Cole Short stays calm under pressure as Latrobe upends Fox Chapel, 2-1, in first round of WPIAL playoffs

Short worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning to help the Wildcats move onto the next round.

Luke Nipar-Smith, left, and Cole Short, right, celebrate follow Latrobe's 2-1 win over Fox Chapel Wednesday night at Plum High School. / Josh Rizzo

PLUM, Pa. — There were plenty of indications in the sixth inning that Latrobe pitcher Cole Short may not have much left. Short’s control, which had been excellent, started to slip.

He had to wiggle out of a bases-loaded jam to get out of the sixth inning of a WPIAL Class 5A playoff game Wednesday night at Plum high School. But once Short got Fox Chapel’s Blake Kruhsinski, a West Virginia commit, to ground out to first base, he had no reservations about coming back out for the seventh inning.

“We were fine,” Short said. 

Short slammed the door in the final frame, collecting his seventh strikeout to end the game during the ninth-seeded Wildcats’ 2-1 upset win over No. 8 Fox Chapel. Short finished the game with seven strikeouts and only one walk in seven innings of work.

Fox Chapel coach Jim Hastings said that Short made important pitches at key moments. The Foxes were only able to produce five hits.

“He isn’t a high velocity guy,” Hastings said. “We wanted to stay back. He mixed it up well and hit his spots. He made good pitches to his posts when he needed to.”

Fox Chapel had high hopes

The Foxes wanted to lean on their Division I pitching talent in the postseason. The Foxes (15-6) entered last postseason as the No. 2 seed and ultimately lost to eventual WPIAL champion Penn-Trafford.

Jeremy Haigh, a Wagner College commit, made the start for the Foxes and made life difficult on Latrobe. Part of Fox Chapel’s struggles came from Short’s approach.

“I wanted to get ahead of batters,” Short said. “I have a problem late in batting orders where I’ll get amped up and throw as hard as I can. Then I’ll get behind and walk a kid low in the order and flip it for the top of the order and that’s where I get in trouble.

Fox Chapel only finished with five hits.

Haigh drove in the Foxes’ only run when he doubled in the sixth inning. Haigh credited Latrobe for its strong defense. He was disappointed the Foxes couldn’t match that energy.

“We’ve been a team on the rise the past few years,” Haigh said. “We were a strong team and have the grit to play clean baseball and win the ones that matter.”

Eli Boring slides into home during the fourth inning of Latrobe's 2-1 win over Fox Chapel. / Josh Rizzo

Latrobe breaks through

The Wildcats did all of their damage on offense in the fourth inning. Eli Boring, Luke Nipar-Smith, Cole Short and Hayden Porterfield all collected singles in the inning. Boring scored on a throwing error to put Latobe ahead.

Porterfield’s hit drove in the second run. Short’s hit was an indicator it may be Latobe’s night. The ball appeared to be headed fair, but ran out of steam and stayed fair.

Latrobe pitcher Cole Short is restrained by catcher Alex Skwirut following the Wildcats' 2-1 win over Fox Chapel Wednesday night. / Josh Rizzo

Short saves himself

Franco Pistella started a productive sixth inning for Fox Chapel by reaching with a double. After Haigh’s double, the Foxes had the lead down to a run.

Then the madness happened, Short, who had been sharp all game, couldn't find the strikezone. He hit Tristan Blum with a pitcher and walked Kristofer Bandurski.

“The ball was just flowing,” Short said. “I hit that one kid, I threw the ball as hard as I could and I hit him. The next kid was a big kid, and I was pitching carefully. I went after the last kid. I have to get ahead early in the count.”

When Krushinski came out aggressively and swung at the first pitch, the ball was collected in the indfield for a force out.

Fox Chapel didn’t threaten to score in the seventh.

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Josh Rizzo | rizzo42789@gmail.com | @J_oshrizzo

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