Steel Valley rallies to capture its 1st WPIAL baseball championship

Three times Steel Valley was down to its final strike.

And three times the Ironmen came through.

“We've had great timing all year,” said Jesse Cantley, who drove a two-out, two-strike pitch into center field to lift Steel Valley past Seton-La Salle, 6-5, Tuesday in the WPIAL Class AA championship at Consol Energy Park in Washington.

It was the first finals appearance for the Ironmen, who scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh with two outs. Bryce Varhola hit a game-tying, two-run single with two outs and a full-count.

Yet no one had timing better than Cantley.

The junior had two hits and reached base four times in his first start since tearing an elbow ligament in March, an injury that required two platelet-rich plasma injections and weeks of rehab.

With the score tied 5-5, Cantley's walk-off single scored Sam Ligeros from third, completing Steel Valley's three-run rally.

“I saw a level of calmness that was almost eerie,” Steel Valley coach Tim Vickers said. “No panic whatsoever in those kids. That's what they've been doing all year.”

Steel Valley (18-2) was the No. 2 seed.

“You don't get to this spot without timely hits,” Vickers said. “Unfortunately for my heart, (in the championship) it took until the end.”

It wasn't until Tuesday's second-period calculus class that Vickers told Cantley he'd start the championship. Since his injury, Cantley's only at-bat was a pinch-hit double in the semifinals. Cantley was cleared to swing a bat last Tuesday.

“He forced our hand to put him on the field,” said Vickers, praising Cantley's work in practice.

Before Cantley could play hero, a lot had to happen in the seventh. First, two Seton-La Salle fielding mistakes put Matt Hoesch on second base and Brandon Donovan on first. With two outs, Ligeros drew a full-count walk and Varhola drove a full-count pitch into right field.

“We have a phrase: Win this pitch,” Cantley said. “We did that in the seventh inning. We won every pitch.”

Seton-La Salle starter Carson Rebel had scattered six hits before the seventh, allowing one run each in the second, third and sixth innings. Despite a pitch count of more than 120, Seton stuck with Rebel.

No. 9 Seton (15-6) wanted its first title since 1995.

“We had three ground balls. We (should have) had three outs,” said Seton-La Salle coach Shawn Trainor, insisting he had no regrets. “He did what he was supposed to do. When I went out after the hit to tie it, I said, ‘Do you want to put somebody in?' He said, ‘No, I want to finish.' ”

Donovan, Steel Valley's starter, allowed four of his five runs in the fourth inning, when Seton had a walk and three hits, including a triple by Danzel McKinley-Lewis. Seton led 4-2 after the fourth and added another run in the seventh when Matt Reinmund singled and scored.

Donovan allowed six hits and three walks and struck out nine. The junior had thrown shutouts in his first two playoff starts but pitched well enough this time for his team to rally.

“We knew we could do it,” Cantley said. “We did it all year. It was nothing out of the ordinary for us.”

Chris Harlan is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.