MINERSVILLE - Stephen Sedesse didn't want to come out of the game.
After pitching himself into a seventh-inning jam, the Williams Valley senior right-hander wanted a chance to pitch out of it.
He asked Vikings' coach Don Matter for a couple more pitches. Then he waved Matter back to the dugout as he started to come out with two outs and the bases loaded.
Sedesse escaped, getting a strikeout on his 147th pitch of the game to give Williams Valley a 6-4 victory over Minersville in a Schuylkill League Division II baseball game Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Vikings (9-7, 8-6 D-II) qualify for the District 11 Class A playoffs
and knock Minersville (11-6, 9-4) out of a three-way tie for first place in the Division II standings.
"I went all those innings, and I wanted to stay and finish it," Sedesse said. "It was my game, we needed it to make it into the playoffs, and I wanted to take it into my own hands."
Sedesse is one of the reasons Williams Valley has been able to stay competitive despite heavy graduation losses and the loss of senior pitching ace Brendan Miller to a hand injury.
Sedesse didn't play baseball the past two seasons, focusing instead on football. He quarterbacked the Vikings to back-to-back District 11 Class A championship games the past two years, winning the title his junior campaign.
This spring, Sedesse returned to the diamond, and has teamed with Jarred Matter to give Williams Valley a solid 1-2 in its rotation.
Sedesse pitched the Vikings past Tri-Valley last Monday, and improved his season record to 5-1 with Sunday's victory.
Miller, by the way, is slated to return to the Vikings' lineup Tuesday.
"He's a competitor, and sometimes that's his problem," Don Matter said of Sedesse. "He's so competitive, and everything works on him and gets to him. Like all of us, he hates to lose.
"Brendan is coming back Tuesday. We're hoping to use him come playoff time. It will be nice to have three strong pitchers instead of hobbling through. That's a big deal."
Sunday, Sedesse kept the Minersville bats at bay for most of the game, scattering six hits and overcoming five walks with seven strikeouts.
He gave up a pair of unearned runs in the second inning after the Vikings committed consecutive errors to start the frame, but retired 13 of the 16 batters from the third through sixth innings after the Miners loaded the bases in the second.
Sedesse threw 35 pitches in the second inning, giving him 57 at that point. He entered the seventh with 110, and asked Matter to let him pitch the seventh.
"I got a little rattled there (in the second), because we had two errors right after each other," Sedesse said. "Against Tri-Valley earlier in the week, I was at 58 pitches after two innings, so I'm kind of used to it.
"I'm a competitor, so I hate when it's on my shoulders and we lose. I always try to fight back."
In the seventh, Collin Hashin started things with a one-out single, but was erased on a fielder's choice grounder back to the mound. Sedesse then hit Aaron Fritz with a pitch and walked two straight batters to force in a run.
Sedesse induced a grounder to second by Zack Brown, but the ball was misplayed and everyone was safe, making it 6-4. Sedesse reached back and fanned Dave Pedron to end it.
"I always tell Coach that we need competitors on our team," Sedesse said. "I just wanted to finish it. I dug down deep and hit the strike zone for the last kid."
Williams Valley staked Sedesse to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, capitalizing on three Minersville errors. Jarred Matter had an RBI single, Trevor Whelski plated a run on a sacrifice fly and Sedesse knocked in another when his grounder to shortstop was misplayed.
After Minersville sliced the lead to 3-2 in the second, Williams Valley tallied three more in the third. Matter doubled, Ben Rautzhan tripled and Whelski singled to knock out Minersville starter Gregg Constanzo. Sedesse and Tim Schorr later followed with singles off sophomore reliever Ryan Nettles, giving the Vikes a 6-2 lead.
Nettles quieted the Vikings' bats the rest of the way, holding Williams Valley hitless over the final four frames. He kept the Miners close enough to make things interesting in the seventh.
Minersville closes division play with games against Weatherly (today), Nativity (Tuesday) and Shenandoah Valley (Thursday).
"We didn't play well enough to win," Minersville coach Del Hauck said. "Nettles did a fantastic job. He gave us a very good effort.
"We have to try to win tomorrow, try to do win Tuesday. We can't do anything else."
