Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Belle Vernon ace has been ‘lights out’

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, April 25, 2024 | 11:01 AM

When senior Colton Lee pitches, Belle Vernon baseball fans show up to watch.

Lee is having an impressive spring on the mound for the Leopards (10-2, 7-1), who are in contention for the Section 2-4A title. They trail Latrobe (11-2, 8-0) by one game.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound left-hander is 4-0 in four starts with a minuscule 1.97 ERA and has struck out 39 in 21 1/3 innings.

“He’s been lights out,” Belle Vernon coach Tony Watson said. “Colton has been a vital part of our varsity pitching staff since his freshman year.”

Lee, who also was a starting receiver and linebacker for the Leopards’ back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA championship football teams, had only allowed 16 hits and six runs while walking 14.

“I feel like his experience and championship pedigree has contributed a great deal to our success,” Watson said. “He carries himself with a calm, composure that rubs off on all of his teammates.”

Lee had a 15-strikeout game against Uniontown. He allowed one hit in the 3-1 win.

Playoff teams

There still are about two weeks left in the WPIAL regular season, but a few county teams already have clinched playoff spots.

Hempfield has clinched in Class 6A, while Penn-Trafford and Franklin Regional are qualifiers in 5A, and Latrobe and Belle Vernon are postseason-bound in 4A.

The top four teams in each section qualify.

Section races

Several county teams were in the thick of section races after Tuesday’s games.

Hempfield was a game back of Mt. Lebanon for first in Section 2-6A after it dropped the first two games of a series against the Blue Devils.

Hempfield and Norwin will play their three-game series Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with Game 1 and 3 at Hempfield.

Section 1-5A could come down to the end and might be settled in a two-game series between Franklin Regional and Penn-Trafford.

The teams were tied at the top at 7-1. They are scheduled to play on May 6-7.

Section 2-4A-leading Latrobe (11-2, 8-0) was in good position for a title, although Belle Vernon (10-2, 7-1) was only a game behind. Those teams are set to meet Monday and Tuesday with Game 1 at Latrobe. Both games will be under the lights with 7 p.m. starts.

Latrobe has not lost since March 28.

In Section 4-3A, second-place Mt. Pleasant (9-4, 7-1) faces a pivotal two-game set Monday and Tuesday against top team Waynesburg (10-0, 8-0).

Mt. Pleasant has won five in a row and nine of its last 10.

Greensburg Central Catholic (6-2, 5-1), which was two games back of first-place Serra Catholic (11-0, 8-0) in Section 3-2A, will play Serra Catholic Monday and Tuesday. Game 2 is at GCC.

Knights rally

Norwin rallied to win two of the first three games of its Section 2-6A series against Central Catholic, wins that could help to propel the Knights (7-7, 5-5) into the postseason.

The Knights scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, with Nate Silberman delivering the team’s only hit, to clip the Vikings, 3-2.

Then, Jackson Huss provided a go-ahead single in the top of the seventh as the Knights won the second game, 5-4, in eight innings.

Rankings check

Hempfield began the week ranked No. 2 in the TribLive WPIAL 6A top 5, while Penn-Trafford jumped one spot to No. 3 in 5A.

Latrobe stayed at No. 3 in 4A, as did Greensburg Central Catholic in 2A.

Hempfield, which had lost three of four by midweek, dropped out of the Trib’s state rankings.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford