By CORY ISENBERG
The Tribune-Democrat
June 16, 2008 12:23 am
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The community of Somerset is getting accustomed to celebrating the success of the Golden Eagles baseball team.
After PIAA victories in Somerset’s first three rounds, the team returned to town with escorts from the police and fire department not to mention the numerous banners that have been prevalent throughout the town, trumpeting support of the team’s historic run.
The community of Somerset will hold a ceremony in honor of the silver medal-winning Golden Eagles baseball team at 8 p.m. tonight at the baseball field.
The accomplishments of the squad have been well-documented and include: A District 6 Class AAA championship, the school’s first district crown since 1992; a thrilling run through the PIAA playoffs which included victories over Susquehanna Township, West Allegheny and Trinity; and the school’s first appearance in the state title game, a 6-2 loss to District 2 champ Berwick.
The team’s run seemed improbable at the start of the season, when Somerset began 1-5 and never was even in contention for a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference crown.
But the Golden Eagles, who finished the season with a 19-7 mark, turned it around and made believers out of their naysayers.
“Towards the end of the season we just made one heck of a run,” senior shortstop Jordan Kaufman said after the Berwick game. “The kids all came together. It was a great journey for us. It hurts a little bit to come up this short, but we played with our hearts. We didn’t come out on top, but we should be really proud of what we did this season.”
The team members were especially excited about the sea of orange and black that was prevalent on Friday at the championship game at Blair County Ballpark.
“I’m really happy that the community came out here and the support they have for us,” senior Landon Wahl said. “We’re certainly proud. All of our coaches, they really had a lot of dedication to us this season. They made us work hard and that’s half the reason we’re here.
“We haven’t just played together all year long, we’ve been playing together all of our lives and it showed. We got here to this game.”
Somerset coachSteve Costea is still marveling at what his team accomplished.
“I told the kids after the game that the No. 1 thing to remember was that there were 166 AAA teams that they out-played and out-lasted,” Costea said. “It may take them a week or a month or two, three, maybe four years, but when they look back at this, they did a pretty good job. They should be proud of what they accomplished. And, this may be the only time in some of their lives when they get to play in front of 3,500 people.”
Costea said that Somerset’s run was not just a community phenomenon, but turned into a regional event.
“There were so many people that got behind us,” the Golden Eagles coach said. “This was an amazing journey with plenty of ups and downs.”
Cory Isenberg is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.
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