Westmoreland baseball playoff preview capsules: Games of Wednesday, May 15, 2019

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 | 6:36 PM

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Wednesday’s games

Baseball

First round

Class 4A

No. 6 Beaver (10-7) vs. No. 11 Belle Vernon (10-7)

2 p.m. at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of No. 3 Thomas Jefferson (13-5)/ No. 14 Highlands (10-8) at a site, date and time to be determined

Coaches: Noah Medich, Beaver; Daryl Hixenbaugh, Belle Vernon

Players to watch: Vinny Mastrangelo, Sr., C, Beaver; Josh Hoffman, Sr., SS, Belle Vernon

Extra bases: Beaver finished second in Section 2 behind fourth-seeded Blackhawk. The Bobcats won five of their final six games, with the loss to Blackhawk, 3-2. Mastrangelo leads the team in batting average (.412), doubles (10), home runs (4) and RBIs (18). Senior Jack Yansenns is 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA. Senior Alec Berg is 3-2 and has 32 strikeouts in 29²⁄₃ innings. The Bobcats have 11 homers, including three by sophomore Brady Hansen. … Belle Vernon finished tied for fourth in Section 3 with Elizabeth Forward. Hoffman is one of the top players in Class 4A. He is hitting .456 with 18 runs and 15 RBIs. Freshman Andrew Sokol is on the rise. He has a .407 average with 11 RBIs and is 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA and five earned runs in 20 innings. Senior Erik Pietrantoni is 4-0 with a 1.47 ERA, 32 Ks and 13 walks.

No. 5 Ringgold (12-5) vs. No. 12 Mt. Pleasant (9-8)

4 p.m. at Seton Hill

Winner plays: Winner of No. 4 Blackhawk (13-4)/No. 3 Knoch (10-7) at a site, date and time to be determined

Coaches: Don Roberts, Ringgold; Chris Firmstone, Mt. Pleasant

Players to watch: Josh Peters, Sr. P. Ringgold; Joe Shrum, Jr., P., Mt. Pleasant

Extra bases: Ringgold is the returning PIAA Class 4A champion. … Senior shortstop Koby Bubash is hitting .396 with 19 runs and 16 RBIs. Peters is 4-2 with an 0.72 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 14 walks. … Shrum was credited with a loss against Greensburg Salem but did not give up an earned run. … The Vikings tied for third with Knoch and Highlands.

No. 2 Yough (13-7) vs. No. 15 Central Valley (8-9)

4 p.m. at Shaler

Winner plays: Winner of No. 7 South Park (13-7)/No. 10 Quaker Valley (11-6) at a site, date and time to be determined

Coaches: Craig Spisak, Yough; Bruce Herstine, Central Valley

Players to watch: Jarett Bach, Sr., P/1B, Yough; Chase Morrison, Jr., C., Central Valley

Extra bases: The Cougars tied for the Section 1 title with Greensburg Salem. … Bach is a Pitt commit with a 6-0 record, an 0.51 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 41 innings. … This is Herstine’s first season at Central Valley after going 82-49 in 10 seasons at Beaver. … The Warriors were 4-10 in 2018.

Class A

No. 6 Monessen (12-6) vs. No. 11 St. Joseph (7-7)

2 p.m. at Seton Hill

Winner plays: No. 3 Union (13-3) at a site, date and time to be determined

Coaches: William Matush, Monessen; Kurt Krebs, St. Joseph

Players to watch: Cam Frolo, Jr., CF, Monessen; Tyler Wood, Jr., P., St. Joseph

Extra bases: Monessen is riding a seven-game winning streak since a section loss to California on April 23. … Junior center fielder Cam Frolo is hitting .552 with 32 hits, 21 runs and 11 RBIs. … Senior pitcher Tyler Wood leads St. Joseph with 25 hits. He has scored 15 runs and has 12 RBIs. … Junior shortstop Dominic Fellowes leads the team with 18 runs. … St. Joseph has won four of its past five games.

No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic (9-8) vs. No. 12 Rochester (8-7)

2 p.m. at Shaler

Winner plays: Winner of No. 4 Quigley Catholic (11-6)/No. 13 Leechburg (7-9) at a site, date and time to be determined.

Coaches: Dennis Reist, GCC; Brian Verrico, Rochester

Players to watch: Tommy Voelker, Jr., IF, GCC; Zane Jeffers, Jr., IF, Rochester

Extra bases: GCC put up 29 runs over its last two games to move above .500. Voelker is hitting a team-best .358 with 18 runs, seven doubles and 12 RBIs. GCC has a team batting average of .337 and 70 stolen bases. The Centurions have not hit a home run this season, but they have 29 doubles and three triples. … Rochester won four of its final five regular-season games, including a forfeit over Cornell, in Section 1. The Rams have lost six straight times in the first round. The Rams’ last playoff win came in 2009. Verrico is in his fourth season.

— Bill Beckner Jr.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Beaver, Belle Vernon, Central Valley, Greensburg C.C., Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Ringgold, Rochester, Yough