High school roundup for May 8, 2021: Big wins for Hempfield, Bethel Park

By: Tribune-Review
Saturday, May 8, 2021 | 11:38 PM

Christian Zilli hit a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning, sparking Hempfield to a 4-1 victory over Norwin on Saturday, giving the Spartans a share of the Section 2-6A baseball title.

Jake Kramer started for Hempfield, allowing one run on five hits in five innings. Zilli pitched two scoreless innings to get the save. Brandon Coughlin went 2 for 3 and hit a two-run double in the fifth for Hempfield (12-6, 7-3). Ty Stecko’s solo shot in the second provided the only run for Norwin (11-3, 7-3).

Bethel Park 13, Thomas Jefferson 2 – Eric Chalus pitched a complete game with five strikeouts and had three hits including a double to help Bethel Park (13-2, 9-0) clinch the Section 4-5A title in a victory over Thomas Jefferson (4-7, 3-4). Jason Nuttridge also had three hits including a double for the Black Hawks. David Kessler singled and doubled.

Connellsville 11, Albert Gallatin 8 – Gage Gillott went 2 for 4 with two RBIs to lead Connellsville (8-6, 5-2) to a Section 4-5A win. Brant Bonadio and Jake Puskar also had two hits. Jerry Gales and Luke Warrick drove in two runs apiece. Noah Mildren had two doubles and two RBIs for Albert Gallatin (2-7, 2-6).

Deer Lakes 2, Ligonier Valley 1 – Josh Wachter hit a walk-off RBI double in the seventh to lift Deer Lakes (9-3, 7-1) to a Section 3-3A win. A.J. Pagone gave up five hits and one run in a complete game win. Mason Seftas went 2 for 3 with an RBI for Ligonier Valley (7-8, 4-5).

Neshannock 6, South Side 5 – The Lancers (11-5, 5-2) scored a run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to overcome a 5-3 deficit and clinch a playoff spot with a comeback victory over South Side (6-7, 1-6). Nate Rynd knocked in what proved to be the game-winning run with an RBI single in the sixth. Michael Morelli retired all 12 batters he faced over four innings of relief and struck out four to earn the win. Will Morrow had three RBIs for the Rams.

Brashear 13, Carrick 6 – Dale Egenlauf doubled and tripled to lead Brashear (3-5, 3-2) to a City League win. Will Fiejdasz, David Niklas and Vinny Clark had two hits apiece. John Grimm went 3 for 3 for Carrick (7-4, 5-1).

Mohawk 4, Laurel 1 – J.C. Voss, Jay Wrona, and Cooper Vance had a double each for Mohawk (9-6) in a nonsection win. Garrison Staph pitched three scoreless innings of relief to get the win, and Voss pitched a clean seventh inning to get the save. Luke McCoy and Kobe DeRosa singled twice each for Laurel (8-6).

Valley 11, Riverview 0 – Ben Aftanas went 3 for 3 with three runs scored and two RBIs as Valley (10-5) beat Riverview (6-5) in a five-inning nonsection game. Javon Keys and Shane Demharter each added two hits in the win.

Softball

Bethel Park 9, Canon-McMillan 5 – Reagan Millikin hit two home runs and drove in four to help Bethel Park (13-0, 6-0) clinch the Section 1-6A title. Ali Sniegocki singled and doubled and Delaney Sierka drove in three runs. Olivia Ulam and Hailey Freeman homered for Canon-McMillan (7-7, 4-4).

Hempfield 3, Seneca Valley 2 – Callie Sowers struck out 12 in nine innings and hit a game-tying home run in the sixth inning to help Hempfield (9-5, 5-4) to a Section 2-6A victory. Sarah Podkul hit a game-winning RBI single, driving in Sydney Mitchell, in the ninth. Lina Chardella went 3 for 5 with two doubles for Seneca Valley (9-7, 4-6).

Connellsville 9, Albert Gallatin 6 – Abby King went 2 for 2 with a home run and three RBIs and Kirra Davis also homered to power Connellsville (9-7, 4-6) to a Section 2-5A win. Shayla Reynolds homered for Albert Gallatin (2-6, 0-6).

West Allegheny 10, Moon 0 – Megan Pollinger pitched a five-inning no-hitter with five strikeouts and singled twice to help West Allegheny (11-2, 8-1) top Moon (4-11, 3-8) in a Section 4-5A game. Adrianna Vicari-Baker belted a three-run homer. Madison Lucas and Emily Nolan doubled.

Freeport 18, Burrell 1 – Sydney Selker and Autumn Powell hit a home run and had four RBIs apiece to help Freeport (8-6, 6-4) cruise past Burrell (6-5, 5-3) in a Section 1-4A game. Every batter had at least one hit for Freeport, which scored 13 runs in the second inning. Emily Schmidt doubled twice, while Jenna Selker and Abby DeJidas doubled once. Savanna Urik tripled. Elizabeth Clark homered for the Bucs.

Yough 12, Ringgold 2 – Katie Proctor went 3 for 4 with three RBIs to lead Yough (9-4, 6-4) to a Section 2-4A win. Maria Lindich and Savannah Manns each had two hits and an RBI. Leah Jaquay homered for Ringgold (2-12, 1-9).

Beaver 15, Ambridge 0 – Payton List retired all nine batters she faced with eight strikeouts and Beaver (12-0, 10-0) clinched the Section 3-4A title with a 3-inning win over Ambridge (1-12, 1-9). List went 2 for 2 at the plate with a triple and 2 RBIs. Hanna Crowe singled three times and plated a run.

Deer Lakes 22, East Allegheny 1 – Hannah Mass singled, doubled, tripled and drove in five runs and Anna Bokulich went 4 for 4 with four RBIs to lead Deer Lakes (9-2, 6-2) to a Section 1-3A win in three innings. Jaiden Blitch doubled and drove in a run for East Allegheny (1-7, 1-7).

Deer Lakes 9, Derry 2 – Keeghan Cook hit a grand slam and winning pitcher Jenna Bisegna went 2 for 3 with a triple to lead Deer Lakes (5-4, 5-2) to its second Section 1-3A win of the day. Izzy DePalma went 3 for 3 with a double, a home run and two RBIs for Derry (4-5, 4-3).

Waynesburg 11, McGuffey 5 – Waynesburg (11-4, 6-3) clinched a playoff spot behind two home runs and five RBIs from Meghan Braun in a Section 3-3A win over McGuffey (3-6, 2-5). Braun finished 3 for 4 and was the winning pitcher in relief. Hannah Wood homered, doubled and singled for the Raiders. Erin Fitch doubled twice and singled.

Ligonier Valley 8, Apollo-Ridge 0 – Maddie Griffin pitched a complete game two-hitter with 16 strikeouts to lead Ligonier Valley (14-1, 11-0) past Apollo-Ridge (7-3-1, 7-3) in a Section 2-2A game. The Rams took advantage of errors by the Vikings to score eight unearned runs in fourth. Haley Boyd doubled for the Rams. Cam Kowalczyk had a double for the Vikings.

Shenango 10, Neshannock 8 – Leyna Mason went 4 for 6 with a double and a home run to lead Shenango (12-4, 8-3) to a Section 4-2A win. Winning pitcher Mia Edwards homered and struck out 16. Ashley DeCarbo and Brianna DeSalvo had three hits apiece. Neleh Nogay went 3 for 4 with a triple for Neshannock (7-5, 7-4).

West Mifflin 5, Upper St. Clair 3 – Lauren Yuhas hit a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead West Mifflin (14-2) to a nonsection win against Upper St. Clair (2-11). Aurora Rosso also homered for West Mifflin.