The Price is Right: How a young pitcher has led Cedar Cliff with maturity and talent
Cedar Cliff's playoff run has a lot to do with the sensational pitching of sophomore standout Peyton Price.
As warmups took place at Earl Wenger Field in Fredericksburg on Monday evening in the PIAA semifinals, a little girl walked the concourse at the storied complex.
It wasn’t easy to make out exactly what pun had been crafted onto the sign, but one word was abundantly clear, bedazzled with glitter and in the largest font; “Price”.
A young boy lunged from the top row of the stands, reaching over the railing to shout out, “Nice sign!”.
At roughly the same time, 12 members of the “Junior Colts” program lined the fence against the bullpen, getting a glimpse of Price warming up before taking the mound in the state semifinals.
That’s the way the community at Cedar Cliff has rallied around the 16-year-old sophomore through the PIAA playoffs and now into the state championship against North Penn. They trust him, embrace him and celebrate him.
“Even in the regular season, it was like a different feeling this year,” Price said of how this community has supported him and the team. “We have a younger group, and it honestly seems like it didn’t matter at all. It was a really fun year in the regular season. Then, you get to districts, we hosted two rounds of districts and a round of states, and those atmospheres were great.”
Cedar Cliff’s first round game in the PIAA tournament against Pennsbury was at home, and three and a half hours beforehand, Price had no idea whether he’d be able to pitch the game or not.
He had surgery 10 days prior to the game, and game day was also the appointment to get his stitches out and determine what his status would look like for the game later that afternoon.
“I knew I definitely wanted to,” said Price. “But, it was kind of questionable, knowing the risk that was involved.”
That’s where the sophomore’s maturity comes in, an impressive quality in a 16-year-old who’s been at the center of a lot going on around him, and a lot of attention that has followed it.
“You can’t ask for any better of a player,” said Cedar Cliff head coach Justin Secrest after their first round win. “The fact that he’s only a sophomore, too. I mean, he’s matured so much this year, and, you know, just to want the ball and want to be there for his teammates.”
The sophomore went on to have six strikeouts in 5 ⅔ innings of a pitcher’s duel game against the Falcons, a 1-0 result that entered the Colts into the state quarterfinals against Seneca Valley.
Price got roped into another pitcher’s duel game in the state semifinals on Monday, where every pitch seemed to matter in a game that the Colts led, 3-2, late.
On a 2-2 count pitch to Liberty’s Willy Cruz, Price took an extra moment to reset himself, and in doing so, separated his hands. It’s a minute adjustment, but enough for the home plate umpire to call a balk, making it a full count.
The Colts fanbase, which showed up in masses, were outraged. It’s a big call with one out and nobody on the last inning and a lot on the line, and an atypical call that doesn’t happen every game.
Immediately, Justin Secrest walked out and gestured to the fans to settle down, and had a discussion with the umpire. After, Price started to take steps forward towards the umpire.
Lots of kids his age would be hot. Caught up in the emotions, it’s not easy for a professional to take a breath in that situation, let alone someone not even close to old enough to vote for president yet.
Price turned to Secrest, said “I’m just asking,” and talked briefly with the umpire. And then it was over, and he struck out the batter, and the next one to head to a state championship game. And everyone forgot about the balk call that they disagreed with.
“That’s his composure,” said Secrest. “I mean, he doesn’t really let things really affect him, so the fact that he’s able to calm down and get the strikeout, you can’t ask for anything more from the kid.”
“Usually a player would be mad after that, and I’m not saying I wasn’t,” said Price. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t arguing, I just wanted to make sure I was asking, so I knew.”
It could have been the story of this game. One offsetting call could have derailed the season, but Secrest and Price made sure it didn’t.
“I just had to flush it because this game was a lot bigger than just one balk call,” Price went on to say. “And this team and the state championship … it’s a lot bigger than just one little call. So I just kind of had to flush it and move on.”
Surely, the college offers will start to come in for Price, who’s now posted a 10-1 record, 0.65 ERA and 86 strikeouts on the season. But for now, it’s just about having fun with a group of guys who’ve earned their way to the state’s ultimate test, and seeing if it’s possible to earn the school’s first state championship.
On Friday, it’ll be North Penn’s turn to “come on down.”
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