HARRISBURG - Steve Zimmerman already has one home run in a professional stadium to his credit.
He came within a few inches of another in Sunday's Big 26 Baseball Classic.
The Pine Grove catcher doubled off the left-center field wall in his lone at-bat during Pennsylvania's 4-0 win over Maryland in the finale of the three-game series at Metro Bank Park.
The victory gave Pennsylvania, managed by Pottsville's Mike Welsh, a sweep of the three-game series held at the home of the Double-A Harrisburg Senators and hosted by the Big 33 Scholarship Foundation.
Pennsylvania outscored Maryland 24-2 in the three games. Sunday, five pitchers combined on a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts, while PA Player of the Game Deon Stafford Jr. hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
"I'm just impressed with how talented our state is," Welsh said. "The kids that we had on this team ... this is a coach's dream. Quite frankly, it was fairly easy to coach the team because the kids were just so darn good.
"There were a lot of other talented kids that came to the tryout that didn't make it that are starters in other programs. This is an upper-echelon
team for sure. They came out and proved it this weekend."
A rising junior at Pine Grove, Zimmerman played three innings in each of the three games. He started Friday's 9-1 victory and walked in his only at-bat, then went 0-for-3 in Saturday's 11-1 win.
Sunday, he played the final three innings. In the seventh inning, he plastered a 2-1 pitch from Maryland sidewinder Chase Gorski that hit just below the yellow line on the fence just to the left of the 350-feet sign.
"I was just sitting on a fastball, waiting for a fastball to come in," said Zimmerman, who homered for the Cardinals in the 2012 PIAA Class AA championship game at Penn State's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, home of the Class A State College Spikes.
"I got it, swung at it and it hit fence. It almost went over. It was a line drive, so I wasn't sure if it was going to go over. But I was hoping it was."
Zimmerman shared the catching duties with West York's Cole Bixler and Stafford Jr., from Lower Dauphin. The trio caught a pitching staff that was nearly lights' out in the three games, allowing just eight hits and two runs.
Sunday, Trinity's Andrew Scarpelli, Liberty's Matt Leon, Susquehanna Township's LaRon Mitchell, Plymouth-Whitemarsh's Jon Fisher and Oley Valley's Nick Distasio allowed one hit, walked six and fanned 10.
They were backed by a stellar defensive effort that featured strong play from Lower Dauphin shortstop Kaylor Kulina and a web gem of a catch by second baseman Ted Williams that ended Maryland's only threat in the third inning.
"It's a good experience to catch speeds from different pitchers and at diffferent arm slots," Zimmerman said. "It was a good experience.
"I'll remember my teammates, how we bonded together from different schools and had fun," he continued. "It was a big-time pride thing, and you have to feel good about yourself."
Pennsylvania's first run came on a play that looked like it was taken right out of Welsh's Pottsville playbook.
PA Series MVP Sammy Miller from Susquehannock opened the first inning with a single and stole second. He moved up to third on a one-out groundout by Distasio.
After David Gulati drew a two-out walk, Gulati left early and got caught in a rundown. Miller scored on the play to give Pennsylvania a 1-0 lead.
"It worked out that way ... it was supposed to be a regular steal, but David Gulati got picked off," Welsh said. "He did a great job getting in the rundown. Once he got into the rundown, the kid's instincts on third base took over and Sammy did a great job getting to the plate.
"It did feel like a Pottsville game, because we do that often. It worked out well. It felt good to get that first run and get on top 1-0 and we built from there."
Welsh and his staff provided ample opportunity to the 26 players on the Pennsylvania roster a chance to showcase their talents in front of college coaches and professional scouts in attendance.
Except for the three catchers - who each played three innings - position players played five innings one game and four the next. Pitchers made two appearances over three days, getting to throw roughly 3-4 innings.
In addition to Zimmerman, Southern Columbia's Mason Peters, Liberty's Leon, Governor Mifflin's Zach Sczepkowski and Oley Valley's Distastio also played for Pennsylvania.
Tamaqua's Brett Kosciolek was also selected to the Pennsylvania team but withdrew last week due to a shoulder injury.
"It was a great group of kids to be around," Welsh said. "They worked hard. They're good kids. They didn't give us any attitude and accepted their roles we had for them for the weekend. I was real proud of the way they played."
Game Summary