Plum notebook: Mustangs baseball team captures section title

By: Michael Love
Saturday, May 13, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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For the second time in three seasons, the Plum baseball team was able to add to its section-title banner in the main gymnasium.

The Mustangs earned a share of the Section 1-5A title, finishing 9-3 after a doubleheader split with Fox Chapel on May 8 and 9.

Penn-Trafford also finished 9-3. Plum split with the Warriors, losing 4-3 on the road April 11 before edging Penn-Trafford, 3-2, the next day.

“Those games (against Fox Chapel) were pretty emotional, but when you dig deep, they were emotional roller coasters inning by inning because we knew what was on the line,” Plum coach Carl Vollmer said.

“We had been playing really well. I give (Fox Chapel senior Jeremy Haigh) a lot of credit for the way he pitched against us (in Game 1). We didn’t want it to come down to Tuesday’s game with the thought that we would take care of business on Monday. It was a disappointing loss, but we knew we had to wake up the next day, turn the page and move on. I asked the guys before Tuesday’s game that if I had told them at the start of the season they would have one game, at home, to win the section title, would they take it? And a lot of them said yes.”

In a must-win scenario for the section crown after a 5-2 loss to the Foxes in Game 1, the Mustangs painted themselves into a corner in Game 2 as they fell behind 5-0 after two innings.

But there were still five innings to play, and Plum closed the deficit to one with two runs in the third and two more in the fifth.

Fox Chapel scored once in the top of the seventh to lead 6-4.

That’s when the comeback happened.

Caden Norcutt go the rally started in the bottom of the seventh with a double. Jack Anderson followed with a single, and Jake Dombkowski drew a walk to load the bases.

Colin Watson then singled to center, driving in two to tie the game at six.

Dan Macioce ended the game with a single to score Dombkowski, and the celebration began.

Norcutt added a triple in the win, and Anderson and Watson also finished with two hits.

Brady Dojonovic started and worked six complete. He gave up seven hits and walked two while striking out five. Norcutt came on for the seventh and got the win.

Plum was to cap the regular season last Thursday with a home exhibition contest against West Mifflin.

The WPIAL was set to release the baseball pairings Friday.

Mustangs finish regular-season strong

The Plum softball team went 3-1 down the stretch in Section 1-5A play to secure the No. 3 spot in the final Section 1-5A standings at 6-4 behind section champion Shaler (10-0) and runner-up North Hills (8-2).

The Mustangs came within an eyelash of tying North Hills for second but fell just short in a wild 15-14 game April 21.

Plum also finished off a season sweep of fourth-place Fox Chapel (4-6) with a 9-2 victory May 4. The Mustangs put up six runs in the second inning against the Foxes to forge an 8-0 lead.

Sophomore Dani Pici went 3 for 4 with an RBI, senior Taylor Lorish hit a grand slam, freshman Riley Stephens homered and knocked in two runs, senior Kendall James singled and doubled, and freshman Gia Tavella scored three runs.

Stephens was all over the stat sheet May 9 in an 11-1 win over Penn Hills to close out the section slate.

At the plate, she was 3 for 4 with a triple, a home run and four RBIs. She also surrendered just one hit and struck out nine in the five-inning mercy rule result.

Senior Makenzie Lang added a double and finished with four RBIs.

Plum, in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, is seeking its first WPIAL-playoff victory since an 8-2 win over Thomas Jefferson in the Class 5A first round in 2017.

Smith sets career-goals record

Plum junior attacker Rayla Smith is a threat to score every time she sets foot on the playing field for the Mustangs varsity girls lacrosse team.

In the Section 1-2A and regular-season finale at Ellis on May 10, Smith put herself at the top of the Plum record books.

She finished the 15-4 win with 181 career goals, surpassing the previous record of 179 set by 2019 Plum graduate and Washington & Jefferson defensive/midfield standout Sam Casile.

Plum had close section matches with Hampton, Penn-Trafford, Indiana and Franklin Regional, but it won them all and finished section play undefeated at 11-0 to win its first-ever section championship.

The WPIAL released the Class 2A playoff bracket last Thursday, and Plum, which completed the regular season 14-3 overall, received the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the first time in program history.

The Mustangs open with a home quarterfinal matchup Thursday (May 18) against the winner of No. 7 Quaker Valley and No. 10 Penn-Trafford.

Mars is the No. 1 seed, Blackhawk is No. 3, and Hampton is No. 4. The top three teams advance to the PIAA playoffs.

Plum made it to the Class 2A quarterfinals last year. The Mustangs rolled past Seton LaSalle in the first round before falling to Hampton.

Plum gained a measure of revenge on the Talbots with an 8-6 victory April 18.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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