Penn-Trafford baseball ousts Upper St. Clair, moves to semifinals

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, May 21, 2019 | 9:40 PM

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Penn-Trafford didn’t panic when Upper St. Clair took an early lead in Tuesday’s WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal at West Mifflin.

The No. 1-seeded Warriors stayed patient and took advantage of No. 8 Upper St. Clair’s mistakes in a 7-3 victory.

Penn-Trafford used a pair of three-run innings to chase USC starter Nate Hamel and advance to the semifinals against No. 4 North Allegheny at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fox Chapel.

North Allegheny advanced by defeating Butler, 4-2.

“It’s a game we were hoping for,” Penn-Trafford coach Dan Miller said as he addressed the team after the game. “I was proud how you guys stuck with the plan and stayed patient.

“North Allegheny is the team that knocked us out last year when we felt we could go far. They know us, and we’re going out and trying to give it our best effort.”

North Allegheny defeated Penn-Trafford, 6-0, in the 2018 playoffs. Earlier this season, Penn-Trafford won 6-5 in a nonsection game.

“We advanced, and it’s something we haven’t done for a long time,” Miller said. “We set a school record with our 17th win, and to do it in playoff fashion was a good thing for us.

“We had to persevere. It certainly wasn’t pretty on the pitching side, but our offense captured the moment for us.”

Upper St. Clair took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Andrew Casey, son of former major leaguer Sean Casey, doubled home a run. Andrew Casey was 3 for 4 with an RBI. His brother Jake was 2 for 4.

Penn-Trafford jumped on Hamel in the third inning when Cade Patterson singled home Maclean Maund to tie the score, and, two batters later, Luke Fabac doubled home two more runs.

USC made it 3-2 when Joe Pulit scored from second base on a wild pitch.

Penn-Trafford then scored three unearned runs in the fifth inning when Anthony Sherwin singled home Patterson, and Fabac scored on an error. Sherwin later scored on a hit.

Maclean worked into the sixth inning before leaving the game after throwing 104 pitches. Tyler Chrise worked an inning, and Bill Kusinsky struck out two to end the game.

Bobby Lane and Fabac drove in two runs each for the Warriors.

Sherwin, who also had a big game, said he just did what he could to help the team.

“I did my job and I trusted my teammates,” Sherwin said. “The pitchers did what they’ve done all season.”

Veteran Upper St. Clair coach Jerry Malarkey said Penn-Trafford was the better team.

“They played a good game. They made the plays, and they got the timely hits,” Malarkey said. “They got good pitching. We battled the entire season, and I have no complaints how we played.”

Check out an archived video stream broadcast of this game on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Penn-Trafford, Upper St. Clair