The Beaver Area baseball team ended their season with a bang against Blackhawk and West Allegheny.

In their final two section games of the season, Beaver Area baseball faced the rival Blackhawk Cougars. The Cougars have had multiple winning seasons in a row and had already secured a spot in the WPIAL playoffs—while the Bobcats were already eliminated, so the games had no real effect on standings.

Despite this, the games were some of the most exciting of the season.

The first game against Blackhawk was away April 29. Blackhawk started off hot, scoring three runs in the first two innings, but the Bobcats quickly cut the lead to 3-2 going into the bottom of the sixth.

Unfortunately, the Cougars scored two more runs and Beaver Area’s one run at the top of the seventh inning was not enough to overcome the deficit. The final score was 5-3.

Junior Ty Butler allowed in five runs while recording four strikeouts with a final ERA of 5.25. Butler also recorded two of the Bobcats three runs, with sophomore Logan Hill rounding out the scoring. Senior Corbin Sevcik, sophomore David Corob, freshman Jackson Reese, and Butler all had hits on the day.

The following day, Beaver Area once again played Blackhawk, this time in the Bobcats’ final home game. Before the game, three seniors were honored in a senior night ceremony: Sevcik, Johnathan Beaver, and Dom Bumblis.

The Bobcats used the senior night momentum to propel themselves to any early 2-0 lead in the first inning. The lead was held until the top of the fifth inning when Blackhawk hit a grand slam to take a 4-2 lead late in the game.

The Bobcats answered the grand slam with two more runs in the sixth inning to tie the game at 4 a piece. The tie lasted into the extra eight inning, and after the Bobcats outscored the Cougars 2-1 in extra innings, Beaver Area won 6-5 on a walkoff single.

Four Bobcat pitchers recorded strikeouts during the game. Sophomore Max Tanner was the only Bobcat to hit a home run, while seven other batters recorded hits.

After a great end to the Bobcats’ home games, they next had to finish their season completely at West Allegheny High School May 9. The Indians also were already qualified to WPIAL playoffs, but the final score of the game ended up being closer than many thought possible.

The Bobcats ultimately fell 8-7 to West-A, but it was a great season finish for a team that shows future promise. All seven of Beaver Area’s runs were scored in the seventh inning.

Despite missing the playoffs and ending with a disappointing 7-12 record, the baseball team will be returning most of their starters next season, so there is hope that they can build off the limited success and strong experience from this season.