We have seen a slight cooldown from Black Hawk baseball recently. From a 7-0 start, the Hawks dropped two straight, including a heartbreak against Peters Township, where they lost in ten innings of play. Despite being 7-2, the Hawks wanted to jump on a given opportunity versus Connelsville Monday.

The ace, Evan Holewinski, was on the mound. Despite the limited amount of strikeouts, Holewinski did what he does best; not let runners cross the plate. Evan went four innings allowing zero earned runs. Holewinski’s dominance has looked elite throughout the early part of the season and continued in this game.

The Hawks would close the coffin on Connersville with juniors Sebastian Schein, Evan Legune, and senior Cody Geddes closing the door. The Hawks are most certainly trying to get where they left off last season, and a 6-2 win is not a bad start. 

With the pitching, the Hawks had a relatively decent day batting as well. This would start from a Ray Altmeyer ball hit so hard that some said it left Earth. John Chalus would also have a huge double, along with a couple of other runs. 

On Tuesday, the Hawks would meet against Connellsville at Connellsville this time. The Hawks came into this game with the same mentality: win.

Nate Vargo took the rubber for this one. Vargo would have a very efficient day on the rubber, allowing one earned run through five innings pitched.

Vargo had some key bats behind him, including senior Cody Geddes, who had three hits with a double.

David Kessler (double, triple) Ben Hudson (triple) and Dylan Schmude (Double)  all had key hits in the game, along with Ray Altmeyer (two hits).

Freshman Ryan Walsh would close the game, and the Hawks would come out of Connellsville with a 6-4 win. The Hawks are now 9-2 and second in WPIAL Class 5A. 

Despite multiple losses to rival Peters Township, we still see a fight, a fire within from the Hawks.

When interviewed, Nick Gasper noted that “The next day’s a new day” stating that “That’s the best part about baseball.” Gasper also said, “I want to do what’s best for the team.” 

Catcher Nick Calano stated that the Hawks want to show a “dog mentality” and pitcher Nate Vargo stated that he fully believes in his team and that the goal is to “go out and play hard.”

Second baseman Bo Conrad said, “We have great chemistry… I would take a bullet for these guys,” and outfielder Ray Altmeyer said simply, “We just need to win.”

This team wants to repeat as PIAA Champions, and they will do anything in their power to do so. They believe the past is the past and now is now. The team will put anything into winning and supporting each other. The Hawks have the chance, it’s just a matter of how they respond to it. This team is hungry.

For now, the Hawks sit only behind Peters Township in WPIAL Class 5A and have a home game against cross-town rival Mt. Lebanon on Friday and a two-game stand against Thomas Jefferson next week.