A-K Valley WPIAL baseball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, May 17, 2023

By: Bill Hartlep
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 | 4:27 PM

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WPIAL baseball playoffs

Class 5A

First round

8-Fox Chapel (12-8) vs. 9-Mars (9-9)

6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Plum

Winner plays: Winner of 4-Plum (13-7) and 13-Trinity (6-9) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD)

Players to watch: Jeremy Haigh, Fox Chapel; Jacob Maple, Mars

Extra bases: The Foxes finished third in Section 1-5A with an 8-4 record. They split section series with Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional, Armstrong and Plum. Fox Chapel dropped three of its final four games after a five-game winning streak midseason. Haigh leads the Foxes with a .412 batting average and has 10 RBIs. He also has a 6-1 record on the mound with a 1.02 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 48 innings. Zach Johnston is hitting .367 with a team-high 19 RBIs. … Mars finished tied for third in Section 3 with a 5-5 record. The Fightin’ Planets are in the midst of a three-game skid after a pair of 4-3 wins over Moon and a 15-0 triumph over Nazareth Prep. Sophomore infielder Luke Goodworth leads Mars at the plate with a .364 average. Senior Benjamin Astbury is batting .323 with 16 RBIs. Maple, a junior, carries an on-base percentage of .434 and is one of the team’s top pitchers at 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA.

4-Plum (13-7) vs. 13-Trinity (6-9)

6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gateway

Winner plays: Winner of 8-Fox Chapel (12-8) and 9-Mars (9-9) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD)

Players to watch: Colin Watson, Plum; Gibson Havanis, Trinity

Extra bases: Plum tied Penn-Trafford for the Section 1 title with a 9-3 record. The Mustangs won nine of their last 10 games. A 5-2 loss to Fox Chapel on May 8 snapped an eight-game winning streak during which they outscored opponents 63-26. Three Mustang starters are batting better than .400: Daniel Macioce, Erik Streussnig and Brady Dojonovic. Caden Norcutt and Watson have each knocked in 15 runs. Dojonovic (4-1, 3.17), Streussnig (3-2, 4.97) and Watson (2-1, 1.11) have anchored the pitching staff. They’ve combined to strike out 120 batters. … Trinity tied for fourth in Section 2 at 3-7. The Hillers snapped a six-game losing streak with wins over Albert Gallatin and Thomas Jefferson last week. Against Albert Gallatin, Kaden Hathaway doubled and homered, and Ty Banco was 2 for 4 with two RBIs. In the win over TJ, Havanis hit a two-run home run, and Zack Thornburg was 3 for 4.

Class 4A

First round

5-Latrobe (14-6) vs. 12-Kiski Area (9-9)

4 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin

Winner plays: Winner of 4-Chartiers Valley (13-6) and 13-Central Valley (6-11) Thursday (time, site TBD) in quarterfinals

Players to watch: Anthony Massari, Latrobe; Dom DiNinno, Kiski Area

Extra bases: This all-Westmoreland County matchup in the Class 4A bracket pits familiar foes in Latrobe and Kiski Area. The Wildcats were Section 2 champions. They defeated North Catholic and Franklin Regional, two teams that beat the Cavaliers. … Kiski Area has dropped four consecutive games. The Cavaliers are led by senior DiNinno with a .418 average. Senior Blake Fritz is hitting .395, and junior Nathan Witt had 19 RBIs. Junior Jacob Smith is 4-3 with 51 strikeouts, and senior Lebryn Smith is 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA. … Junior Anthony Massari is leading the Wildcats with a .414 batting average. He has seven doubles and 16 RBIs. Senior Logan Bradish is hitting .306 with six doubles and 18 RBIs. Bradish is 6-0 on the hill with a 1.56 ERA, and Riley Smith is 4-1 with an ERA of 1.98.

Bill Hartlep is the sports editor of the Tribune-Review. You can contact Bill at bhartlep@triblive.com or via Twitter @BHartlep_Trib.

Tags: Fox Chapel, Mars, Plum, Trinity