WPIAL Baseball and Consolation Recaps for Thursday, May 29th

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, May 29, 2014 | 9:57 PM

While many eyes were on both CONSOL Energy Field for the baseball finals and California University of Pennsylvania for the softball championships, five spots in the upcoming PIAA state playoffs were up for grabs at W&J College Sports Complex and at West Mifflin High School. Here are recaps from those three baseball and two softball WPIAL consolation games.

A special thanks to Pete Blais, Dennis Fischer, Greg Kuntz and Sean Meyers for their help on these recaps.

BASEBALL:

Class AAAA Consolation Game:

Moon Tigers 9 – Pine-Richland Rams 2
Rain and lightning suspended the AAAA consolation game in the bottom of the fourth inning Tuesday night, but the Moon Tigers picked up right where they left off on Thursday afternoon when the game resumed. The No. 11 Tigers secured third place in Class Quad A and a trip to the PIAA tournament with a 9-2 victory over the No. 4 Pine Richland Rams at Ross Memorial Field in Washington, PA. Back on Tuesday, the Moon offense got going early, scoring twice in the first inning, four times in the second, and once more in the fourth. All seven runs came against Rams pitcher Jamie Switalski and six of them were earned. Nick Roth relieved Switalksi on the mound when the game resumed on Thursday but the Tigers tacked on two more runs on their way to the win. At the start of the game, Josh Bogats, Moon’s leadoff batter, got things going in the top of the first, and reached second base on a Nick Roth error on a fly ball to right field. Austin Hoffman then followed with a walk. Ron Yardas brought them both home with an RBI single to center. In the second, the Tigers continued the hot offensive start as Kyle Bondi began the frame with a double and Bogats knocked him in with an RBI double as well. After another Hoffman walk, Rocco Maue jacked a three-run homer over the left-center wall, which put the Tigers up 5-0. Pine Richland would get on the board with a couple of runs in the third when Andrew Mussbaum was hit by a pitch and Bennet Zynn followed up to score Nussbaum with an RBI double. Zynn then scored on an RBI single from Daane Berezo. The Tigers got a run back when Moon’s Hoffman smacked a solo home run in the top of the fourth to make it a 7-2 game. Shortly into the bottom of the fourth inning, after a Nick Roth infield single, lightning was seen in the distance by the field umpires and the game was thus suspended until Thursday afternoon. The one day delay did not seem to phase the Tigers as they would not allow another Pine Richland run in the final four innings and would score two more of their own. Yardas had a hand in both of those runs as he singled and scored on an RBI groundout from Colton Hower in the fifth. Then in the sixth, Yardas knocked in Brian Schaeffer with a double. Hower also began the game as Moon’s starting pitcher but as the game was suspended in the fourth, Hower was not allowed to continue during the game’s continuation. Instead, Nicholas Rozzo replaced him and went the final four innings and gave up just two hits, while striking out two. Hower yielded three hits, two runs, while striking out four and walking two. Switalski and Roth combined for 11 hits, nine runs, and nine strikeouts (seven from Switalski.) The Moon Tigers will now face the Class AAAA champion, Seneca Valley Raiders in the first round of the PIAA tournament. Moon finishes their WPIAL year at 16-4, while Pine Richland concludes with a 17-7 mark.

Class AAA Consolation Game:

West Mifflin Titans 8 – Hampton Talbots 5
The #4 seeded West Mifflin Titans overcame a two run deficit in the 6th inning and then scored three runs in the 8th to defeat the #3 seeded Hampton Talbots 8-5 in the Consolation Game of the Triple A baseball playoffs on Thursday at Ross Memorial Park.  The Titans now qualify for the PIAA tournament that will get underway next Monday.  The teams both scored a pair of runs in the second inning.  Hampton took a 3-2 lead in the the fourth only to see West Mifflin tie the game at 3-3 with a run in the fifth.  Hampton surged ahead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth but watched as the Titans matched those runs with two of their own on an AJ Olasz home run in the sixth.  The game remained tied through seven innings when, with one out in the eighth, Ryan Kandsberger was hit by a pitch and Zach Fodor reached on an error.  Olasz was then intentionally walked just before Dan Howard cleared the bases with a double.  Dominique Robinson was the winning pitcher as he hurled three perfect innings in relief.  Ben Vey took the loss for the Talbots.  West Mifflin extends its record to 15-5 while Hampton ends its season 13-8.

Class A Consolation Game:

Riverview Raiders vs Sewickley Academy Panthers
Drew Zbihley’s walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth inning propelled Sewickley Academy into the PIAA postseason, as the Panthers ousted Riverview 9-8 in the Class A consolation game at Ross Memorial Park. Zbihley’s single to right-center field came after Sewickley Academy had loaded the bases to begin the frame. Ben DiNardo drew a leadoff walk for the Panthers, and Drew Johnson, who earned the victory on the mound, drilled a single to left field. Martin Tancer then laid down a bunt in an attempt to sacrifice the runners, but Riverview’s hurler, Nick DiBucci, tried to eliminate the lead runner. His throw to third was late, however, which set the stage for Zbihley’s dramatic moment. Leading up to that decisive inning, however, the sides battled back-and-forth, exchanging leads on several occasions. The No. 13 seed Panthers gained the edge in the bottom of the second with a run, but the Raiders responded with a four-run outburst in the top of the third, keyed by Jason Anthony’s bases-loaded triple. Sewickley Academy responded in the bottom of the inning, matching the Raiders with four runs in the stanza. Derrick Littlefield’s two-run double proved to be the big blow in the inning, as the Panthers regained the lead. Riverview immediately responded, though, as the No. 11 seed Raiders scored a pair of runs in the fourth on a Jake Paradise double. Riverview added to its advantage in the sixth, as two more runs extended the Raiders edge to 8-5. Sewickley Academy tied the contest in the bottom of the sixth in an unconventional manner, however. With the bases loaded and one out, John Nagel’s sacrifice fly to right field plated the first run of the inning. With the throw coming to the plate, however, Zbihley tagged up and attempted to advance for first to second. Riverview’s catcher, Paradise, fired to second, but Zbihley slid in prior to the tag, which subsequently allowed the runner who had tagged from second on the play to come around to score. Zbihley would later score on a wild pitch by DiBucci to deadlock the contest at 8-8. The squads would exchange glorious chances to take the lead in the eighth inning, but neither team could capitalize, as Johnson and DiBucci escaped their respective jams. In addition to the heroics of Zbihley, the Panthers received huge contributions from Mike Manzinger and Sam Duerr, who each reached base four times. DiBucci accomplished the same feat for Riverview, while Anthony and Dom Conte each chipped in with three hits. With the defeat, the Raiders’ season concludes with a mark of 14-7, while Sewickley Academy advances to first round play of the PIAA playoffs on Monday against the winner of District 9.

