‘Overlooked’ Hollidaysburg will provide stiff challenge for Mifflin in PIAA final

By Mike Drago Last updated Jun 25, 2024

Hollidaysburg pitcher Paul Wedel. (Altoona Mirror photo)

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Before he even knew who Gov. Mifflin’s opponent would be in Friday’s PIAA Class 5A championship game, Mustangs baseball coach Chris Hole knew his team would be in for a challenge.

“We’re gonna play a great team on Friday,” Hole said after the Mustangs beat Selinsgrove 7-2 in a state semifinal Monday at Hershey. “They’re gonna want it as badly as we do, so we have to be the team that comes out and executes better.”

Indeed, the Mustangs’ opponent, District 6 champ Hollidaysburg, is up for the challenge.

The Golden Tigers (17-6), like the Mustangs (23-5), had never won a state tournament game before this season but have played crisp baseball in advancing to Friday’s title game at Penn State’s Medlar Field at 4:30.

Hollidaysburg beat powerhouse Monsignor Bonner 3-1 in the semifinals, with freshman Vince Boland entering a bases-loaded situation in the seventh and escaping with a strikeout.

One round earlier Hollidaysburg edged Penn Trafford 3-2, getting a seventh-inning sacrifice fly from Caden Gibbons to snap a tie.

It beat Obama Academy 5-1 in a District 6-8-9 subregional before topping Franklin 4-2 in the first round of the state tournament.

“They definitely have a talented team, as you would expect for somebody to be playing for a state championship,” said Hole.

Hollidaysburg is an unlikely state finalist. A year ago it finished with a losing record; this season it finished in fifth place in the Eastern Division of the Laurel Highlands Conference.

The Golden Tigers’ low finish in league play is a bit deceiving when you learn that the teams which finished ahead of them excelled in the postseason. East champ Bald Eagle will play in the PIAA Class 2A championship game Friday morning. Second-place Bellefonte was eliminated in the state tournament by Indiana, which will play for the Class 4A championship Thursday. Central Martinsburg also qualified for the state tournament.

The Golden Tigers’ state playoff run seems to have come out of nowhere, though ace pitcher Carson Kensinger called it after second-seeded Hollidaysburg beat top-seeded Central Mountain 9-1 in the District 6 Class 5A championship game.

“A lot of these teams think we’re not very good,” Kensinger told the Altoona Mirror after the win over Central Mountain, “they’re overlooking us. . . We’re going to go all the way. I can fully feel that with this team.”

Kensinger has been one of the keys. He’s 10-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 108 strikeouts over 67 1/3 innings. The Frostburg State recruit powered through a Monsignor Bonner lineup that included five Division I players, allowing just five hits and a run over 6 2/3 innings. He also picked up playoff wins against Central Mountain, Obama and Franklin.

Hollidaysburg ace Carson Kensinger hasn’t lost this season. (Altoona Mirror photo)

“He has been a bulldog for us for four years,” Hollidaysburg coach Jon Szynal told the Altoona Mirror.

Kensinger threw a three-hitter and homered and drove in four runs in the district title game.

The only game the senior left-hander hasn’t thrown during the playoff run is the 3-2 win over Penn Trafford. Junior right-hander Paul Wedel, who’s 5-1 with a 2.29 ERA, handled that one, throwing a complete game.

Kensinger is the center of a hard-hitting lineup that is batting .298 and slugging .455, with 66 extra-base hits. He’s batting .358 with seven homers, eight doubles, 25 RBIs and a 1.255 OPS.

Senior Jake Hileman is batting a team-best .474 with 15 extra-base hits, a 1.290 OPS and 30 runs scored. Senior Drew Banks is batting .339 with a .907 OPS; senior Ethan Karageanes is batting .338 with a .961 OPS.

Like Mifflin, Hollidaysburg had known no success in the state tournament. It hadn’t qualified since 2013 and lost both of its games.

The Mustangs were 0-4 all-time before beating Franklin 7-2 on June 3. They followed with a 10-0, five-inning win over Whitehall. The win over Selinsgrove matched a program record.

Gov. Mifflin has never won a PIAA team championship in any sport. (The Mustangs have won water polo and bowling state championships, but those sports are not sanctioned by the PIAA.)

Kensinger was struck in the foot by a line drive against Bonner but stayed in the game and said he’ll be ready to go Friday.

“It’s surreal, and it’s everything you wish for as a high school player,” Kensinger said of playing for a state title. “We have one final game, and we have to put everything toward it. It means everything to this team, and I fully believe we’ll take (it).”