Inaugural Maverick Baker benefit game pleases organizer (2024)

By Matt Michelone

For the Mirror

While former Northern Cambria student, the late Maverick Baker, excelled at both football and hockey, his greatest love in sports was baseball, and his favorite venue to compete at was Peoples Natural Gas Field.

“Being from a small rural community and playing on rec fields for the majority of your time until you got into travel ball, and when you finally step foot in a big-league ballpark and you get to see that many seats, and how big a field it actually is, it was surreal and he loved the big stage,” PJ Shell, Baker’s stepfather and game organizer, said.

Saturday night, many of the high school baseball players whom he shared the field with took to the ground that he loved to compete on the most, and it had just about everything you could reasonably expect from a baseball game.

The first edition of the Maverick Baker All-Star Showcase went to extra innings and was decided on a walk-off passed ball as the West beat the East, 8-7, in 10 innings.

“With the start of that game, those are the type of games Mav loved,” said Shell, who lost his son to suicide in 2022. “He was a leadoff hitter and he got beaned just as much as he got hits.

“The greatest thing about it is that he had so many kids he was teammates and friends with on both sides of the plate. It was just super sentimental and perfect. It was a perfect day.”

Carson Kensinger led the way for the East team at the plate as he went 2-for-4, belting both a double and triple with two RBIs.

The East team coach had his own connection to Maverick, having coached him going back to when he was nine years old.

“I think it was a perfect opening to the start of this all-star game, and hopefully it continues. You couldn’t even script it any better going into extra innings in the first year,” John Bonatesta said.

“I’m grateful for PJ and Amanda asking me to manage the east. It was great.”

Shell couldn’t help but smile knowing how much pride every one took in being part of the first event of its kind. He also noted that plans are under way for a 2025 edition of this event.

“I give all the credit in the world to the kids. It made the coach’s job easy. You can plug anybody in, they were going to be efficient, they were going to do their jobs. Hopefully even though this is our first year doing it, that it has enough clout now that it’s just going to get bigger and bigger and bigger,” Shell said.

Before the game began, there was a home run derby held,which was won by Cainen Atherton of Mount Union. Bishop McCort Catholic’s Mason Pfeil was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

EAST (7): Snowberger 2b 411, Kensinger p 412, Atherton 3b 300, Smith c 110, Marko 300, Simpson 1b 401, McCully 300, Weaver 200, Woodward 100, Wyandt 3001, Steele ss 210, Burns lf 210, Worthington cf 413, Emerick 010. Totals: 36-7-8.

WEST (8): Saiani ss 412, Raho dh 311, Janidlo c 310, Bracken 1b 211, Misura lf 311, Forcellini 3b 400, Casses c 100, Pfeil p 211, Williams 312, Reba 300, Sekerak 201, Washko 300, Vadala 300. Totals: 36-8-12.

SCORE BY INNINGS

East010 010 040 1 – 7 6 3

West200 000 211 2 – 8 12 1

E – Atherton 2, Snowberger; Forcellini. 2B – Kensinger. 3B – Kensinger. RBI – Kensinger 2, Smith, Worthington; Bracken 2, Williams, Vadala.

PITCHING

EAST: Kensinger, 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO; Wyandt 2 IP, 2 H 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, Weaver 2 IP, 2 H , 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO; Steele 3 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 SO, Marko (L) 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO.

WEST: Pfeil, 2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO; Bracken 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO; Janidlo 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO; Misura 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO; Forcellini (W) 1 IP, 1 H 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO.