WPIAL Baseball Playoff Recaps for Monday, May 13th

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, May 13, 2013 | 11:58 PM

For the first time in several years, opening day of the WPIAL baseball playoffs was not affected by the weather. On second thought, it was not affected by wet weather as chilly, brisk temperatures made if fell more like late-March rather than mid-May. But make no mistake about it, this was playoff baseball as 64 teams shooting for four championships was cut to 32 squads on one day. Here are recaps from the First Round of the 2013 WPIAL baseball Playoffs.

A special thanks to Josh Rowntree, Sam Hall, Chris Lackner, Lee Mohn, Greg Kuntz, Randy Gore, Bob Orkwis, Bobby Fox, Jason Tennant, Steve Nagler, Mike Azadian, Melissa Carle, Bob Gregg, Dennis Fischer and Adam Hoerner for their help on these recaps.  

WPIAL CLASS AAAA First Round:

Bethel Park Black Hawks 6 – Franklin Regional Panthers 3 
#8 Bethel Park (17-4) opened up a big lead early and never looked back en route to a 6-3 opening round victory over #9 Franklin Regional (16-4) on Monday at Gateway High School. Despite wind gusts around 40MPH and temperatures in the 40's, the Blackhawks were hot with the bats, knocking out 12 hits in the game, with all but one starter recording a hit. Ryan Dodson led the Bethel Park attack, going 2-for-4 with a double, 3 RBI and a run scored. His RBI double in the 4th broke the game open at 4-1, chasing Panthers starting pitcher Nick DiDiano in the process.Corey Augenstein picked up the win for the Hawks, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 5 and walking 4 in 5 innings of work. Franklin Regional jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, as a Brandon Nania double scored Danny McGrath in the top of the 1st. But Bethel would take over, scoring 6-straight runs over the next 4 innings. The Panthers would make it interesting in the top of the 5th though, as McGrath would triple and plate John Bondi and Colin Jonov, cutting the Bethel Park lead to 6-3. But Tyler Grasshoff would stike out the side in the 6th and Dakota Forsyth would pick up the save for the Blackhawks, who will now move into the Quarterfinals, where they will meet #1 Seneca Valley at a site and time to be decided. Franklin Regional exits in the first round for the second consecutive season and has an 8-game winning streak snapped with the loss.  

Pine-Richland Rams 8 – Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 1 
Pine Richland struck for 4 runs in the the top of the first inning and never looked back defeating Mount Lebanon 8-1 in the first round of the WPIAL baseball playoffs.  Shane Heim singled in the first run then Jack Hudak cleared the bases with a 3 run triple to cap the first inning.  Mount Lebanon pitcher Zach Bahm settled down giving up only 1 hit over the next 3 innings.  Meanwhile pitcher Marcus Colela was cruising allowing only 2 hits through 4 innings and picking off 2 runners at first.  The Rams would score 2 more in the 5th when Zach Hunkele would hit a 2 run double.  The Rams tacked on 2 more from a Shane Heim 2 run double.  Zach Bahm would have the lone RBI for the Blue Devils in the 6th.  Marcus Colella would go the distance for Pine Richland giving up 1 run 5 hits.  The Rams will now move on to face Central Catholic in the quarterfinals.  Mount Lebanon finishes their season at 8-10.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings 4 – Penn-Trafford Warriors 3 
The #5 vs #12 game between the Central Catholic Vikings and the Penn-Trafford Warriors was one of the more intriguing matchups as the Vikings (16-4), the champions of Section 3 faced the 2-team coming out of Section 2, the Warriors (13-6).  PCC drew first blood in the bottom of the 1st as Alex Baretta walked and moved to second as M-P Buckley was hit by a pitch.  Sabatino DiNardo's single drove in Baretta for the 1-0 lead.  The Vikings would get 2 more runs in the 2nd as Frank Vozza reached on an error, Dom Derenzo singled, and Baretta drove them both in on an 2-RBI single.  PT would get one back in the top of the 3rd as Luke Smeltz singled and stole second.  He would be driven in on an RBI-single by Ryan Marasti to cut the lead to 3-1.  PCC would restore the 3-run lead in the 4th as Derenzo hit a 1-out triple, and he would score on a sacrifice fly by Cameron Balego to make it 4-1 game.  At one point, Vikings' starter Grant Gustic retired 10 straight Warriors' batters, but the wheels became unhinged in the 7th as PT got three straight hits and a run to lead off the inning.  A double by Josh Brammell, Tyler Smith reaching on an error, and a Shane Mallon single narrowed the lead to 4-2 when PCC Cpoach Frank LaCava made the decision to pull Gustic and bring on Garret Vrbanic to preserve the win.  A sacrifice fly by Scott Koschko drove in Smith to ake it 4-3, but Penn-Trafford would get no further as Smeltz would fly out and Marasti would strike out to end the game.  Central Catholic moves on the quarters to face Pine-Richland, who dropped Mt. Lebanon in the 1st Round.  The Vikings' record now stands at 17-4 while Penn-Trafford's season ends at an impressive 13-7.

