Title clincher: Leopards secure section crown with road win over Falcons
BULLSKIN TWP. 鈥� Seth Tomalski蘑菇视频 1-under 34 broke open a close match as Belle Vernon clinched the Section 2-AAA title Monday afternoon with a 190-204 victory over Connellsville at Pleasant Valley Golf Club.
The Leopards improve to 10-0 in the section and 12-0 overall, with matches against Uniontown and Albert Gallatin remaining. The Falcons (8-4) remain in second place with a 7-2 record and matches against Uniontown, Albert Gallatin and Ringgold remaining.
Tomalski, playing at No. 3, carded three birdies for medalist honors. Teammate Donny Croftcheck shot 41, compared to Connellsville蘑菇视频 Eli Armstrong with 41 and Hunter Konieczny蘑菇视频 46. Neither Croftcheck or Konieczny counted in the final score.
Belle Vernon held a three-stroke lead after the first group finished.
Jordan Mocello shot 37 and Jack Edwards had 39, while Falcons鈥� Ethan Porreca finished with 40 and Matthew Firestone carded a season-low 39.
Edwards described his round as 鈥渙kay.鈥�
鈥淚 left a lot of shots out there. That蘑菇视频 why it was okay,鈥� said Edwards. 鈥淭he past couple weeks have been frustrating with me leaving a couple strokes out there.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 one shot a round, a mental error. I let it snowball.鈥�
Edwards said he was able to gain a little momentum late in the round.
鈥淚 hit a bad shot on No. 8. I hit a good wedge and got a birdie out of it,鈥� said Edwards.
Edwards knew that Pleasant Valley would present a challenge.
鈥淭he greens themselves, with the undulation, are hard. I lag-putted well today,鈥� said Edwards.
Edwards feels there will be no stopping him once he gets his game rolling.
鈥淚鈥檓 a momentum golfer. I鈥檓 one good round away from breaking it open.鈥�
Firestone was pleased with the way he played, except for his result on No. 7.
鈥淥nly on No. 7, I overshot the green on my second shot. I hit a bad chip and was still in the rough, and ended up taking par,鈥� explained Firestone, adding, 鈥淚 was pretty disappointed.
鈥淥ther than that, I was just playing against myself. I felt good.鈥�
Firestone was happy with his play on the greens.
鈥淢y putter pretty much was on fire. I made a lot of clutch putts through the first four holes,鈥� said Firestone. 鈥淚 only had two-putts after that.鈥�
Firestone has moved his way up the lineup to second position.
鈥淚 feel more confident up there. It蘑菇视频 made me want to play better. It gave me the confidence,鈥� said Firestone. 鈥淚 knew I could do it.鈥�
Both players admitted they realized the importance of the late season match, although both had different approaches.
鈥淛ordan and myself were just sitting on the bus, listening to our music,鈥� said Edwards. 鈥淥ur team is ready.鈥�
鈥淥n the putting green, I felt the nerves. The nerves kicked in a little bit on the first tee. I was able to get it out of my head and focus,鈥� said Firestone. 鈥淚 striped my first tee shot down the middle of the fairway and I felt good. I didn鈥檛 let (the nerves) get to me.鈥�
Firestone said he蘑菇视频 playing his best as the season turns towards individual and team playoffs.
鈥淚 feel I鈥檓 doing the best I鈥檝e done this year. I鈥檓 feeling confident for the upcoming events,鈥� said Firestone.
Belle Vernon蘑菇视频 Landon Vaccaro and Trevor Kovatch both shot 40, while the Falcons鈥� Derek Routzahn and Christian Burd both finished with 43.