Colts Win Section Title in Baseball

The Chartiers Valley Colts baseball team capped a remarkable season by beating the Montour Spartans 12-5 to win a share of the 3-AAA section title.

The two teams played Wednesday night at the Burkett Complex in Robinson Township with the Colts (14-4, 11-3) beating the Spartans both meetings during the season.

“It was a big win for us,” coach Jim Jaskowski said. “It’s the first section title in a long time and it is good for our program as a whole. It was a playoff atmosphere at Montour and to see how our kids responded was everything. It was a good precursor to the playoffs."

Jaskowski said he is “on pins and needles a little bit” waiting to see who they will play early this week in their first playoff matchup. He added that the section title is important, but the toughest part still lies ahead.

“This was our first attainable goal and we got it,” Jaskowski said.

One positive for the Colts heading into postseason play will be the competition they have faced in the section not only from the Spartans, but from the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars, as well. This can only be a positive for the Colts as they prepare for the tournament. 

"I feel good no matter who we get in the postseason, we have been battle tested," Jaskowski said.

The Colts also have an ingredient that many championship teams have and that is pitching. The Colts have certainly pitched well enough to become section champs, but must be better at the plate to make a deep run in the postseason.

"We have to put the ball in play more, we have had too many strike outs, we have to make teams field the ball," Jaskowski said.

The Colts understand that while they need things to go their way in the postseason, they have the talent and experience to make that happen. While, the Colts feel like they have fought through the conditions well, it has still been a little bit of a distraction.

"It has been frustrating for us to work inside during the days it has rained, but it does not get us off task," senior catcher John O' Neil said. 

The Colts now feel as if they can do major damage in the postseason if they can come up with big hits with runners on base and stay within their game. And if it doesn’t rain.