North Allegheny Tigers 6 – Norwin Knights 4 
Despite a seventh inning rally by Norwin, the second-seeded North Allegheny Tigers held off the 15^th-seeded Knights, 6-4, at Matulevic Field on Monday afternoon. The Tigers capitalized on two Norwin errors in the fifth inning with two-out RBI singles by Matt Waugaman, Jimmy Divosevic and Justin Dattilo to open up a 6-1 lead. North Allegheny appeared to be cruising toward an opening round victory until the Knights fought back in the final inning. An NA error allowed Cody Sharik and C.J. Melocchi to score, trimming the lead to 6-3 with one-out in the top of the seventh. The rally continued two batters later when Casey Rebosky singled home Dylan Sabo with two outs and the score was cut to 6-4, Tigers. Back-to-back walks by Noah Smith and J.J. Matejevic loaded the bases for Penn State recruit Jake Pribanic. Pribanic had already tripled in earlier in the game and was facing senior pitcher Sean Fitzgerald who was working in relief. The Norwin senior laced a line drive to right-center but NA outfielder Lucas Hilderbrand was there to make the catch and the Tigers survived the opening round scare with a 6-4 victory. Tigers’ starter Jason Monper earned the win with 5.2 innings of work, allowing only one run on two hits. Norwin hurler Noah Smith was the hard luck loser, despite tossing a complete game. Smith allowed six runs on six hits, but only two of those runs were earned. North Allegheny improves to 17-4 on the season and will face the Plum Mustangs in the quarterfinals. Norwin’s season ends with a 9-8 record.

Plum Mustangs 2 – Shaler Titans 1 
A botched run down led to the eventual winning run for Plum as the Mustangs notched their first playoff win since 2008 by edging Shaler in the AAAA First Round playoff matchup at Fox Chapel. Plum took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Austin O’Block drew a leadoff walk and scored on a two-out single by Nick Stotler. Shaler tied the game in the third inning after Justin Defide walked and stole second base, Defide would score on an infield single by Justin Mazza. Plum second baseman Marc Russo made an outstanding bare handed stop behind second base but his throwing error allowed the tying run to score. The Mustangs plated their second run again taking advantage of a leadoff walk by the Titans Jake Potock. Andrew Dawson drew the base-on-balls and advanced to second on a ground out. Zach Sansonetti bounced to short and Dawson was caught between second and third, but Dawson was able to avoid the tag by third baseman Alec McElroy and Plum had runners on 2^nd & 3^rd with one out. Alex Kiriloff was intentionally walked and Stotler drove in his second run on a fielder’s choice. Armed with a 2-1 lead, Plum senior Zac Manuppelli made sure the Mustangs would advance to the quarterfinals by recording the final seven outs via strikeout. Manuppelli got the win for Plum by hurling a complete game two-hitter which included 10 strikeouts. Manuppelli was also aided by his battery mate Eric Bellasario who threw out three would be Shaler base stealers. Manuppelli also picked Shaler’s Noah Hernandez off of first base in the top of the fifth inning. Potock was the hard luck loser taking the complete game loss for the Titans. The sophomore allowed only four hits in 6 innings and added 5 strikeouts but was hurt by the two leadoff walks, his only two free passes of the game. Shaler, the 7^th seed in the Class AAAA tournament, saw its season end at (11-10)/ #10 Plum improved to (15-6) and now faces North Allegheny in the quarterfinals after the Tigers survived a late inning scare to defeat Norwin 6-4.

