STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Schuylkill Haven held off Shenango in the PIAA Class 2A state baseball title. The Hurricanes won 8-7 to capture the first state championship in school history - and they did it for their head coach and athletic director, Scott Buffington. Coach Buff is in his 44th season and recovered from a stroke last year. So this was a meaningful moment all around and a bath well-deserved.
"It's certainly great to get that gold medal," Buffington said. "It's something you go in thinking every year maybe? Maybe? Maybe? You've got to be lucky. You've got to be lucky. You've got to be lucky and you've got to be good. This is just icing on the cake, guys. I've been undeservedly blessed. Put it that way."
"He's been doing this forever," Schuylkill Haven senior infielder Jack Higgins said. "He's a Schuylkill Haven legend. So, we just wanted to bring this home for him and we did. He's the greatest coach I ever had. He puts so much time in to the field and team and he's like a father to us."
"It was good to bring a gold medal home for him, a state title," Schuylkill Haven senior pitcher Mason Ulsh added. "I couldn't be more proud of us and we couldn't be more proud of him. We're just going to all cherish this moment and head back home and we're going to bring the gold home, as well."