MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's pitcher Logan Kirby, right, and brother Noah Kirby, left, celebrates after their 18-0 win over Crestwood in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA playoffs.

Noah Kirby had no problem addressing Montoursville’s starting pitcher Monday afternoon. Those two never have had any issues working together.

Oh yeah, they are brothers, so that might help form that iron-clad bond.

And brothers Noah and Logan Kirby lived a special moment Monday at North Schuylkill. There, they worked together and helped Montoursville become one of the best teams in program history. Logan threw a six-hit shutout and Noah provided excellent catching as the Warriors blanked Pope John II, 6-0 and captured the 4A Eastern Region championship.

Next up, is a state final appearance Friday at Penn State against Indiana.

“It’s fun for me. Plus it’s my brother so I have to keep him accountable. There’s no better thing than honesty,” Noah said. “Whenever someone asks what we play. he stays pitcher and I say catcher and they say that’s crazy. There’s nothing crazy to me because that’s how I grew up.”

The Kirby’s have grown up together and Logan has been pitching to Noah pretty much since they first put on cleats. They have developed excellent chemistry over the years and that has played a critical role in both excelling along the way.

Pitchers and catchers always have to work together. It sure helps when that battery literally is a brotherhood. The Kirby’s bring out the best in each other and their ability to be at their best again Monday helped Montoursville (20-4) become Eastern Pennsylvania’s best 4A team.

“Nobody knows me better than him. He knows what to do; he knows how to motivate me,” Logan said. “He’ll even call me out on my bad stuff I’m doing. He will come out here and give me a talk and give it to me straight. He knows what I’m doing and the chemistry there is tight.”

It certainly was against Pope John II as Logan shut down a powerful offense which had scored runs in bunches all season. He struck out four, let an excellent defense work and was dialed in all afternoon, improving to 8-0 this season.

It was a close contest until the fifth inning when Montoursville broke things open. Throughout the first four innings, Kirby preserved a 1-0 lead, inducing an inning-ending double play in the second inning after Pope John II loaded the bases. It certainly was nice having his younger brother behind the plate, encouraging and pushing him.

Whatever it takes to bring out Logan’s best, Noah will do.

“Sometimes he veers off track. He never really shows his emotions, but sometimes he can get in his head and I think I’m pretty good at picking up on it since I live with him,” Noah said. “If there’s anyone who gets him on the team it’s probably me because I’m his brother and know him best.”

“There’s times I would have to say something to another player, but Noah is already out there talking to Logan,” Montoursville coach Jeremy Eck said. “He holds him to a high standard.”

Logan met that standard Monday, building on his excellent season. The junior right-hander is 4-1 in his playoff career and has produced a 1.78 ERA this season, allowing just 38 hits in 55 innings and striking out 79.

He has overpowered teams at times and struck out eight, while allowing just one earned run, in 6 2/3 innings, earning the win against Danville in the district championship after the Ironmen returned 13 seniors from last year’s state semifinalist. Against Pope John II, Kirby did not strike out as many but he was equally effective and his teammates backed him with superb defense.

“Logan was phenomenal. He pitched his butt off and even though they hit him, we had his back and played some amazing D,” first baseman Brayden McCourt said. “He is our guy and has been all year. He doesn’t need to have his best day and he still gets the job done.”

Kirby was the first pitcher to shutout Pope John II this season. It was quite a response after struggling in his previous start, exiting after two innings against Fleetwood in the quarterfinals. Following that game third baseman Zack Neill said Kirby would come back stronger and deliver a “legacy performance,” in the semifinals. Then Kirby went out and made Neill look like a genius.

Logan bouncing back said as much about his character as it did his talent. It’s not the fall which defines and athlete but the response and Logan responded like a champion.

“At the end of the day, when you’re facing a team as talented as Pope John was, he owned the moment for sure,” Eck said. “He kept them off-balance all night. This is not an easy game and sometimes you don’t have it . He wasn’t blowing people’s doors in but he kept guys off-balance all night. I told him before the game, ‘This is what it’s all about. You’re supposed to be the guy and these situations the guy steps up,’ and that’s what he did. He did a fantastic job.”

So does Noah who worked in harmony with his brother as each continued helping the other flourish. Noah burst onto the scene as a freshman last year and emerged as one of the area’s premier catchers. Nothing has changed this season and he has become a terrific run producer as well, hitting .365 with 34 RBIs.

Still, it’s what the stats do not measure which helps Noah push both his brother and Montoursville to another level. He may be young, but Noah has become a leader.

“Noah rides Logan pretty hard. Noah is his harshest critic and you’ll hear him, jumping on him,” Eck said. “There’s a sense of ease knowing your brother is back there, and doing it together. Logan pitched the game of his life (Monday) and Noah did a fantastic job back there.”

As individuals, Logan and Noah are outstanding players. Together, they are at their best and have helped Montoursville become Eastern Pennsylvania’s best baseball team.

“That (brotherhood) is probably an advantage that not many teams have,” Noah. “I think that connection is one of the biggest weapons we have.”