Hempfield Spartans 2 – Fox Chapel Foxes 0 
The #3 Hempfield Spartans (18-3) have received consistent pitching from their starters all season long. What Zack Martinelli did for them on Monday night at Gateway High School was downright phenomenal. In a game that was delayed nearly two hours, Martinelli threw one of the better games in WPIAL playoff baseball history, defeating #14 Fox Chapel (12-8) by a 2-0 count on a blustery and cold night in Monroeville. Martinelli threw all 7 innings, giving up just one hit and two walks, while striking out 18 of the 23 batters that stepped to the plate. The Seton Hill recruit struck out the first 9 batters he faced and factored in on 20 of Hempfield's 21 outs recorded, as he threw a runner out at 1st base and picked off another at 2nd. The only hit he let up was an infield, bunt single to Taylor Huber in the 4th inning, a play in which he hesitated on his throw to first base. Luke Fox would score the eventual winning run in the 4th inning, as he would single, steal 2nd, advance to third on an error and score on a RBI fielder's choice by Greg Martin to take a 1-0 lead. Hempfield would get an insurance run in the 5th, as Jeff Livengood would single and score on a RBI single by Tyler Hensler. Junior Chad Bartlett was fantastic on the mound for Fox Chapel, pitching 7 innings and giving up just 4 hits and 1 earned run, while striking out 6 and walking just 1 batter. Like Martinelli, he retired the first 9 batters he faced. Hempfield moves into the WPIAL AAAA Quarterfinals, where they will meet #6 Canon-McMillan on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. Fox Chapel, who was in the playoffs for the first time since 2007, sees their season end at 12-8. The game was delayed one hour and 58 minutes due to the second game of the triple header at Gateway, Thomas Jefferson vs Indiana, going 11 innings.

Canon-McMillan Big Macs 11 – Moon Tigers 6 
recap still to come

WPIAL CLASS AAA First Round:

South Park Eagles 10 – Yough Cougars 0 
The top seed in AAA rolled in their opening round playoff game Monday as South Park defeated the Yough Cougars 10-0. While the offense was impressive late it was a tremendous pitching performance that set the tone for the Eagles in the win. Randy Dobnak pitched six shutout innings to get the win. Dobnak faced the minimum allowing just a one-out sixth inning bloop single to Eric Borkovich whom Dobnak promptly picked off of first base. Dobnak struckout four and improved to 7-0 on the year with the win. South Park got all they would need offensively in the bottom of the fourth inning when a two-out two-run double from Adam Thompson chased home Shane Fetsko and Justin Dilla for a 2-0 lead. The Eagles would tack on four runs in the fifth and another four in the sixth as Chris Winkler's rbi single chased home Nick Yobbi with the game-ending run. Winkler, Yobbi and Thompson each recorded a pair of rbis for the Eagles, who entered the game hitting a robust .395 as a team. South Park improves to 21-0 and moves on to the quarterfinals. Yough falls to 10-11, Luke Spisak took the loss for the Cougars despite pitching pretty well. Spisak worked four innings allowing two runs on five hits and striking out a pair.

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 5 – Indiana Little Indians 4 in 11 Innings
A marvelous Class AAA First Round battle at Gateway High School that was deadlocked through ten innings ended on a walk-off walk as Thomas Jefferson edged Section 2 champion Indiana. A bases load walk to Eric Fairman brought home the winning run from third base in Jake Benack as the Jaguars improved to 13-8 overall and once again return to the Quarterfinals Wednesday where they will face top-seed South Park. Jon Fouts, the Jaguars third pitcher of the afternoon/evening, picked up the victory for TJ. The Little Indians season ended with a final mark of 14-5.

Chartiers Valley Colts 2 – Belle Vernon Leopards 1 
Jake Ritson drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth making Chartiers Valley a 2-1 winner over Belle Vernon. The Colts face Keystone Oaks in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals, the third meeting of the year between the Section 3 foes.  Each team won one of the two regular season meetings. Belle Vernon (11-10) opened the scoring in the top of the fourth.  Matt Callaway walked and was doubled to third by Adam Ferita, the Leopards' only hit in the game.  One batter later, Joe Simsic lofted a fly ball to right, deep enough to plate Callaway.  Chartiers Valley (17-4) tied the game in the fifth.  With one out, Ritson was hit by a pitch, went to second on a bunt single by Jimmy Palmer.  Sam Kisic's sinking liner toward second loaded the bases for Tanner Garis' sac fly to left.  Winning pitcher Matt Mulvihill started the game-winning eighth, drawing a walk. That was the end of the night for losing pitcher Tyler Frankel.  Dom Francia came on in relief and walked Dom Castello.  After a wild pitch advanced the runners, Jon Kletzli was intentionally walked.  A force play at the plate extended the game but left the bases loaded to Ritson who watched the 3-2 offering miss well outside, triggering a huge sigh of relief from the #4 seeded Colts.  Mulvihill went the distance, allowing one run and one hit while fanning nine.  With the aid of a fifth-inning doubleplay, the lefty retired 15 straight to end the game.  Frankel wiggled off the hook a  couple times early in the game, maintaining the shutout into the fifth, but took the loss, charged with both runs, 6 hits, 3 walks and a hit-batter.  The Colts six hits were shared by just three players, Palmer, Kisic and Garis, all singles.

Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 10 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors 0 
The 2013 WPIAL AAA Baseball First Round got under way on a sunny but, chilly Monday afternoon. The #5/#12 featured the #5 seed Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles (16-4) and the #12 seed Elizabeth Forward Warriors (13-7). The Golden Eagles sent their ace and Kent State signee Jared Skolnicki to the mound while the Warriors countered with their own ace in Mark Adams. It did not take long for Keystone Oaks to put a dent in the scoreboard as after a Brandon Gresh walk and a Jared Skolnicki single, Taylor Lehman crushed a Mark Adams pitch over the head of Matt Diehl in center field for a 2 run double. That would be the only scoring for either team until the 6th inning. A Jared Skolnicki single followed by a Ryan Ribeau double made it 2-0 in the Top of the 6th. Elizabeth Forward was fortunate to hold KO to just a 2 run deficit but, that was until the Top of the 7th when the Golden Eagles 13 men to the plate in the final frame. Adams and reliever Luke Padezan were dinged up for a total of 10 runs after all the dust cleared. On the other side, the star for Keystone Oaks was the pitcher Jared Skolnicki. Skolnicki dominated EF hitters. His final line included a complete game shutout, striking out 12 batters, and walking only one on four hits. For Elizabeth Forward, the defeat ends their season at 13-8. The Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles move on to take on the Chartiers Valley Colts, who defeated Belle Vernon 2-1 on Monday. That game will take place later this week at a location TBA.

Hopewell Vikings 1 – Derry Trojans 0 
At North Allegheny High school in WPIAL class AAA high school first round baseball action the number 2 seed Hopewell Vikings win 1-0 over the number 15 seeded Derry Trojans in a unexpected thriller. Derry losing 7 of their last 10 games and 8-8 overall was a decided underdog, but starting pitcher Conner Wege would prove a tough nut to crack for Hopewell. The Vikings at 17-3 with an experienced senior laden lineup had Clayton Covalt on the hill. In 7 innings there were runners on base in each half inning but one, Derry's 6th as Covalt sent them down one,two,three. Both pitchers did well to get out of jams all day, neither dominated despite the low score. Covalt got out of jams in the 1st and 2nd innings by picking off runners at first to end each inning and allowed  3 hits and 3 walks thru the first four 4 innings stranding 4 runners. Wege kept Hopewell off the board as he allowed 4 walks and 1 hit thru 4 innings but his team made a few errors to put Hopewell runners on as well. In the 4th the Vikings stranded the bases loaded and had six left on thru the 4th. It remained scoreless until the top of  7th inning as Hopewell had a leadoff double by leadoff hitter Ryan Cox, Arion Sepp immediately lined a single to left field for an RBI to give the Vikings the only run they would need. This knocked out Wege as he went 6 plus innings taking the loss, he struck out 2, walked 5, gave up 5 hits and 1 run. Derry finished their season at 8-9. For the Trojans Robby Hebenthal, and Cam Gerhard both reached base twice going 1-2 with a single and a walk each. The Vikings Covalt gets the win going 7 innings, giving up 3 hits,striking out 6, walking 4, stranding 7,and picking off 2 runners. Logan Johnston went 2 for 3 with two singles for Hopewell as the Vikings improve to 18-3 and will face the number 7 seed and section rival the Blackhawk Cougars on Wednesday May 15th at a site and time to be determined. 

Blackhawk Cougars 2 – Mars Fighting Planets 0
Blackhawk brought the WPIAL's top pitcher to North Allegheny to face Mars in a first round matchup Monday night.  Brendan McKay got off to a slow start, but in the end, lived up to the hype.  McKay, a junior with several Division I offers already, came into the night with six wins and 87 strikeouts under his belt this season–before recording three more in the first two innings.  Mars senior pitcher David Bednar would not be intimidated.  Bednar struck out the first six Blackhawk batters before things took a turn for the worse in the third.  Twice, Bednar threw to first in attempts to catch the runners cheating.  Twice, however, Zach Edinger was unable to make the catch, and the ball rolled under the fence out of play. Blackhawk used the errors to its advantage, bringing home two runs in the inning by Rich Rowe and Joe Campbell.  That would be all that the Cougars needed.  Bednar's pitching got back on track for the remainder of the game, but the Planets could not get it going offensively.  McKay remained sharp throughout, finishing the game with 16 strikeouts–including five in the fourth inning.  Bednar recorded 12 strikeouts of his own in the game to end his scholastic career.  He will continue his baseball career at Lafayette next year. Blackhawk advances to the quarterfinals where it will face Hopewell Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.

Trinity Hillers 4 – Hampton Talbots 3 
The #14 seeded Trinity Hillers advanced to the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL Triple A baseball playoffs with a 4-3 upset of the #3 seeded Hampton Talbots at the Burkett Sports Complex on Monday afternoon behind the complete game pitching of Nick Riotto. Hampton scored in the bottom of the first inning when Tom Radziminski singled, moved to second on a fielder’s choice, and came around on a single by Ben Vey.  Trinity took a 3-1 lead off Hampton starter Joe Vita  in the top of the second when Connor Fritz led off with a single.  Zach Kenny laid down a sacrifice bunt but reached first on a throwing error, Fritz advancing to third on the play.  Dustin Galentine, with the first of his three hits, drove home both runners with a double to center.  Galentine’s courtesy runner, Nick Neff, was then chased home by a Ryan Moon single. Hampton tied the game in the bottom of the third without the benefit of a hit.  Eddie Edwards led off by being hit by a pitch but was erased on a fielder’s choice by Vey.  With Derek Layo running for Vey, Steve Dayton and Zach Staszak both drew walks loading the bases for the Talbots.  A wild pitch and a throwing error plated Layo and Dayton, tying the score at three apiece. Trinity scored the deciding run in the top of the sixth when Lou Favetti opened the frame by reaching on an error.  His pinch runner, Tyler Wyndscheimer moved to second on a fielder’s choice, reached third on a passed ball, and came home on a single by Kenny. Trinity (10-6) will play West Allegheny in the quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined.  Hampton ended its season at 17-3.

West Allegheny Indians 8 – South Fayette Lions 5 
South Fayette (10-9, 6-4) built an early lead against West Allegheny (16-5, 6-4) in a Class AAA first round playoff game Monday afternoon at Burkett Field in Robinson Township, but the Indians hung around and exploded for five runs in the bottom of the sixth to grab an 8-5 victory. The Lions got on the board two batters into the ballgame when Aaron Fonner’s single scored Mike Fetchet. West Allegheny responded with an RBI double from Brendan Scanlon scoring Tyler Amedure in the bottom of the first, and then Adam LaRue scored from third on a sacrifice groundout by Josh Bahr. South Fayette’s big inning came in the top of the third when Fetchet would blast a two-run homer following a leadoff walk issued to Brian Coyne. The lead was expanded to 5-2 following doubles from Fonner and Hayden Orler along with a single from Dylan Witt. At that point, Tyler Eritz came on in relief of starting pitcher Amedure for the Indians, and he would strike out six batters over three innings to keep his team in the hunt. West Allegheny finally chipped into the lead in the bottom of the fifth when LaRue scored from third on an error at first base, making it 5-3 heading into the sixth, and that’s where things went downhill for the Lions. Amedure’s sacrifice fly scored Mike Cummings. LaRue’s single drove in pinch runner Nic Daigle. Shea Beaumont doubled home LaRue, and Scanlon did the same for Beaumont. Joe Kvederis closed out the scoring with a single that brought in pinch runner Dominic Merlino. Colin Claus pitched the seventh and struck out two to seal the win for West Allegheny. The Indians now face another Section 3 team, Trinity, in the quarterfinals.

