High school roundup for May 16, 2023: Avonworth makes statement with bats in Class 3A opener

By: Tribune-Review
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 | 11:06 PM

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Top-seeded Avonworth played long ball in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A softball playoffs, hitting three homers in a 15-4 win over No. 16 Seton Lasalle in five innings Tuesday.

Leah Kuban went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs, Rylee Gray doubled, homered and drove in three, and Emma Obersteiner singled, homered and plated two for the Antelopes (18-1), who will meet No. 8 Central Valley in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Layne Shinsky doubled twice and winning pitcher Alivia Lantzy had three hits and three RBIs.

For the Rebels (5-10), Gianna Ferrieri homered and drove in three runs and Kiara Cerminara singled and doubled.

Burgettstown 8, Apollo-Ridge 1 – Layla Sherman smashed a three-run home run in the third inning and finished with four RBIs, leading No. 8 Burgettstown (12-7) to a first-round win in Class 2A.

Peyton Gratchen and Emma McGregor each hit a double and Peyton Mermon drove in a run for the Blue Devils, who will face top-seeded Neshannock in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Julia Jastrzebski fanned eight and gave up one run in a complete game for Burgettstown.

Jocelyn Snyder homered while Cassidy Ryan and Olivia Saxion each had a hit for Apollo-Ridge (6-10).

Central Valley 6, Deer Lakes 2 – Maddie Spirnak belted a two-run home run and Abigale Stewart hit a solo homer to lead No. 8 Central Valley (9-5) to an opening-round win in Class 3A.

Macy Littler went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Emma Weaver allowed two runs in six innings for the Warriors, who advance to play top-seeded Avonworth in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Tia Germanich and Anna Bokulich each had an RBI and Maddie Kee struck out eight for No. 9 Deer Lakes (10-6).

Charleroi 6, Steel Valley 5 – Emma Stefaniak hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting No. 4 Charleroi (16-2) to a comeback victory in a Class 2A first-round matchup.

McKenna DeUnger had three hits, Madalynn Lacey and Riley Jones each doubled and drove in a run, and winning pitcher Sofia Celaschi fanned 11 for the Cougars, who will meet No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Kendall McConnell hit an RBI single to give No. 13 Steel Valley (4-11) a 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth.

Greensburg Central Catholic 10, Bentworth 0 – Emma Henry went 4 for 4 with a double and two RBIs and struck out eight in five shutout innings to lead No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic (12-2) to a Class 2A first-round victory.

Grace Kindel collected two hits and three RBIs and Makenzee Kenney drove in a run for the Centurions, who will face No. 4 Charleroi in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Zoie McDonald tripled for No. 12 Bentworth (6-9).

Jefferson-Morgan 7, Northgate 4 – Payton Farabee went 3 for 4 with three doubles to lead No. 6 Jefferson-Morgan (9-7) to a Class A first-round victory. Winning pitcher Kayla Larkin struck out five for the Rockets, who will face No. 3 Frazier in the quarterfinals Thursday. Johna Abramowicz struck out nine for No. 11 Northgate (8-6).

Leechburg 8, South Side 1 – Anna Cibik allowed one hit and one unearned run while striking out 10 in a complete game, giving No. 7 Leechburg (11-7) an opening-round Class A win.

Cibik also slugged a home run and drove in two, Karli Mazak hit a two-run double and Adalyn Zanotto doubled and had an RBI for the Blue Devils. Leechburg advances to play No. 2 Carmichaels in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Kenidi Cook doubled and drove in the lone run for No. 10 South Side (8-6).

Mohawk 14, South Park 6 – Lydia Cole doubled twice and homered and Addy Moskal went 4 for 4 with a double and triple as No. 5 Mohawk (12-4) pounded out 18 hits in a Class 3A first-round win.

Aricka Young, Maya McGreal and Mylie Pistorious also had three hits apiece for the Warriors, who will meet No. 4 Burrell in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Jacie Hilligsburg had two hits and an RBI for No. 12 South Park (11-6).

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 6, Shenango 5 – Juliet Vybiral doubled twice and homered and winning pitcher Justena Giles struck out nine in seven innings, leading No. 6 OLSH (13-3) to a Class 2A first-round victory.

Morgan O’Brien and Leann Walzer each had two hits and an RBI for the Chargers, who will take on No. 3 Serra Catholic in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Zoe Offie doubled and tripled, Reagan Lynn singled and doubled, and Ashley DeCarbo singled and drove in a pair for No. 11 Shenango (7-9).

Riverside 14, Fort Cherry 0 – Braley Zappia and Mia Williams each doubled and drove in three runs as No. 7 Riverside (12-4) amassed 15 hits in four innings for a Class 2A first-round win.

Sam Rosenberger fanned 13 and allowed no hits in five shutout innings, Charlie Bissell singled and drove in two runs and Aliya Ottavianni doubled and knocked in a run for the Panthers, who will face No. 2 Laurel in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Adryonna Herbst struck out three for Fort Cherry (7-9).

Waynesburg 5, Valley 1 – Kendall Lemley hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to secure a Class 3A first-round victory for No. 3 Waynesburg (15-3). Lemley also tossed a one-hit complete game and struck out four.

