Master in his field
Senior's single helps Tornado top Bethel Park

By John Enrietto
Eagle Sports Editor

PLUM BORO — After being replaced by a pinch hitter only two innings earlier, Tanner Master wanted to do it himself this time.
His teammates are glad he did.
The Butler senior center fielder delivered a one-out bad-hop single to right field in the top of the seventh inning, scoring Evan Oswald from second. That proved to be the deciding run as the Golden Tornado edged Bethel Park 5-4 in a WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal baseball game Thursday at Plum High.
"I usually hit for Tanner in late-inning situations and I know that's tough on a kid, but he's handled it well all year," Butler coach Dave Florie said.
Florie sent in David Schmidt to hit for Master during a three-run fifth inning and Schmidt singled to center.
With the score even at 4, Evan Oswald led off the Tornado seventh with a single to center before Ryan Fennell bunted him to second. Master's spot in the order was due up next.
"I was going to bat for him again," Florie admitted. "But I looked him in the eye and asked him if he could do it. He looked straight back at me and said yes. I liked that look, so I let him hit."
Master hit a hard grounder right at the Bethel Park first baseman, but the ball caromed awkwardly over his glove and into right field as Oswald scored.
" I couldn't get upset with Coach for hitting for me because it's been better for the team," Master said. "I've been in a slump all season, it seems.
"I put the ball in play, but it seems to be right at the fielder. That's all I wanted to do in that last at-bat: put the ball in play and hope something good happens."
It did.
"That ball had a lot of spin on it and just took a crazy hop," Bethel Park coach Jim Rider said. "You hang around baseball long enough ... sometimes you get the game, sometimes the game gets you."
The Black Hawks scored a run to tie the game in the sixth and nearly did so again in the seventh.
Tyler Bowen walked to start the seventh inning and Mike Ganley bunted him to second. But Butler right-hander Matt Monnie, who relieved starter Zac Sessa in the third, struck out Anthony Girdano on three pitches and got Jake Kalkbrenner to pop to third to end the game.
"All I wanted to do was throw strikes," Monnie said. "I knew my defense would help me."
Both teams had 11 hits. The Tornado stranded 11 runners, the Black Hawks 10. Bethel Park left the bases loaded in the third and sixth innings, Butler did so in the third.
The Tornado fell behind 3-1 early before scoring three times in the fifth to take the lead. Eric King delivered a sacrifice fly, Fennell a run-scoring single and Oswald scored on a wild pitch.
Bethel Park got even in the sixth. Florie walked Jimmy Meyer intentionally to load the bases with two outs. Monnie fell behind Grant Brown 3-0, worked the count to 3-2, then allowed a dribbler over the mound for a game-tying infield single.
"That ball barely deflected off the tip of my glove," Monnie said. "I should have had it."
He regrouped, however, retiring No. 4 hitter Andy Fosick on a comebacker to the mound.
"Matt maintained his focus there at a very frustrating point in the game," Florie said. "We needed that."
Bethel Park's first three hitters in the batting order were a combined 7-for-11 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Butler will face North Allegheny, a 12-4 winner over Latrobe, in the semifinal round next week. The Tigers defeated the Tornado by scores of 6-3 and 7-2 during the regular season.
"I feel like we're a team of destiny, but these kids have earned that," Florie said. "No one works any harder than the Butler baseball team."

Butler 001 030 1 — 5 11 0
Bethel Park 201 001 0 — 4 11 2
W: Matt Monnie (5 IP) 4 K, 3 BB. L: Alex Edgar (2X\c IP) 1 K, 0 BB.
Butler (13-9): Cody Herald 1B, Tyler Slepski 1B, Dustin Uhlman 1B, John Crummy 1B RBI, Eric King RBI, Evan Oswald 2-1B 2-R, Ryan Fennell 1B RBI, Tanner Master 1B RBI, David Schmidt 1B, Tanner McCaw 2-1B
Bethel Park (9-8): Ryan Kragnes 2-1B 2B, Jimmy Meyer 2-1B, Grant Brown 2-1B 2-RBI, Andy Fosick 2B RBI, Tyler Bowen 1B RBI, Anthony Girdano 1B, Grant Krally 1B,
TBD: Butler vs. North Allegheny, WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals