Blair-Taylor falls to Pittsville in low-scoring sectional semifinal
Blair-Taylor’s Brayden Paulson legged out an infield single with one out in the top of the seventh inning. Paulson represented the tying run in the final frame, but was left on first base as the next two B-T batters struck out. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Blair-Taylor senior Tavian Shramek surrendered two runs in six innings against Pittsville last Tuesday — his final game as a Wildcat. (Times photograph by Zach Rastall)
A high-stakes playoff game featuring Blair-Taylor’s Tavian Shramek and Pittsville’s Logan Zickert on the mound figured to be a low-scoring affair where any run scored could be the difference between a likely trip to the state tournament and the end of the season.
When the dust settled, it was the Panthers who managed to manufacture the crucial run that kept their dreams of a state championship alive and well.
First seed Pittsville (22-7) battled past third seed Blair-Taylor (14-8) for a 2-1 win in their WIAA Division Four sectional semifinal clash last Tuesday in Blair.
Both teams managed to strike early with a run in the opening inning.
In the top of the first, Shramek got things started with a leadoff single and he moved to third a batter later after Pittsville misplayed an Austin Thompson bunt single. Kole Trapp’s groundout brought Shramek home and gave the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead.
Zickert drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, moved to second on a groundout and scored to level things at 1-1 thanks to Grant Rademan’s one-out RBI double.
Blair-Taylor danced out of trouble in the bottom of the third despite the Panthers having runners on the corners with one out. Rademan hit a pop fly into foul territory that B-T catcher Trapp caught behind the plate. Pittsville’s Dawson Luther moved too far off the bag at first and was caught for an inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the fourth, a walk, a single and a sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third with one out. Kash Ostermann hit a grounder that scored the go-ahead run to give the Panthers the 2-1 advantage.
Down to their last at-bat in the top of the seventh, the Wildcats got a potential lifeline when Zickert hit the 100-pitch limit with a runner at first and two outs. However, Dawson Luther came on in relief and struck out Brady Thompson to end the game.
Shramek, Austin Thompson and Brayden Paulson each singled for the Wildcats in the loss.
“I think it was a great baseball game. Both pitchers threw well. They just got one hit different with the guy one base. They put it in play,” said Blair-Taylor head coach Jesse Lien. “We fought, got through some stuff there and gave ourselves a chance there at the end. It was their day today, but I’m proud of the guys for the year that they’ve had.”
Six seed Highland (15-13) beat eight seed Boscobel (13-13) 10-2 in the other sectional semifinal. Pittsville took care of business in convincing fashion to cap off the day, trouncing the Cardinals 13-3 in five innings to advance to their fourth state tournament in program history and first since 2014.
Despite a disappointing loss, it was a special day for the Wildcats. After going just 5-17 in 2022 in this senior group’s first year of high school, they progressed far enough to capture a second consecutive conference championship this season, win the program’s first regional title since 2011 and gave themselves the chance to play a sectional at home before a strong Wildcat crowd.
“That was probably the most fun game I’ve ever been a part of,” Shramek said. “Really happy that we have a lot of fans that come and support us, especially in this big of a stage. And it’s been 15 years since our last regional championship, so proud of the team to get here.”
