2008 PIAA State Baseball: Loyalsock wins first state baseball championship

Cillo closes the door on Burrell
By Gorden Blain
ALTOONA -- It’s not that Loyalsock baseball coach Casey Waller has a quick hook.

But he does have a senior relief pitcher who’s been very tough on hitters all season long.

With the WPIAL third-place team Burrell threatening to erase Loyalsock’s early 4-1 lead in the PIAA State AA Baseball championship game at Blair County Ballpark in Altoona on Friday afternoon, Waller wasted no time turning to reliable righthander Alex Cillo in the third inning.

And Cillo answered the call just the way Waller thought he would and the Lancers made their first PIAA state baseball championship game appearance one to remember when it defeated Burrell 8-3 to capture gold.

Cillo pitched four and one-third innings in relief for the victory and the District 4 AA champions had nine hits on their way to their first-ever state baseball championship.

Cillo struck out six, walked three and allowed five hits on 96 pitches. He surrendered just two runs, both in the seventh inning with Loyalsock comfortably in front 8-1, against a Buccaneers lineup with six hitters batting .333 or better for the season.

“Before the game, I asked Alex if he wanted the ball,” said Waller. “If you want it, it’s yours, I told him. But he told me to stick with the way we’ve been doing it with Colin (Kelly) starting and with him in relief.

“He’s a senior and he gets it done for us. He‘s a competitor, a gamer.”

Cillo said it was his second-longest stint of the season inning-wise and the most pitches he had thrown in a game all season. While Kelly was on a 75 pitch count to protect his arm after off-season Tommy John surgery, Cillo didn’t expect the call from Waller so soon.

“Not that early,” Cillo said. “I thought Colin would go farther. I pitch two, three, four innings, usually not five.”

But he proved he was ready to fill his roll as closer one last time and never in a bigger game.

“I like it like that,“ Cillo said. “That’s what I’ve been doing all season, closing games out.”

With a 4-1 record, six saves and a 1.59 earned run average entering the state championship game, Cillo was hardly caught off guard by the earlier-than-usual challenge. Winning the state championship was another story.

“I can’t explain the feeling,” he said. “It’s the happiest I’ve been in my life. After we won our last two games of the regular season against Williamsport and Midd West, we started to believe we could do this.”

Waller couldn’t have agreed more.

“This feels great,” he said. “It hasn’t set in yet. Losing some tough games to some tough competition in our league really helped us.”

Sophomore outfielder Stephen Stopper had two hits and drove in two runs and sophomore catcher Brian Stopper had two hits and two runs batted in for Loyalsock, which had nine hits.

Junior catcher Eric McAlpine had two of Burrell’s seven hits.

Loyalsock got to Buccaneers (20-3) starting pitcher Seth Napierkowsk for four runs and four hits in the first three innings.

The Lancers (22-4) grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning and led 4-1 after three innings against the WPIAL champions. Each of the Stoppers had hits and senior outfielder Matt Frick had a triple to drive in two runs in the second inning.

The Lancers got their fourth run in the third without a hit.

Burrell senior infielder Dan Olszewski had a double in the second inning when the Bucs scored their run.

Cillo relieved Kelly with two outs and runners on first and third in the third inning and got the third out without surrendering a run.

In the top of the fifth inning Loyalsock extended its lead to 5-1 and forced a Burrell pitching change. Kelly led off the inning with a single and later scored on Brian Stopper‘s infield grounder. Dave Kunkle then relieved Napierkowski to get the Bucs out of the inning.

Loyalsock scored three runs with two outs to up its lead to 8-1 in the sixth inning. Ryan Girio led off the inning with a single, went to third base on Frick’s sacrifice bunt and scored when Burrell shortstop Phil Spagnolo couldn’t come up with a ground ball off the bat of Tyler Pinkerton. Kelly tripled home Pinkerton and then Kelly scored on Brian Stopper’s double to right.

Cillo worked out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth. McAlpine doubled to start the inning for Burrell. After Cillo struck out Dave Yakopec, Shane Welsh reached on an infield single. With runners at first and third and one out, Spagnolo popped out to second and Camren Nelson looked at a third strike.

Burrell threatened to rally in its last at bat. Kunkle led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a soft line single to right and went to second on a errant pick off throw by Cillo. Steve Yacopec struck out. Seth Napierkowski and Dan Olszewski walked to load the bases. With one out, Kunkle and Napierkowski scored on a line single to right field just out of the reach of the centerfielder. But Cillo shut the door getting the next two batters to end the game.