WPIAL Baseball Consolation Wednesday Recaps 2016

By: Bruce Markey
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 | 8:15 PM

While district baseball gold was being handed out at CONSOL Energy Park again on Wednesday, state playoff berths were at stake next door at the Washington & Jefferson College Sports Complex. A pair of Class AAA and Class AA teams were hoping to win and continue their season into the state playoffs. Here are the recaps from the two games heard here on The Network.

A special thanks to Mike Azadian and Jake Holmes for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAA Consolation:

Mars Fighting Planets 3 – Knoch Knights 1 
In a WPIAL AAA consolation game the Mars Planets win a tight pitchers battle over the Knoch Knights 3-1 to earn a berth in the PIAA state baseball playoffs. Knoch the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion is finished for the season. Mars would score first in the top of the 1st inning. A one out walk to Zarek Simkovich then a single by Jack Anderson had the Planets in business. On the single, right fielder Addis Crouch overran the ball for an error, and Simkovich scored all the way from first to give the Planets the 1-0 lead. Knoch would tie the game in the bottom of the 1st inning. Dominic Bucko singled to lead the inning off. Then Mike McCarty singled, Bucko taking 3rd base. After one out, Alex Stobart would hit a sacrifice fly to score Bucko and it was 1-1. Both pitchers settled in and it would be a pitchers duel. Mars would score a run in the 3rd inning to go up 2-1. Brandon Weatherhold  hit a lead off single and then stole 2nd  base. He would score on a Dave Anderson single. Mars would go up 3-1 in the 1st inning. Weatherhold would hit a lead off single again, be sacrificed to 2nd base and score on another Dave Anderson RBI single. That’s all Mars starting pitcher Dylan Rotz would need. He would get the win going 7 innings, giving up 1 run on 7 hits, all singles, 2 strikeouts, and no walks. He would retire 18 of the last 22 batters he would see,  scattering 5 hits over the last 6 innings. For Knoch Mike McCarty had 2 hits, and the losing pitcher was Jeremy Frazier who went 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits, he walked 2 and struck out 2. Knoch’s season ends at 14-8. For the Planets on offense Weatherhold was 2 for 4 with 2 singles and 2 runs scored. Dave Anderson was 2 for 4 with 2 singles and 2 RBI to pace the Mars attack. They improve to 15-6 and will face the winner of tomorrow’s Erie Cathedral Prep Fort Lebouef game in the state playoffs beginning next week.

WPIAL CLASS AA Consolation:

Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 5 – Shenango Wildcats 1 
Keystone Oaks will head to the PIAA AA Playoffs after taking down the Shenango Wildcats by a final score of 5-1 on Wednesday. Vince Turco opened the scoring for the Wildcats in the second. The Shenango catcher singled to lead off the inning and later scored virtue of an error. Keystone Oaks answered back in similar fashion, Josh Beck singled to lead off the bottom half of the second. He also found his way across the plate due to a Wildcat defensive miscue. Another run came across in the fourth courtesy of an error by Shenago, this time being Jay Hindes which gave the Golden Eagles a 2-1 advantage. With Keystone Oaks looking to add insurance, designated hitter Ryan Roell stepped up to the plate and proceeded to crush an 0-1 fastball well over the left field fence to give the Golden Eagles a 5-1 lead. Shenango couldn’t solve Keystone Oaks pitcher for the majority of the afternoon and the 7th inning was no exception as the Golden Ealges claim bronze in WPIAL AA.
Nick Riggle pitched a completed game for Keystone Oaks, as he fanned seven and only allowed four hits.