UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Right now there are a lot of really good people in DuBois and the surrounding area that are a little sad right now.
And that is understandable considering the DuBois Central Catholic Cardinals’ quest for back-to-back PIAA Class 1A baseball titles game up a little bit short.
But soon enough, those same people are going to realize that what the Cardinals accomplished this season was something special, perhaps, in some way, more special than even last year’s PIAA championship.
Last year, DCC was stacked with a pair of elite senior pitchers in Brandin Anderson and Cole Sansom to go along with junior Carter Hickman.
With Hickman back this season, there was the thought that if DCC could find a second pitcher the Cards could possibly repeat.
But then things started breaking the wrong way for the Cardinals.
First, the season started 0-3. Then, Hickman had a minor injury that kept him from pitching for a few games.
But things took off with DCC winning 17 of 18 to reach the District 9 title game.
But even that run wasn’t without issues, as starting catcher Ben Gritzer was lost for the balance of the season – Gritzer did catch the seventh inning Thursday – with a broken thumb forcing an untested sophomore, Trenton Miller, into the starting lineup.
But things went back the wrong way for the Cardinals in the D9 title game.
First, Hickman was lost from pitching for the rest of the season when he hurt his arm early in that game. Then, a five-run seventh inning by Clarion ended the Cardinals’ hopes for another D9 title.
But none of that kept the Cardinals from a return trip to the state championship game.
“The competitor in me will say no,” DCC manager Adam Fox said when asked if he ever doubted if the Cardinals would return to the state title game. “The realist in me will say absolutely. When Carter Hickman went down in the District title game, I said, we’re in trouble. When Bren Gritzer went down at Johnsonburg, I said this is going to be a challenge. I knew we had Trenton Miller, but with no experience, it was going to be how he reacted.”
Guys like Miller, Aiden Showberger, Blake Pisarcik, Andrew Green, and a host of others made sure the injuries weren’t the end of the line for DCC.
Snowberger became the staff ace. Pisarcik and Green kept coming up with big hit after big hit.
“The way the guys bounced back from those two injuries and the way this team stayed together was an unbelievable accomplishment in itself.”
While the final outcome didn’t end the way DCC would have liked it, the Cardinals have nothing to hang their heads about.
“We were 11 deep, 12 deep, whatever the case was,” Fox said. “Throwing Carter in there, and he can’t throw a ball with a torn UCL, just the character of the kids. It’s amazing. So, yeah, I knew there was a point where we were in trouble. But these kids are amazing. This journey. This journey is unbelievable. The journey to get here, obviously we wanted to win and it hurt, but these kids, as soon as the last out, the younger guys said we are going to be back here. That’s just who they are.”
The feeling of finishing second isn’t the same as finishing first, but that doesn’t change how proud Fox is of his group of young men.
“It was tough to get here,” Fox said. “Everybody on that east side (of the bracket) was tough. Bishop Guilfoyle, they were beating us (in the first round). We had to go play on their home field. The travel was tough. Two-and-a-half hours on a bus over to Bloomsburg playing on a place that we haven’t played at. Dock (Mennonite) had played there the week before. They had played on the field, and it was our first time seeing it. That’s tough on a hitter. The atmosphere changes if you have never played on it. I wish the state would do something about that. A neutral field isn’t a neutral field when the team has already played on it. That’s an advantage for anybody. But I just think getting here is an accomplishment. Winning it was our goal, and we fell short of our goal. But our expectation is also to get here.”
No one should sell getting to a state title game short.
There are/were 12 baseball teams playing for a state title at Penn State, and 11 of them weren’t there in 2022.
DCC was the lone team from 2022 to make it back.
“It’s so tough to get here,” Fox said. “We are the only team here from last year. Twelve teams, DuBois Central Catholic is the only team to make it here twice. It’s not easy do, no matter what level it is. People say, oh, it’s Class A, it’s easy, Come on, let’s go. We’ll take on anybody. I am just super proud of our kids. Super proud of our families. Proud of our school. The journey this year brought us so much closer. These kids taught me so much about adversity, about staying together. This is a good bunch.”
DCC receives runner-up trophy
