Shortstop Connor Coolahan sets pace for Shawnee

Connor Coolahan wasn’t taking any chances.

There was no throw to the plate as Coolahan was about to score the first run in Shawnee’s 2-0 win over Haddonfield in the championship game of the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.

Coolahan belly-flopped across the dish anyway.

“It was just all emotions coming in,” Coolahan said. “I just knew we needed that run.”

That was one side of the senior shortstop who led the Renegades to their first title in the prestigious tournament in 29 years.

That was the upbeat, emotions-on-his-sleeve guy who mugged for the cameras while the champions posed for pictures with the championship trophy at Eastern High School on Wednesday night.

The other side is a play on his last name. That’s the unflappable, cool-handed fielder whose defensive work was as much of a factor in Shawnee’s victory as his crossing of the plate with the eventual winning run.

“We fed off his defense,” Shawnee coach Brian Anderson said of Coolahan.

Coolahan was flawless in the field. He had five assists, robbing Haddonfield’s Chris Mariani with a backhanded stab and fire to first in the second, and nailing a runner at third after fielding another hard-hit grounder in the seventh.

“I’m not sure I wanted him throwing behind the runner there,” Anderson said, noting that the Renegades were protecting a two-run lead. “But he makes those kinds of plays.”

Coolahan ranged nearly behind the bag to field a grounder to end a threat with runners on second and third in the fourth. He nearly made another spectacular play in the sixth, with a deft stop and throw that Haddonfield’s Dylan Heine beat to the bag for an infield single on a bang-bang play.

And fittingly, Coolahan ended the game by moving to his left, fielding a chopper and firing another strike to first baseman Nate Liedtka to start the celebration of Shawnee’s first tournament title since 1990.

“Today it felt like every ball was coming to me and I was getting there with ease,” Coolahan said. “It felt like everything was clicking.”

Coolahan enjoyed playing on Eastern’s artificial-turf infield. Most teams, including Shawnee, have grass-and-dirt fields.

“I like the turf,” Coolahan said. “You usually know where the hops are going to be. But any field, you have to get the easy outs for your pitcher.”

Shawnee’s winning pitcher, senior Jackson Balzan, said Coolahan’s defense was a key to the victory.

“He was amazing,” Balzan said. “When it’s hit, you know he’s going to make the play.”

Coolahan, a La Salle recruit, is batting .351 with 12 walks, 13 runs and 10 RBIs for Shawnee (17-5), which has risen to No. 1 in the Inquirer Top 25 rankings and projects as the team to beat in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament, which starts Monday.

But it’s his presence in the field that makes the greatest impact, according to his coach.

“He’s a three-year starter and he’s just so steady,” Anderson said. “We are really going to miss having him out there.”

Coolahan is one of 14 seniors on the Shawnee roster. He’s one of a few with college baseball in their future.

“We want to make it last,” Coolahan said. “We want to keep winning so we don’t have to stop playing.

“Like some of our seniors, they aren’t playing in college so it’s great to keep this season going so they can keep playing, so we can stay together.”