Hannah Wood went 4 for 4 with three doubles and Emma Zehner and Gina Tedrow each drove in a run for the Raiders, who will play No. 11 Ligonier Valley in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Gabrielle Campana-Chambers drove in a run and Jada Norman doubled for Valley (6-11).

West Greene 16, Monessen 1 – No. 5 West Greene (12-7) scored early and often in a swift three-inning victory in the first-round of the Class A playoffs.

London Whipkey doubled twice and brought home three runs while Payton Gilbert allowed one hit and struck out eight for the Pioneers, who will play No. 4 Chartiers-Houston in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Kendra Jones singled and drove in the only run for Monessen (7-8).

Yough 11, Ellwood City 5 – Adoria Waldier hit a three-run home run to tie the game at four in the third inning and hit a two-run bomb in the fifth to give No. 7 Yough (10-4) the lead for good in a Class 3A first-round victory.

Abbey Zuraw crushed a solo home run, Madison Horvat doubled and drove in two runs, and Sidney Bergman fanned five for the Cougars, who will play No. 2 Southmoreland in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Julia Nardone led off the game with a solo home run and Ellie Kalantzias and Amber McQuiston each knocked in a run for Ellwood City (11-6).

Boys lacrosse

Fox Chapel 12, Central Catholic 7 – Josh Correnti scored five goals to lead No. 8 Fox Chapel to an opening-round win in Class 3A.

Ryan Napolitan finished with three goals and Tyler Goldstein added two as the Foxes advance to play No. 1 Peters Township in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Michael Blount scored three goals and Gavin Stanek buried two for Central Catholic.

In other Class 3A first-round games, No. 5 Pine-Richland beat No. 12 Norwin, 17-3, No. 7 Seneca Valley topped No. 10 Hempfield, 15-9, and No. 6 Upper St. Clair handled No. 11 Butler, 25-11.

Girls lacrosse

Franklin Regional 8, South Fayette 7 – Gwen Shilling scored five goals to lead No. 8 Franklin Regional to a WPIAL Class 2A first-round playoff win over No. 9 South Fayette. Taylor Murphy, Anna Ioannou and Catherine Helm also scored for the Panthers, who will meet top-seeded Mars in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Maddie Jordan scored three goals for the Lions.

Quaker Valley 16, Penn-Trafford 4 — Shannon Von Kaenel and Alexa Westwood scored four goals apiece and Lucy Roig and Kyra Gabriele each added three as No. 7 Quaker Valley handled No. 10 Penn-Trafford in a Class 2A first-round match. Tia Pethel scored twice for the Quakers, who will meet No. 2 Plum in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

In other Class 2A first-round games, No. 5 Chartiers Valley beat No. 12 Latrobe, 12-2, and No. 6 Indiana got past No. 11 Moon, 10-8.

Boys volleyball

Norwin 3, Peters Township 0 — Jackson Genicola had seven kills and Lucas Churchfield recorded eight digs as fifth-seeded Norwin swept past No. 12 Peters Township in a WPIAL Class 3A first-round match, winning 25-19, 25-15, 25-9. Mike Mihalov had three blocks and Ben Tygielski added three aces for the Knights, who will face No. 4 Canon-McMillan in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

In other Class 3A first-round matches, No. 9 Upper St. Clair got past No. 8 Hempfield, 3-2, No. 7 Seneca Valley beat No. 10 Moon, 3-1, and No. 6 Butler handled No. 11 Central Catholic, 3-1.

In Class 2A, No. 8 Hopewell beat No. 9 Thomas Jefferson, 3-1, No. 4 North Catholic swept No. 13 Trinity, 3-0, No. 5 South Fayette defeated No. 12 South Park, 3-0, No. 7 Montour topped No. 10 Gateway, 3-1, and No. 6 Ambridge took care of No. 11 Derry, 3-0.

Boys tennis

Class 3A – WPIAL champion Gateway and runner-up North Allegheny both advanced to the state quarterfinals with first-round wins.

Gateway (13-3) took a 3-2 win from Manheim Township (13-4). Adam Memije, Zidaan Hassan and Logan Memije swept the singles matches for the Gators.

North Allegheny (14-1) rolled to a 4-0 win over District 10 champ McDowell (12-5). Evan Kaufman and Srivatsav Thirumala won singles matches and the doubles teams of Utkarsh Tiwari and Nittin Gupta and Matthew Kampi and Adhav Ramadas also won.

Class 2A – WPIAL champ Sewickley Academy and runner-up Winchester Thurston won first-round matches to move on to the PIAA quarterfinals.

Sewickley Academy (12-2) picked up a 5-0 win over District 5 champ Somerset (10-3). Severin Harmon, Jonathan Varghese and Sebastian Tan in singles and the doubles teams of Spencer Krysinski and Jackson Quigley and Alexander Quigley and Jason Chen won in straight sets.

Winchester Thurston (10-2) cruised to a 5-0 victory over District 9 champ Elk County Catholic (12-2). Austin He won at No. 1 singles without dropping a game. Christian Zhu and Mack Jamison att singles and the doubles teams of Oliver Daboo and Nikou Nourbakhsh and Alex Hauskrecht and Charlie Tea also won in straight sets.

North Catholic (12-2) lost 4-1 to District 10 champ Cathedral Prep (18-2) and Chartiers Valley fell 5-0 to District 3 champion Lancaster Country Day.