Steel Valley baseball team uses strong second half to reach playoffs
The Steel Valley baseball team knew it needed a second-half surge to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs for the sixth year in a row.
That’s exactly what the Ironmen got.
Coached by Tim Vickers, the Ironmen won five of their final six Class AA Section 4 games to finish third in the section with an 8-4 record (9-9 overall). They open up the WPIAL playoffs with a first-round game against South Fayette today at Upper St. Clair.
Steel Valley clinched its postseason berth by winning at Brentwood, 8-5, on May 4. The Ironmen got big contributions from two four-year starters in that game, Ben Bobick and Thayne Mitrik. Bobick went 4 for 5 and Mitrik pitched a complete game to pick up the win.
Vickers pointed to a 15-0 section win at Jeannette on April 25 as being the game that vaulted the Ironmen to bigger things after starting off 3-3 in the section. The offensive outburst came after the Ironmen plated just 20 runs combined in their previous six section contests. Bobick hit a grand slam in the win against Jeannette.
“The turnaround game was that Jeannette game,” said Vickers. “The one thing holding us back was that we couldn’t get enough offense. That Jeannette game got our offense going and we began to start scoring runs.”
That’s exactly what the Ironmen got.
Coached by Tim Vickers, the Ironmen won five of their final six Class AA Section 4 games to finish third in the section with an 8-4 record (9-9 overall). They open up the WPIAL playoffs with a first-round game against South Fayette today at Upper St. Clair.
Steel Valley clinched its postseason berth by winning at Brentwood, 8-5, on May 4. The Ironmen got big contributions from two four-year starters in that game, Ben Bobick and Thayne Mitrik. Bobick went 4 for 5 and Mitrik pitched a complete game to pick up the win.
Vickers pointed to a 15-0 section win at Jeannette on April 25 as being the game that vaulted the Ironmen to bigger things after starting off 3-3 in the section. The offensive outburst came after the Ironmen plated just 20 runs combined in their previous six section contests. Bobick hit a grand slam in the win against Jeannette.
“The turnaround game was that Jeannette game,” said Vickers. “The one thing holding us back was that we couldn’t get enough offense. That Jeannette game got our offense going and we began to start scoring runs.”
baseball