Seneca Valley rallies past North Allegheny, tightens up section race

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, April 22, 2025 | 10:26 PM

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The North Allegheny baseball team has been living on the edge this season with six section wins in six games by an average margin of victory of 1.66 runs.

On Tuesday, the Tigers fell off that edge in their first Section 1-6A loss of the season.

An NA throwing error in the bottom of the sixth inning opened the floodgates for four runs that turned a Seneca Valley one-run deficit into a three-run lead.

The Raiders came back to beat the Tigers, 4-1, pulling to within one game of the section lead in the opening game of their three-game section series this week.

“The fact of the matter is that it doesn’t matter if we are 0-11, you can only focus on the game you are playing that day,” Seneca Valley coach Eric Semega said when asked if it was hard to take it one game at a time knowing the Raiders have to win the series to realistically have a shot at the section title. “We knew that if we win one game, we are going to be in the playoffs and that gets us to the second season.”

How North Allegheny responds to this tough loss will determine how the rest of this series — and the section standings — end up.

The Tigers came out roaring Tuesday.

Mason Smith was hit by a pitch, went to second on a single by Christian Simons and scored on a base hit to left field by senior Nate Persinger.

That run looked like it might stand up with how both starting pitchers were getting it done.

Surprise Seneca Valley starter Ryan Piekutoski had only pitched three innings all season, but threw four innings Tuesday, allowing one run on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

“We didn’t give a lot of kids an opportunity to see what they could do to help us going forward,” Semega said. “The person we usually would have started, Ryan Rebholz, is such an unselfish person and he was fine with (Piekutoski) getting the start and him coming in in relief.”

NA senior Nico Varlotta was trying to win his third game of the year. He yielded baserunners to the Raiders in the first five innings but never gave up the big hit and made big pitches when needed.

“I think there were three innings in which we had people in scoring position and we didn’t get an opportunity to get them in,” Semega said. “I think some of those at-bats there were trying too hard instead of staying within the process. We’ll talk more about that (on Wednesday).”

The game changed in the bottom of the sixth inning.

With one out, the Raiders got back-to-back opposite field hits to right field by Micah Olayer and Wes Conville to put runners at first and third.

Brandon Godlesky hit a ground ball to NA third baseman Miles Pealer, who had made several above-average plays to that point; however, indecisiveness cost him.

He fielded the ground ball, looked home, then decided to go for the inning-ended double play, but his throw to second was off and ended up rolling on the turf field all the way to the fence in right-center field, allowing Olayer and courtesy runner Andrew Malichky to score to give the Raiders the lead, 2-1.

“Fortunately there was a gift there that got our momentum going,” Semega said. “We understand that’s how baseball goes and why you play seven innings and why this game is great. (Pealer) is such a great competitor that he felt we get two here, and we’re out of it. Unfortunately for them, it was a throw that was a little off.”

North Allegheny coach Andrew Heck said in that situation, the No. 1 objective was to get at least one out on that play.

“Being up one there, I would have like to have come home on that ball given it was a slow chopper,” he said.

Pealer then made up for that miscue with a brilliant play on a squeeze bunt to him by Raiders pinch hitter Jax Plunkard. Pealer charged the ball and reached over to tag out Godlesky trying to score.

With two out and pinch runner Mason Durst at first, relief pitcher Nate Surman hit Owen Voelp, then Mason Fisher hit a ball that sliced away from Tigers left fielder Mason Dratfinsky, who dove and could not make the catch. Two big insurance runs put Seneca Valley up three.

“Mason had had so many quality at-bats up to this point, and I think he’s been 0 for 15 the last three or four games, but they’ve been unbelievable at-bats and he hasn’t been rewarded,” Semega said. “I’m glad it worked out for Mason.”

Rebholz gave up a two-out single to Surman but closed the door on a big win for the Raiders. He pitched the final three innings, allowing no runs on two hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

First-place North Allegheny lost for the third straight game, falling to 6-1 in the section and 8-5 overall.

“We need to do a better job offensively adding on when we had opportunities,” Heck said. “I liked the way we pitched and played defense for five and a third innings, but we need guys to step up offensively.”

Seneca Valley improved to 5-2 in the section and 8-4 overall with the comeback win.

The teams face each other at 7 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny and again at 4 p.m. Friday back at Seneca Valley.

“That’s one thing about this team: It’s not about individual accomplishments; they just want to win,” Semega said. “It’s hard to say that anymore about high school baseball kids that they just want to win and give up some of that individual accolades.”

Tags: North Allegheny, Seneca Valley