Déjà vu all over again: McDowell walks off Erie High again for District 10 baseball title
What was that Yogi Berra quote?
“It’s like déjà vu all over again.” That’s the one.
Top-seeded McDowell (14-7) couldn’t help but sympathize with the Hall of Fame catcher during Thursday’s District 10 Class 6A baseball final. Pitted against No. 2 Erie High (5-15), a team which it had defeated handily twice prior, the Trojans were deadlocked with the upset-minded Royals through six innings.
The D-10 title game unfolded shockingly similar to that of 2023.
Last year, Connor Cross scored the walk-off run for McDowell. This year, he drove it in.
Last year: How the McDowell baseball team successfully defended its D-10 Class 6A title
A ground ball from Cross’ bat brought home Shawn Chludzinski in McDowell’s half of the seventh, sealing a 4-3 victory for the Trojans. It’s their sixth consecutive D-10 title and 15th overall, and a second consecutive district final which necessitated late-game drama.
“We gave them the weekend off and we said, come back mentally prepared, because you’re going to be in a dog fight,” said first-year head coach Rick Iacobucci. “It played out exactly how we thought it was going to.”
Playoff tracker: District 10 playoffs: View baseball, softball results, box scores, schedules for May 20-25
Rally caps
Pinch hitter Calvin Hiltabidel reached on an error to start the McDowell seventh. Gary Hills then bunted Chludzinski, who re-entered as a pinch runner, to second.
Cross hit a ground ball to the infield’s left side. As Chludzinski broke for third and the throw sailed over the first baseman’s head, Chludzinski dashed home, prompting a Gatorade shower for Cross.
“I knew I just had to put the ball in play,” said Cross, a senior infielder. “Putting balls in play makes the defense do some work, and it obviously worked.”
Cross and Jake Hower each singled home a run during McDowell’s three-run third. Erie scored one run in the second inning and two in the fifth, capitalizing on four McDowell errors.
“It’s always tense, and we know it’s always going to be a close game against Erie High for D-10,” Cross said. “We just kept playing good defense and good pitching and put some hits together to eventually get the win.”
More: Mercyhurst Prep's pitching dominates D-10 Class 3A quarterfinal
Working out of trouble
Eli Nicklas threw six sparkling innings for Erie, scattering three hits and, at one point, retiring 10 consecutive batters. Nicklas matched McDowell’s Nick Hamilton, who struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings before exiting with the bases loaded in the sixth.
Left-hander Anthony Iacobucci entered when Erie’s momentum peaked. With one pitch, however, he induced a ground ball to first and escaped unscathed.
“I knew I was just going to go in there and try to limit the damage, get us in the dugout and score another run,” said Anthony Iacobucci, a senior. “After that out in the sixth, it just gave me a lot of momentum to go out there and do the same thing for three more outs.”
Anthony Iacobucci retired the Royals in order in the seventh.
Mifflin County awaits
McDowell had beaten Erie 14-2 and 10-2 in two prior meetings. Last year, it beat the Royals 11-2 and 5-4 before its 1-0 decision in the D-10 final.
McDowell’s attention now turns to the state playoffs, where a sub-regional against District 6 champion Mifflin County (14-6) awaits. The Trojans beat State College in this round last year before falling to North Allegheny in their PIAA opener.
“Our seniors weren’t going to let us down,” Rick Iacobucci said. “They battled for four years and they were pretty confident we were going to come back and get it.”
Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @realjuveino.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: McDowell baseball walks off Erie High, wins 15th District 10 baseball title
