HERSHEY, Pa. — Given an extra day to work –— thanks to a rainy outlook Monday that saturated Memorial Field and shelved a lengthy bus ride to Pennsylvania’s Capital Region for 24 hours — Brian Junker didn’t have his Shaler players plug their bats into a nearby outlet so they could charge overnight.
Yet while they may have taken a few swings and loosened up the arms, the Titans also spent time in the weight room.
“We did get a lift in,” Junker cracked.
And pumping iron may have led to a significant power surge once Junker’s bunch motored into Hershey, as the Titans uncorked several long balls Tuesday and hammered their way past Philadelphia’s Bonner-Prendergast 9-3 to sew up a spot in the PIAA Class 5A baseball final Thursday at Penn State. It will be Shaler’s third appearance in a state final, but first since the Titans tumbled in 1999.
Shaler (22-4), which will play Strath Haven in the final, mined gold in 1980.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Junker, whose Titans lost in the state semifinals in 2015. “We’re not going up there to enjoy the scenery and enjoy the hoopla; we want to win this game.”
Derek Leas, Connor Hamrick, Brady Alexander and Max Saban popped home runs — the first three nearly came in back-to-back-to-back fashion as Shaler scored four times in the second inning — while Colby McGuire tacked on a two-run single in the fourth.
“We came in today, bats hot, wind blowing out a little bit, so we took advantage of that,” Alexander said.
“It was nice,” Junker cracked.
Despite yielding 11 hits during his five-inning stint — and only after getting two innings of shutout relief from Colby Weber — Alabama recruit Miguel Hugas pocketed the win to lift his record to 11-0. Catcher Luke Jarzsynka helped plenty by throwing out two baserunners and making a big-time tag at the plate as Leas’ relay just barely beat Auburn recruit and likely MLB first-round draft choice Kevin McGonigle.
“With those plays, it just got our energy going through the roof,” Alexander added.
Irv Fisher and Austin Cannon each banked three hits for Bonner-Prendergast (17-8), which fell in the state semis for the third year in a row.
While Jarzsynka’s throw to third after a fake to second caught Jaxon Kehoe scrambling back to end the first — Junker anticipated McGonigle moving from first and called the play—- Hugas wiggled out of trouble in the second by getting Ryan Friel to bounce out.
Moments later, Leas lined a shot over the right-field fence that whipped up the Titans and pushed them in front. Then, following the first of three walks to Ben Yeckel, Hamrick lifted a ball that got some help from a friendly breeze while carrying out as Shaler’s lead grew to 3-0. Once the high fives were done, Alexander uncorked a bomb that touched down just a few feet left of the batter’s eye in center.
Although Cannon’s rip sliced Shaler’s lead to 4-1 in the fourth — Jarzsynka’s throw to second combined with a second-effort dive from shortstop Elijah Muckle erased Fisher — McGuire’s two-run single over a drawn-in infield in the home half made it 6-1.
Bonner-Prendergast responded with two in the fifth on Fisher’s RBI double and Cannon’s run-scoring single, but Weber tossed a scoreless sixth and, by the time he returned to the mound for the seventh, a three-run home run to left-center by Saban’s three-run jack to left-center had upped the Shaler advantage to 9-3.
The Friars threatened with two outs in the seventh, but Weber closed the door by getting Cannon on a slow roller that squibbed fair.
Up next is a stop at Penn State, where Junker’s upbeat group hopes to mine some long-awaited gold. Maybe unload a few more timely jolts.
“We’re ready,” Jarzsynka stated. “We’ve been thinking about it all year. We’re ready.”
“We’re excited. We’re gonna go out there, do our job, do what we do,” Alexander added. “Our goal is to win it all.”
First Published: June 14, 2023, 10:15 a.m.
