A-K Valley WPIAL baseball capsules: Games of Tuesday, May 15, 2018

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, May 13, 2018 | 11:15 PM

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Class 6A

First round

No. 5 Plum (15-4) vs. No. 12 Mt. Lebanon (9-11)

4 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny

Winner plays: No. 4 Canon-McMillan (13-5) or No. 13 Norwin (7-7)

Extra bases: Section 2-6A runner-up Plum is making its 12th consecutive WPIAL playoff appearance. The Mustangs beat Peters Township in the first round last season before losing to eventual champion Pine-Richland in the quarterfinals. The team was WPIAL and PIAA runner-up in 2016. Senior left-hander Ryan Kircher leads a deep pitching staff. The Kent State recruit struck out 13 batters in 5 ²⁄₃ no-hit innings in a recent start. Other college commits for Plum include Markus Cestra (IUP), Tanner Froehlich (Seton Hill), Jackson Rogers (La Roche) and Logan Simmons (Cal Pa.). … Mt. Lebanon earned a playoff spot by tying for fourth place in Section 3-6A. The Blue Devils made the WPIAL semifinals last season, losing to Pine-Richland. Thirteen of Mt. Lebanon's games were decided by one or two runs.

Class 5A

First round

No. 13 Fox Chapel (9-10) vs. No. 4 Laurel Highlands (15-3)

2 p.m. Tuesday at Hempfield

Winner plays: No. 5 Mars (12-5) or No. 12 Trinity (5-9)

Extra bases: Fox Chapel returns to the playoffs after a one-year absence. First-year coach Jim Hastings, a Fox Chapel graduate, led Springdale to the playoffs each of the past two seasons. The Foxes finished fourth in Section 1-5A. Senior Alex Miles hit a team-high .400 with nine RBIs during the regular season, and junior James Patterson (12), sophomore Alex McRandall (10), junior Jonathan Simon (9), Miles (9) and junior T.J. Johnston were tops in RBIs. Miles logged the most innings pitched, going 1-4 with a 2.74 ERA. … Laurel Highlands won the Section 3-5A title with a 13-1 record, the only loss coming to Franklin Regional. The Mustangs' three losses came by a combined four runs. Mason McManus has 24 RBIs. Travis Sankovich hit .532 with 17 RBIs. Andino Vecchiolla went 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA.

Class 4A

First round

No. 5 Freeport (12-3) vs. No. 12 New Castle (11-9)

4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Seneca Valley

Winner plays: No. 4 Ringgold (14-3)

Extra bases: Freeport, the Section 1-4A runner-up, qualified for the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Yellowjackets lost to Ringgold in the first round last season. After winning 11 of their first 12 games, a pair of one-run losses to Knoch and Derry kept Freeport from winning the section title. All three of Freeport's losses were by one run, and eight of its 15 games came with a one- or two-run margin. Senior Brodey Cowan, a Gettysburg recruit, hit a team-high .520. Senior Sean Furlong went 5-2 with a 2.88 ERA during the regular season. Cowan (2-1, 2.52 ERA) and sophomore Jarrett Heilman (5-0, 3.05) are the other top pitchers. … After starting the season 0-4, New Castle rallied to tie for third place in Section 2-4A and make the playoffs. The Red Hurricane made the quarterfinals last season. Seniors Alex Cioffi (.414, eight doubles), Nick DeRosa (.366, nine RBIs) and Bobby Salem (.340, 17 RBIs) are New Castle's top hitters.

No. 11 Deer Lakes (11-7) vs. No. 6 West Mifflin (14-5)

6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Gateway

Winner plays: No. 3 South Fayette (14-5)

Extra bases: Deer Lakes, the fourth-place finisher in Section 1-4A, is making its second consecutive playoff appearance. The Lancers advanced to the WPIAL semifinals last season but finished one win shy of the PIAA tournament. Senior Jake McCaskey, a Cal (Pa.) recruit, leads Deer Lakes, hitting .450 with five doubles, five triples and 14 RBIs and going 5-2 with a 1.60 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 39 ¹⁄₃ innings. Senior Tyler Smith, a Shaler transfer, had three homers and 24 RBIs and also was among the Lancers' top pitchers. … West Mifflin qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2015. The Titans tied for second place in Section 3-4A with Belle Vernon. Dominant two-way player Ben Visnesky, a Serra transfer and Gannon recruit, leads West Mifflin. He went 8-1 with a 0.97 ERA and 76 strikeouts. Trey Manspeaker batted a team-high .500 for West Mifflin, and Visnesky (15 RBIs), Ryan Ruffing (14) and Nick Ackerman (14) were the top run producers.

Class 3A

First round

No. 5 Valley (10-6) vs. No. 12 Beaver Falls (6-8)

4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Shaler

Winner plays: No. 4 Brownsville (12-2)

Extra bases: Valley snapped a nine-year playoff drought last season, losing to Brownsville in the first round, and took another step forward by tying Burrell for the Section 1-3A championship. It was the Vikings' first section title since 2004. The Vikings rely on a mix of experience — seniors Dan Antonacci, Shawn Demharter, Nick Heuser, Jake McNabb and Andrew Serakowski — and inexperience — freshmen John Luke Bailey, Shane Demharter and Cayden Quinn, among others. McNabb, a four-year starter at catcher, hit a team-high .348 with 17 RBIs. Antonacci batted .340 with 15 RBIs. … Beaver Falls finished fourth in Section 3-3A behind Riverside, Avonworth and South Side Beaver, the top three seeds in the Class 3A bracket. The Tigers are returning to the playoffs after missing out last season. They secured their berth by beating Mohawk and New Brighton in their final two section contests. Junior Dayln Brickner hit .500 with four triples and 12 RBIs. The Tigers' pitching struggled, posting a 5.62 team ERA.

Class A

First round

No. 12 Leechburg (4-10) vs. No. 5 Jeannette (11-3)

2 p.m. Tuesday at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: No. 4 Quigley Catholic (13-1)

Extra bases: Leechburg qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2011 after finishing fourth in powerful Section 1-A, which includes Vincentian and Union. The Blue Devils are seeking their first playoff victory since ‘01. Seniors Tyler Leech and Corey Kerecz led the way at the plate for Leechburg, and Kerecz anchored the pitching staff. Kerecz had perhaps the most important hit of the season, a two-run single against St. Joseph that helped secure the Blue Devils' playoff berth. … Jeannette is the defending WPIAL Class A champion, winning its first title last season by beating Greensburg Central Catholic. The Jayhawks finished second, behind GCC, in the Section 2-A standings this season, closing the year with back-to-back losses. Before those losses came a string of 10 consecutive wins in which Jeannette reached double digits in runs nine times. Senior Tre Cunningham, a three-sport star, is a top player for the Jayhawks.

—Doug Gulasy

Tags: Beaver Falls, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Jeannette, Laurel Highlands, Leechburg, Mt. lebanon, New Castle, Plum, Valley, West Mifflin