BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (EYT/D9) — There’s more than one road to the state championship game.
Some are straight and smooth. Others are winding and bumpy.
The destination, though, is all the same.
The DuBois Central Catholic baseball team has proven that.
(Pictured above, DuBois Central Catholic coach Adam Fox embraces his son and DCC sophomore Brayden Fox after the Cardinals’ state title win last season.)
Last year, the Cardinals were in the express lane to Medlar Field at University Park at Lubrano Park. DCC bludgeoned opponents on the way to the title.
This year, the Cardinals had to navigate through hazards to get back to Penn State. Absorb potholes. Make breakneck turns. Roll over rumble strips on a return journey to play for a PIAA Class A championship.
The 4-2 win over Dock Mennonite on Tuesday at Central Columbia High School may have been one of the smoothest checkpoints on the sojourn.
Sophomore Aiden Snowberger was strong through seven innings, giving up just two runs on seven hits while striking out four. The defense behind him was brilliant and flawless and Blake Pisarcik continued his torrid stretch at the plate with a two-run double in the second that gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
Carter Hickman homered to lead off the fourth to give Snowberger another run of insurance, and then Brayden Fox made it 4-0 in the top of the fifth with a RBI groundout.
More than enough to pave an off ramp to State College.
“Snowy was great,” said DCC coach Adam Fox. “He flooded the zone. He’s such a competitor. He wanted the ball. He did his thing. He’s a tremendous kid. We’re lucky to have him.”
Snowberger out-pitched Dock Mennonite ace Nathan Lapp, who came into the game with 85 strikeouts in 54⅓ innings with his overpowering stuff.
DCC (20-5) had just five hits. The Cardinals made them count.
“That was a good pitcher,” Fox said. “That kid was a stud on the mound.”
That’s nothing new for DuBois Central Catholic on this postseason run.
The Cardinals have seen every team’s best along the way.
DCC needed an epic rally against Greenwood on Thursday to survive, trailing 5-0 after one inning and 7-3 in the sixth to win 9-7.
Bishop Guilfoyle also gave DuBois Central Catholic its best in the first round.
“We’ve seen everybody’s As,” Fox said. “There’s been no red carpet on this road.”
That road started with three straight losses to open the season for the defending state champions.
But as the campaign progressed, DCC rounded into form.
The Cardinals won 17 of the next 18 before losing to Clarion in the District 9 title game.
They had a 3-1 lead after six innings in that game. Clarion scored five in the top of the seventh to win.
DCC will get another shot at the Bobcats at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday at Lubrano Park, this time with a state crown on the line.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, that’s why we built the schedule that we did,” Fox said. “We’re a small school. We probably shouldn’t be here right now, but you know, these kids have tremendous character. They hold themselves to a high standard and us coaches hold these kids to a high standard, and they deliver.
“It takes a special person to come play here,” the coach added. “It’s not for everybody. At the end of the day, these kids are magical kids and there’s no quitting in them. You can punch them in the mouth, you can beat them, but they’re going to come back.
“It’s totally different than last year,” Fox continued. “Last year we went on a little bit of a run there and were just clicking on all cylinders. Getting back to the state championship was way, way tougher than anybody could imagine.”
