By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
Zach Herb delivered in all aspects last week for the Shenango High baseball team.
Herb produced at the plate. He made plays at third base. And he even got the job done on the mound.
It all added up to the Wildcats winning both of their games last week — 7-3 over Mount Union and 2-1 over Johnsonburg in eight innings.
For his efforts, Herb was named the Lawrence County Athlete of the Week, as voted on by the New Castle News sports staff.
“Zach Herb is a junkyard dog,” Shenango coach Larry Kelly said of Herb. “They tend to be the meanest dog you can find; that’s who he is.
“He has a lot of talent to go with it. I trust him in any situation.”
The Wildcats (23-2), winners of 21 games in a row, will meet Schuylkill Haven at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Penn State University’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in the PIAA Class 2A championship game. It’s the first appearance in the title tilt for Shenango.
A son of Eric and Melodi Herb, Zach Herb was 1 for 2, plus a sacrifice fly, at the plate in the win over Mount Union. His sacrifice fly in the first inning plated the team’s third run. Herb also added an RBI single in the fourth as the Wildcats put the game away.
“We moved him up to fifth in the lineup,” Kelly said. “He’s been swinging it so well. That game, as well as the (semifinal) game, he has come up with a lot of big RBIs.
“When he’s in an RBI spot, he comes through.”
Herb pitched the seventh inning against Mount Union, finishing up for Shane Cato, who reached his pitch limit. He pitched to four batters, allowing no runs, no hits and no walks with no strikeouts. One runner reached on an error.
Johnsonburg, which came in with a 22-0 record, was the next obstacle for Shenango. Herb showed what he can do in that matchup, helping send the Rams into the offseason with a loss in eight innings.
Herb was hitless at the plate in three at-bats, plus a walk. He made two stellar defensive plays at third base, including a leaping snag of a liner.
“He’s an all-star third baseman,” Kelly said.
Herb was far from being done, though. He was called on once again to take the mound and Shenango trailing 1-0. Herb, a righty, pitched the final 32/3 innings, surrendering just two singles, walking two and striking out three to earn the win.
“When we put him in the game, Johnsonburg had runners at second and third,” Kelly said. “Braeden D’Angelo only gave up one run.
“We were looking for a strikeout or a popup there when Zach came in and that’s what we got. We got two infield popups in a row and the score remained 1-0. I was very confident they wouldn’t score there and they didn’t.”
In the eighth inning, Herb struck out the first two Johnsonburg batters. After a single, he coaxed a flyout to propel Shenango into the next round.
Herb is batting .378 in 17 games with 17 hits and eight RBIs.
“He had a basketball injury, he tweaked his ACL,” Kelly said of Herb. “He missed the first part of the season and it took him a little while to find his groove.”
Herb has been in a groove all season on the hill. He has appeared in seven games — three of which are starts — posting a 4-0 record with three saves. Herb has walked 11 and struck out 21.
“Zach has plus velocity,” Kelly said. “He throws two pitches for strikes, the curveball and the fastball. It explodes at the plate.
“I had the utmost confidence in his ability to take care of business on the mound last week. Those hits he allowed against Johnsonburg were not put in play very hard.”
The Link LonkJune 16, 2021 at 06:15PM
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Herb comes up big for Shenango in PIAA playoffs - New Castle News
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