PIAA Class 5A Baseball: Bonner-Prendie’s Irv Fisher musters motivation from Rustin’s ‘decision’

SPRINGFIELD TWP. — Before he could grab a bat, before he could reach the on-deck circle, before he would stroll toward the plate and begin to build his determination in the sixth inning of a PIAA Class 5A baseball playoff game Monday, Bonner & Prendie centerfielder Irv Fisher knew what was coming.

Everyone did. Every fan. Every scout. And not one head coach, but two.

“We talked it over as a coaching staff,” said West Chester Rustin coach Brad Harkins. “It was what we had to do there.”

“And I,” said Friars’ coach Steve DeBarberie, “probably would have done the same thing.”

The decision in the Friars’ 7-4, opening-round victory was not complicated. It was risky. The Golden Knights hanging onto a 4-1 lead with two outs and Friars on every base, Harkins ordered shortstop Kevin McGonigle to be intentionally walked, conceding a run and challenging Fisher to extend the inning.

Two pitches later?

“I got a fastball in and got my hands through it,” Fisher said, “and just slapped it through the middle.”

Two runs scored to force a tie, the momentum built and an inning that began quietly became a six-run Friars outburst. When Harry Carr followed with a perfect inning of relief, the 11-3 Friars had earned a second-round opportunity Thursday against Bethel Park. And Fisher had earned some satisfaction.

“If they are going to disrespect me like that, I am going to let it motivate me to be a better player,” Fisher said. “And I came through. I have been doing this all year with runners in scoring position. But that was the biggest moment of my year by far.”

Some less-than-guarded background: The reigning All-Delco Player of the Year, McGonigle is among the best high school players in the nation, a consistent .400-plus hitter and a potential first-round pick in the July 9 draft. A left-handed hitter with power on a day the wind was pushing toward right at neutral-site La Salle High, the Auburn-commit had every look of a grand slam waiting to happen. Further easing Harkins’ decision was that he had been forced by rule to remove gifted left-handed starter Kyle Kearns after 107 mostly effective pitches earlier in the inning and had only right-handers available to face McGonigle.

“It’s no disrespect,” Harkins said. “It’s just that when you have an elite hitter like that up, you have to make a decision.”

DeBarberie understood Harkins’ decision – yet also appreciated Fisher’s expression of insult.

“Even though that probably wasn’t that and it was just them playing smart baseball,” he said, “that’s a good chip on his shoulder to have.”

By then, Bonner & Prendie was looking for any motivation after leaving six runners on base over the previous two innings, aware that the state championship hopes they have been building for three years were about four outs from disintegration.

Rustin (14-11) took a 2-0 lead in the second when Phil Martini’s sacrifice fly delivered David McClain, who had doubled, and Blake Reaney plated Bill Kraft with a sacrifice bunt with the help of a Bonner error. The Golden Knights doubled their lead in the fourth when Drew Brown whistled a two-run double to right.

In the bottom of the fourth, Austin Cannon’s sharp hit to left scored McGonigle, who had reached on an infield hit and reached third on Fisher’s hit, trimming the Friars’ deficit to 4-1.

Kearns retired the first two hitters in the sixth before a Michael Coleman infield hit had the spectators calculating how much more the Friars would need to do to squeeze McGonigle to the plate. But Kearns had to go, the next two Friars walked and Harkins raised four fingers to shove McGonigle to first and invite Coleman home.

That left it up to Fisher.

“I told him I didn’t want anybody else up at plate at that time but him,” McGonigle said. “I was very happy he got the job done. But it’s onto the next game. That’s all I can think about.”

McGonigle was 2-for-2 with two intentional walks, an RBI and two runs scored. Fisher and Kehoe added two hits each. With 3.1 innings of competitive relief of Bryan Henry, Kehoe was the winning pitcher.

Before the Friars batted in the fourth, McGonigle herded his teammates in front of the dugout for a reminder of how many of them felt last year when they fell short of a spot in the state championship game with an upset loss to Holy Ghost Prep.

“Exactly,” he said. “I didn’t want this to be my last game in a Bonner uniform.”

With one swing back at perceived disrespect Monday, Irv Fisher made sure of that.