Westmoreland high school baseball preview capsules for games of Tuesday, May 21, 2019

By: Jerin Steele
Monday, May 20, 2019 | 5:29 PM

Tuesday’s games

baseball

Class 6A

Quarterfinals

1-Penn-Trafford (16-3) vs. 8-Upper St. Clair (13-6)

4 p.m. at West Mifflin

Winner plays: Winner of 4-North Allegheny (15-5) and 13-Butler (7-13) in semifinals

Coaches: Dan Miller, Penn-Trafford; Jerry Malarkey, Upper St. Clair

Players to watch: Mario Disso, Sr., SS, Penn-Trafford; Chad Behun, Sr., IF, Upper St. Clair

Extra bases: Penn-Trafford will start its journey toward trying to win its first WPIAL title after receiving a first-round bye. The Warriors won the Section 1 title and won four of their last five games. They allowed three or fewer runs in 13 games. Disso has a .321 batting average, and outfielder Bobby Layne is a Cincinnati recruit. … Behun homered for the Panthers in a 6-3 win over Hempfield in the first round. Grant Walnoha and Mark Krolczyk doubled in the win. Upper St. Clair went 6-1 down the stretch to vault itself into third place in Section 3.

7-Norwin (14-6) vs. 2-Pine-Richland (15-4)

6:30 p.m. at Boyce Mayview Park

Winner plays: Winner of 3-Bethel Park (14-3) and 6-Seneca Valley (13-6) in semifinals

Coaches: Mike Liebdzinski, Norwin; Kurt Wolfe, Pine-Richland

Players to watch: Jayden Walker, So., 1B, Norwin; Troy LaNeve, Sr., 2B, Pine-Richland

Extra bases: Jake Kendro doubled and drove in four runs to help Norwin roll to a 10-2 win over Mt. Lebanon in the first round. Aidan Shepherd added a double and three RBIs for the Knights. Billy Kerston, a Slippery Rock football recruit, earned the win on the mound. Norwin is 4-1 in its last five games. …Pine-Richland, the Section 1 champ, earned a bye. The Rams are chock full of Division I recruits with LaNeve (Vanderbilt), J.J Armstrong (High Point), Matt Wood (Penn State) and Josh Johnson (Kent State). Rams pitchers Alec Swartout (4-0, 0.94 ERA)and Matt Schietroma (4-0, 2.06 ERA) are undefeated.

Class 5A

Quarterfinals

2-Franklin Regional (16-1) vs. 7-South Fayette (12-7)

2 p.m. at West Mifflin

Winner plays: Winner of 3-Hampton (12-6) and 6-Laurel Highlands (12-6) in semifinals

Coaches: Bobby Saddler, Franklin Regional; Ken Morgan, South Fayette

Players to watch: Palmer Jackson, Sr. P, Franklin Regional; Richie Dell, Sr., P, South Fayette

Extra bases: Franklin Regional went undefeated in Section 2 and is on a 13-game winning streak. The Panthers have six shutouts and scored seven or more runs 10 times. They have a talented lineup featuring Tommy Kegerreis, Michael Klingensmith, Bryce Harper and Thomas Nicely, among others, and an equally deep pitching staff with Palmer Jackson, Klingensmith, Bronson Ianno and Andrew Muraco. … South Fayette, which won the Class 4A title last year, beat Montour, 4-3, in the first round. Dell struck out 11 over five innings in the win, and Tyler Sharp hit a two-run homer. The Lions dropped three of their last five Section 2 games and tied with Mars for third place.

— Jerin Steele

Tags: Franklin Regional, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Pine-Richland, South Fayette, Upper St. Clair