There was only one factor Tyrone manager Tom Coleman weighed when deciding to enter his sub-.500 club in the District 6-AA playoffs.
\nIt wasn\u2019t statistics and it obviously wasn\u2019t won-loss record. Instead, what Coleman was looking for was consistency, something the Eagles battled to attain over an up and down campaign marred by games postponed for rain, cold, and wet fields, preventing Tyrone from developing any kind of rhythm until the last two weeks of the season.
\nAnd while in those games \u2013 which featured match ups with powers like Philipsburg-Osceola and Mount Union \u2013 the Eagles managed only a 3-3 split, their performance was steady and solid, in stark contrast to their production early on.
\n\u201cOver our last several games, we played at a consistent level that I was looking for from this group,\u201d said Coleman. \u201cIt was not just winning two of our last three, it was how we played together. From that, I had a good feeling to enter the playoffs.\u201d
\nNow, the question is whether Tyrone can maintain that form despite a weeklong layoff since defeating Bellwood-Antis 14-7 in last Wednesday\u2019s regular season finale. The Eagles will find out today when they travel to Three Springs to face Southern Huntingdon in the first round of the 2007 playoffs.
\n\u201cAnything goes in the postseason,\u201d said Coleman. \u201cI believe we can challenge some teams if everything comes together. We are starting to play more consistently and our last win is something I hope our kids can build momentum and confidence from.\u201d
\nOne player who exuded confidence over the final fortnight of the season was sophomore Johnny Shaffer, who in the last seven games went 12-for-20 with four home runs and 16 RBI. After an 0-for-8 start, he batted .395 and drove in 21 runs, and his performance in the three-hole set the table for most of what the Eagles were able to do offensively. That was important, considering the amount of offensive sputtering Tyrone went through this season.
\nDespite returning most of its lineup from a team that a year ago hit a collective .324, it took most of the season for the Eagles to find any kind of groove at the plate. Some players finished strong enough to post impressive numbers \u2013 Tyler Gillmen hit .358, Tyler Golden batted .370, Justin Schopp finished .421 and Matt Brooks hit .320.
\nBut inside the numbers were figures not so remarkable, like the 14 straight scoreless innings the Eagles posted over three games in mid-April, or the four games around the same time when Tyrone couldn\u2019t do better than six hits in a single game.
\nThe Eagles\u2019 inconsistent hitting was one of the key factors in two slumps that saw them lose at least three straight games. The other was defense. Tyrone committed 35 errors and had seven games with at least three. In a 6-5 loss to Bishop Guilfoyle on April 24, the Eagles had a season-high five.
\nBut that hasn\u2019t changed the way Coleman feels about his team, which he said in March had the talent and desire to compete for a District title.
\n\u201cWe have a great bunch of seniors that are competitive and they\u2019re excited to extend their season,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cI can see our second wind coming for the first round. Win or lose, they\u2019ll play the game to the end and leave it all on the field.\u201d
\nOne thing that hasn\u2019t changed for Tyrone is a solid three-man pitching rotation that will have to be strong for the Eagles to win in the playoffs. Golden led the team in innings and finished with a 2-1 record and 3.68 ERA. He\u2019ll get the start against the Rockets.
\nJamie Levinson went 2-0 with one save while notching a pair of complete game victories and posting a team-best 2.23 ERA, while Tyler Gillmen finished 1-2 with a save and a 4.84 ERA.
\nThe trio gives Tyrone options, both within the game \u2013 if a starter needs relief \u2013 and for the long haul.
\n\u201cPitching dictates how far you can go,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cYou still have to hit and field and catch some breaks, but high school baseball will always come down to having a pitcher that can shut a team down.\u201d
\nIn Golden and Levinson, at least, Tyrone has two. The question for them and all of the Eagles will be their ability to match their peak performances and maintain the steady play Coleman saw late in the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There was only one factor Tyrone manager Tom Coleman weighed when deciding to enter his sub-.500 club in the District 6-AA playoffs. It wasn\u2019t statistics and it obviously wasn\u2019t won-loss record. Instead, what Coleman was looking for was consistency, something the Eagles battled to attain over an up and down campaign marred by games postponed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38971\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}