Ellwood City stumbles late, falls on extra-inning walk-off to East Allegheny

NATRONA HEIGHTS — For four innings Tuesday, No. 11 Ellwood City junior starting pitcher Nick Magnifico lived up to his last name against No. 6 East Allegheny. The Wildcat bats woke up late in the game though, eventually leading to a 5-4 walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth inning, wiping out a promising day overall for the young Wolverines.

Magnifico was magnificent throughout the first four innings against the Wildcats Tuesday at Highlands High School in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, escaping jams in the second and third innings to hold the Wildcats scoreless.

While the junior dealt on the mound, the Wolverines' offense got started early. Senior outfielder Ashton Wilson led off the game with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Isaiah Lutz. Sophomore Joseph Roth then tripled to right field, driving in Lutz to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead after one inning of play.

Things remained 1-0 Ellwood City into the top of the fifth inning despite Roth's second triple of the game in the top of the third inning, and a two-on, one-out scenario in the top of the fourth inning for the Wolverines. Opportunities weren't capitalized on though until the top of the fifth when Roth singled to center, stole second, and moved to third on an infield single by Magnifico. One pitch later, East Allegheny starting pitcher Nate Holmes spiked a pitch into the dirt, allowing Roth to race home from third for a 2-0 lead.

Trailing by two and struggling to get anything going at the plate, the Wildcats' bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth.

Senior Jax Jurisic and sophomore Michael Cahill recorded back-to-back singles to open the inning before sophomore Joe Connors double to left, driving in Jurisic. Sophomore Traynor Janosko played hero in the fifth inning, skying a sacrifice fly to centerfield to drive in Cahill from third, knotting the game at 2-all.

Then came the biggest hit of the game to that point. Sophomore Ryan Kirk drilled a two-run home run to left field off of Magnifico, making it a 4-2 game, ultimately chasing him from the game, spoiling a splendid start.

"You know, he missed a couple spots and they took advantage of him," Ellwood City head coach Chris Weisz said following the loss. "He doesn't usually miss spots like that. He was up, and they made us pay, end of story. They put the ball in play and made us pay in that inning."

Down 4-2 with two innings to go, Ellwood City refused to fold.

Senior Alexander Roth reached first to open the top of the sixth on a hit by pitch before freshman Sam Landis singled to center field, setting up first and second with one out. Sophomore Ryan Widmaier dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third before Holmes intentionally walked Wilson, loading the bases with two outs.

Lutz then dribbled one back to Holmes on the mound, but the senior pitcher underthrew the lob throw to first, resulting in an error, allowing Roth to score from third, making it a 4-3 game. The Wolverines appeared to be in real business with the error on Holmes, but East Allegheny sophomore first baseman Thomas Kearns made a heads-up play, catching Wilson off the bag at second for the final out of the inning.

Taking over for Magnifico on the mound, ace pitcher Joseph Roth kept the Wildcats at bay, cruising through the bottom of the sixth to give Ellwood City one more chance. That's where Alexander Roth came through in the clutch, pounding an RBI single to right field, knotting the game at 4-4 before Joseph Roth sent the game to extra innings with a clean bottom of the seventh.

"Our team is a resilient bunch," Weisz said. "When you look out there, you're looking at bunch of freshman and sophomores. I'm relying on a guy like Alexander to come up there – this is his second year of varsity baseball — he makes threes in basketball when I needed him, and he came up with a big hit for us there."

The two teams then worked through a clean eighth inning before Cahill — taking over for Holmes on the mound, worked through a quick and easy top of the ninth, setting up a wild final inning.

Jurisic reached first on an infield single with one out before then stealing second. Following a flyout to Wilson in center by Cahill, the Wolverines intentionally walked Connors to get to Janosko with runners on first and second and two outs.

The sophomore came up big for the Wildcats, lining a single to left just out of the reach of a lunging Lutz. The throw from senior left fielder Bucky Biskup seemed to reach Widmaier at the plate in time, but the home plate umpire ruled Jurisic safe, setting off the Wildcats' celebration as they advanced to the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals with the thrilling 5-4 win.

Ellwood City closes the season with an 8-11 record under Weisz.

"You always want to win a playoff game, but what I told the guys out there after the game is that this shows what needs to be done," Weisz said. "It gives us a blueprint. It doesn't guarantee anything; we've got talent. It'll be a fun ride with these guys moving forward, but this is a tough one."

Contact Joshua Carney at jcarney@gannett.com or 724-681-9136. Follow Joshua on Twitter: @ByJoshCarney.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Ellwood City stumbles late, falls on extra-inning walk-off to East Allegheny