, a hard-throwing right-hander headed to Monmouth who had retired eight of the previous nine.

With two outs and two strikes, Bucko sent one screaming toward Medlar Field's 21-foot-high Clemente Wall replica in right field. He raced around the basepaths as it bounced at the warning track, reaching third safely.

“That's the story of his life,” said Knoch coach George Bradley, who considers Bucko a high-major Division I prospect. “He's hit a lot of balls this year.”

Added Shinsky: “We're used to it. He does that a lot. He's a great hitter. That's what we expect him to do.”

Law singled to score Bucko for the winning run in Knoch's 7-5 victory for the first PIAA team title — in any sport — in school history.

“I told Cole I was going to do that, and I did. When I say stuff, I mean it,” Bucko said. “It's just unbelievable.”

Not in the eyes of those at Knoch, who expected it. The Knights believed in Bucko, and that's all he needed.

Kevin Gorman is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

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