SOFTBALL:

Class AAAA Consolation Game:

Latrobe Wildcats 2 – Penn-Trafford Warriors 1
Penn-Trafford had a shorter ride to the Quad-A semifinals as they drew a 1st-Round by by virtue of being the #3-seed.  Their only victory was against the Plum Mustangs, defeating them, 6-2, before being eliminated by the Shaler Titans in the Semis, 4-1, sending them to the Consolation Game.  Latrobe, #5-seed, reached the Semis by beating Woodland Hills, 6-1 in Round 1, and Seneca Valley, 3-2, in the Quarters.  They were bounced the top-seeded Big Macs of Canon-McMillan, 7-6, but got another opportunity to qualify for the PIAA State Playoffs.  The Warriors wasted no time getting on the board in the top of 1 as with 1 out, Cassie Surmacz walked and moved to 2nd on Jess Zavolta’s base hit.  Hannah Dobrinick reached on an error to load the bases, and Cassie Szymd drove in Surmacz with a single, but Zavolta was thrown out at home attempting to score.  The game would remain 1-0 in favor of Penn-Trafford as Frankie Ponziani was in cruise control, allowing only 3 base-runners through the first 5 innings.  Meredith Carr for Latrobe got into a few jams after that 1st inning, but great pitching and her defense kept the Warriors at bay as she stranded the bases loaded in the 2nd and leaving 1 on base in innings 3 through 6.  For the game, PT stranded 9 runners, and Latrobe would turn that into an advantage for themselves in the bottom of the 6th.  Nicole Dunlop, pinch-hitting for Reilly McCracken, and Alexus Fearer led off with back-to-back walks.  A sacrifice by Lexie Zoppetti advanced both runners into scoring position.  Then with 2 outs, Ashley Perillo dorve a base hit to center to drive in Dunlop, the throw by CF Marissa Bacco was not in time, and the ball hit off Zavolta’s glove, allowing Fearer to score the go-ahead run.  Carr pitched a perfect 7th. striking Dobrinicki to end the game.  The Latrobe Wildcats, who shared the Quad-A Section Title with PT and Norwin, now moves on to the PIAA State Playoffs with a 16-5 mark.  The Penn-Trafford Warriors close their season with a 15-5 record.

Class AAA Consolation Game:

Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions 2 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors 1 in 9 Innings
The Greensburg-Salem Lady Lions had been living dangerously throughout the Class AAA playoffs, putting up a total of just 3 runs in the first 2 games in eliminating Central Valley and West Allegheny.  Despite the great defense, that scenario came back to bite them against Thomas Jefferson as they lost, 4-3, to deny them the chance to defend the Class AAA Title.  They would, however, have a chance to make their way back into the PIAA State Playoffs if they were to defeat Elizabeth Forward.  The 7th-seeded Warriors made it to the semis by knocking off Highlands and South Fayette, who was the #2-seed.  They wre bounced from Title contention by Mars to set up their matchup with GS.  As was the case against West A, GS gave up the first run of the game in the top of the 4th as with one out, the Warriors’ McKenna Kern singled, and that was followed up by a base hit from Jessica Cartia.  Ashley Parker’s single drove in Kern for the 1-0 lead.  That lead wold hold up until the bottom of the 6th when Lauren Matthews walked Claire Oberdorf to lead off.  She was sacrificed to 2nd on Karly Mellinger’s bunt.  Matthews was lifted for Sarah Turek after 5 innings on the mound, and after giving up a base hit to Kellie Hutchinson, a sacrifice fly by Wagner drove in Oberdorf to tie the game at 1.  Just like against West Allegheny as well, the Lady Lions would see this game to extra innings as Melissa Wagner , who has been the workhorse on the mound for GS, would shut down EF in innings 6 through 8, even though the Warriors did threaten twice.  Jumping to the bottom of the 9th, after 1 out Maggie Kallock walked.  Then the most bizarre of endings took place as Caitlin Stoner laid sown a bunt right in front of home plate. Cartia thought the ball had gone foul, but it remained in fair territory, and a very alert Kallock beat the throw to 3rd, and Stoner moved to 2nd.  With Sydney Warren stepped to the plate, the first pitch by Turek got past Cartia allowing Kallock to score the winning run.  The Lasy Lions qualify for the PIAA State playoffs with a 2-1 win over Elizabeth Forward and advance their record to 16-2.  Wagner struck out 8, going the distance in the win.  Elizabeth Forward, a proud member of the MSA Sports Hometown Softball program, sees their season come to a heartbreaking end with a record of 14-8.