The seventh inning of last night’s WPIAL AAA championship game will be one that Belle Vernon won’t easily forget. They had a credible chance to knock off No. 1 ranked Blackhawk at Consol Energy Park in Washington, PA for the school’s first ever District 7 Championship.

Through six innings, Blackhawk pitcher Brendan McKay was masterful, allowing just an opposite field single to Dean Manown with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Most in the some 1,000 in attendance assumed the seventh inning would play out much like the first six, with McKay mowing down three hitters for the win.  Belle Vernon had other plans however.

The seventh inning started innocently enough for McKay and Blackhawk when Belle Vernon lead-off hitter Chad Balsano slapped a slow ground ball between the mound and first base.  McKay fielded the ball and threw to the second baseman covering first for the first out.   Adam Ferita walked on six pitches, McKay’s first walk of the day, bringing the potential winning run to the plate for Belle Vernon in the form of relief pitcher Dom Francia.   Francia pulled the second pitch he saw down the left field line for a single. He advanced to second base when the throw from the outfield went to third base. Junior Joe Simsic walked on five pitches to load the bases giving junior Matt Callaway an opportunity to be the hero. McKay was able to coax Callaway into a game-ending 1-2-3 double play ball to secure the shutout and the championship.

Dylan Pietrantoni, Class of 2014, turned in a pitching gem of his own for Belle Vernon.  He allowed just one run in 6.1 innings of work. He was efficient, throwing 103 total pitches, and was able to work out of two based loaded jams. The sophomore did a fantastic job of mixing his 78MPH fastball with a changeup and curve ball to keep Blackhawk hitters off balance.

Belle Vernon’s offense was silenced most of the game by McKay, Prep Baseball Report’s No.2 ranked player in the Class of 2014.  BV finished with just two hits, needing the third hit to pull off the upset.

McKay improved to (8-1) on the season while Pietrantoni suffered his first loss, dropping to (7-1). Both teams advance to the PIAA playoffs which begin Monday, June 4^th.