Montour sticks with its motto to win PIAA Class 4A baseball state title

Montour scores four runs in the seventh to defeat Holy Ghost Prep 10-9.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The motto on offense for Montour baseball all season has been simply ‘put the ball in play and good things will happen.’

On Thursday afternoon, they did just that.

The Spartans put the ball in play and the good thing that happened was they were hoisting the trophy as the PIAA Class 4A state champions with a 10-9 win over Holy Ghost Prep.

With the teams tied 9-9 in the top of the seventh inning, Montour had runners on first and second with two outs when Zac Stern lifted a popup towards the left side of the infield. As the ball hung in the air, both runners went into a dead sprint around the bases. When the ball hit the ground at Medlar Field, Cole Fleck was crossing the plate with what would wind up being the game-winning run.

“I was sprinting because you never know what can happen,” Fleck said. “I ran my (butt) off rounding third and it paid off because we won the game.”

The Spartans were only in that position because of their perseverance and their motto.

Leading 6-5 in the sixth inning, Montour allowed a grand slam to Holy Ghost Prep’s Tyler McCord to give the Firebirds a 9-6 lead. But the Spartans weren’t going to go down without a fight.

Brock Janeda led off the seventh with a walk and was followed by Nick Walker reaching on an error. After a fly out for the first out, Mason Sike sliced a single into right field for his third hit of the day to score two runs and cut the deficit to 9-8.

“I was just here to win, you know,” Sike said. “I was trying not to strike out, to put balls in play and get my boys over.”

Fleck then reached on an error that scored Maddox Tarquinio to tie the game. After Jake Robinson flew out and Ryan Gallagher walked, the stage was set for heroics.

And Stern did what he has been taught to do – get the bat on the ball someway, somehow.

“I am thinking put the ball in play and good things will happen,” Montour head coach Bob Janeda said. “That’s what we preach and that’s what we teach.”

There were few words to describe what had just happened, as the game took more twists and turns than the drive to State College.

“It was a circus,” coach Janeda said. “Amazing ballgame.”

As for the players, they were still trying to put into words what had just happened in the last three hours.

“We are state champs, baby,” Fleck said. “It feels unreal. Craziest moment of my life.”

Here are photos from Thursday's 4A championship game:

All photos by Paul Burdick