CENTER VALLEY — After rallying from a four-run deficit in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A baseball playoffs, the Mid Valley Spartans knew how to play with the confidence that they could win any game.
So when they fell behind by five runs to District 1 champion Holy Ghost Prep in the top of the third inning, it was no surprise they scratched and clawed until the bitter end.
Freshman Nick Hricenak battled on the mound to keep the Firebirds within striking distance. Mid Valley batters worked the count and drew walks. Jeremy Cali reached base three times, and drove in two runs to cut the deficit to three.
The Spartans didn’t make it easy for Holy Ghost Prep, which won the Class 4A title in 2024.
“That’s just kind of how our team’s been all year long,” Mid Valley coach Ryan Kropa said. “We used that word resilient over and over again as the year went on, and just watching these guys riding the ups and downs together, never die, never quit. All good things have to come to an end, and what a great Cinderella story here. If you talked about us being here and throwing a freshman in a state quarterfinal game, I would have asked you guys what was going on right there.
“We had some injuries kind of back and forth there throughout the year and one of our guys we thought could be our No. 1 pitcher early on not being able to pitch for us the rest of the year, and guys stepped up. The resiliency and that next-man-up mentality is what road us here to be one of the eight best teams in 4A in the state of Pennsylvania, and that’s pretty impressive.”
Holy Ghost Prep (15-9) will face District 4 champion Montoursville, a 4-2 winner over District 3 bronze medalist Boiling Springs, in Monday’s semifinals at a site and time to be determined.
“I thought both teams were very competitive,” Holy Ghost Prep coach Greg Olenski said. “Obviously, we had a little more experience on this side with 17 seniors, but I thought (Mid Valley) competed. The freshman (Hricenak) was pretty sharp on the mound, even after we went up, 5-0, for him to hang in there, it’s respectable. I tip my cap to him.”
The Firebirds jumped ahead early when Eddie Rosado reached on an error, Matt Evans hit an RBI double down the left field line, Tyler Bergkoetter hit an RBI single to left and Jonathan Posivak drove in another run with a single to left for a 3-0 lead in the top of the first.
Jeremy Cali led off the bottom half with a liner to center and advanced to second on a pickoff attempt that sailed past the first baseman. However, Matt Riendeau got Brett Yanoski and Joey Romanosky to fly out to center and third, respectively, and Nick Mills to ground out to short and end the inning.
Holy Ghost Prep threatened again in the second inning, as Colin Davis doubled to center, and Braydon Wilson hit a bloop single to right field to put runners at first and third with no outs. However, Hricenak worked out of it, striking out Preston Conners before getting Rosado to ground into a fielder’s choice with Romanosky making a nice play at short and throw to home to get the runner. After Jake Keaser was hit by pitch, Hricenak got Matt Evans to fly out to right center for the third out.
Mid Valley (19-6) worked three walks in the bottom of the second, but Riendeau got Spencer Kalinoski to ground into a double play and Aaron Merrifield to ground out to third to get out of the jam.
The Firebirds tacked on more in the top of the third. Bergkoetter singled on a perfectly-placed bunt before Baker ripped an RBI double into the right center gap for a 4-0 advantage. Posivak added a sacrifice fly for a 5-0 lead.
Cali, who finished with two hits, reached base again to lead off the bottom half when he was hit by pitch, but Riendeau retired the next three in order.
That’s when Hricenak settled in with a 1-2-3 top of the fourth that included two infield flyouts and a groundout.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Spencer Kalinoski worked a walk, and Zach Buza ripped a single to left and advanced on the throw to put runners at second and third. However, Christopher Schnauffer relieved Riendeau and got Lucas Zuraski to fly out to left to end the inning.
“I thought Riendeau didn’t have his best stuff today,” Olenski said. “He’s been a work horse for us all year. I was kind of fighting for grip a little bit. He looked a little exhausted out there, but bringing in a lefty in Schnauffer I thought he settled things down pretty quick, got some quick outs.”
Hricenak once again held his ground in the top of the fifth with runners on second and third with two outs, getting Davis to ground out to short.
“He’s so much fun to watch, a 14-year-old freshman who found out he was getting the ball in a district championship game a minute before it started and here he is again throwing in a state quarterfinal game,” Kropa said. “Early on, we had some things that didn’t go our way, a dropped ball at second base on a steal, a ball that zipped out of our shortstop’s glove to start the game, and he bent but he didn’t break there and he really stepped up in the end and put some zeroes up on the board to give us a chance, and that’s a really good-hitting Holy Ghost Prep team.
“It’s hard to go down 3-zip in the first inning, but credit to our guys for sticking with it and trying to bounce back, and we’re not there without Nick Hricenak — offensively and defensively, actually.”
Brett Yanoski was hit by pitch and Mills worked a walk in the bottom of the fifth. However, Hricenak hit a chopper up the middle that shortstop Posivak sprinted toward, scooped out of the air and fired to first for the final out of the inning.
Another 1-2-3 inning for Hricenak kept the Spartans within striking distance in the bottom of the sixth, and Mid Valley finally cashed in.
Bondy lined a leadoff single to left, and after Kalinoski and Buza strikeouts, Zuraski hit a grounder to third and advanced to second on a wild throw to first. Then, Cali made decent contact on a check swing that sent the ball down the right field line. First baseman Davis got a glove on it, but couldn’t make the play as two runs scored to cut the Mid Valley deficit to 5-2.
However, Hricenak couldn’t shut down the Firebirds, allowing Keaser’s double down the left field line and Bergkoetter’s infield single, his fourth hit of the game, before being replaced by Yanoski with one out in the seventh. Hricenak allowed 11 hits and six runs (four earned), walked none and struck out two on 94 pitches in 6.1 innings.
Baker tacked on a sac-fly to give Holy Ghost Prep a 6-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
“I talked about putting up a crooked number the first couple innings. We put up three in the first, which was nice to see, and then two in the third, and then I thought we got a little complacent in four, five and six,” Olenski said. “Our catcher with the sac-fly to push another one across in the seventh was a really big run and I applaud him for that. A couple really nice plays in the field, the double play that was turned by Preston Conners at third was really sharp.”
Hricenak had an infield single with two outs, but Bondy flied out to center to end the game.
Mid Valley ends its season as a District 2 Class 4A champion and a state quarterfinalist. The seniors, including Nick Mills, Jake Bondy, Cooper Lukasavage, Brett Yanoski and Nick Pinto, leave the program with three district titles and a 2025 Lackawanna League Division II crown.
“They came in as freshmen, and those guys have been there in different roles, obviously, as the years went on, but just their leadership alone has set the bar,” Kropa said of the seniors. “It took us 40 years to win a district championship, and they won not one, not two, but three of them all together. So, it’s going to be funny not to write those guys’ names in the lineup cards next year, but as they’ve done all year long, as they walked to the huddle at the end of the game, our seniors are talking to the younger guys and talking about how important they were to them and how they want to pick up where they left off for next year. So, it’s hard to think about next year already, but I think those guys wanted to leave their legacy and they absolutely did.”