WPIAL CLASS AA First Round:

Quaker Valley Quakers 6 – Burrell Buccaneers 3
It wasn’t easy, but the perfect season continues for Quaker Valley. Nelson Westwood drove in three runs, including a run-scoring triple to help the top-seed Quakers oust the 16^th-seed Burrell Buccaneers Monday afternoon at Hampton Township Park. Tyler Garbee picked up the victory for Quaker Valley, which remains the only WPIAL baseball team with an undefeated record, now at 19-0. The Quakers will face the Freeport Yellowjackets in the District 7 Quarterfinals on Wednesday. Burrell, which qualified for the postseason on the final day of the regular season, sees their season end with a record of 8-9. 

Freeport Yellowjackets 9 – Brownsville Falcons 4 
The Freeport Yellow Jackets advanced in the WPIAL Playoffs with a 9-4 First Round win over the Brownsville Falcons at Mount Pleasant High School.  The Yellow Jackets set the tone early in this one, as after scoring a run on a catcher's error in the first inning, Freeport scored five in the second and never looked back.  Those five runs came on just three hits, but one was a 2-run single by the #9 hitter, Noah Shannon, and another was a 2-run triple by Robbie Miller.  The six runs gave starting pitcher Luke Mariotti some room to work with, and though he issued 4 walks in the first three innings, he did not surrender a hit, and was able to keep Brownsville off the board.  The Falcons got their first hit when Shane Roebuck led off the fourth inning with a single, but by that time, Freeport had scored a seventh run and though Brownsville had baserunners every inning, they were held off the board through five.  Freeport added a run in the sixth to go up 8-0.  Brownsville's only offense came in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single by Jacob Bevard and then a bases-clearing double by Cory Lent which cut the lead in half.  Freeport added a ninth run in the seventh, and the Falcons went down in order in the bottom of the seventh.  The winning pitcher was Mariotti who recorded 6 strikeouts to go along with 6 walks.  He allowed only 4 Brownsville hits.  The loss went to Tyler Spahn, who went five innings, striking out 4 and walking 3.  Freeport's Miller went 4-for-5 with a triple, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored.  His teammate, leadoff man Dustin Koedel, reached base in 4 of 5 plate appearances with a single, a double, and 2 walks.  The Yellow Jackets advance to the quarterfinals to face Quaker Valley.

Deer Lakes Lancers 2 – Seton-LaSalle Rebels 1 
In a topsy-turvy Class AA WPIAL baseball bracket that saw many first round upsets on Monday, the higher-seeded Deer Lakes Lancers scraped the Seton-LaSalle Rebels in their first round playoff matchup at Highlands High School.  The Lancers got great pitching from Adam Fredley, who pitched six innings of 5-hit baseball en route to the win.  Fredley struck out 10 Rebels on the afternoon.  After a scoreless first three innings, Deer Lakes got the only two runs they needed in the top of the fourth inning.  Fredley led off the inning with a single and advanced to 2B on a base hit by Zach Hudicek.  Josh Plocki then grounded into what looked to be a tailor-made double-play ball to 2B but David Boehme couldn’t handle the ball for an error which loaded the bases.  Ryan Perroz then grounded into a fielder’s choice on a ball hit back to Rebels pitcher, Carson Rebel.  Rebel threw home to get the force out but catcher Andrew Staiger’s throw to 1B to complete the double play went over the head of 1B Dom Delgreco which allowed Hudicek to score giving the Lancers a 1-0 lead.  One out later, Scotty Ventura’s infield single scored Plocki to extend the lead to 2-0.   Seton-LaSalle would score their only run in the bottom of the 5^th inning.  Kevin Curran led off the inning with a double and was plated on a double by Nico Poppa.  The Rebels almost tied the game in that same inning.   With runners on 1^st and 3^rd and two outs, the Rebels tried to execute a double steal but Delgreco was thrown out at 2B before Poppa could cross home plate.  The Rebels (8-9) got an excellent pitching performance from the sophomore Rebel, who pitched all seven innings, scattering 7 hits and not giving up an earned run.  Rebel struck out five.  With the win, Deer Lakes (16-3) will face 12^th-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 12 – New Brighton Lions 11
Greensburg Central Catholic broke a 7-7 tie with five runs in the sixth inning, then held on for dear life as the 12^th-seed Centurions upset the 5^th-seed New Brighton Lions Monday afternoon at Hampton Township Park. Greensburg Central Catholic led 12-8 headed to the bottom of the 7^th inning when New brighton rallied for three runs to pull to within one, but the Lions could not punch home the tying run as their season ended with a 13-5 record. Sean Bialecki had three hits and a double while teammate Garrett Brooks had three runs batted in to lead the way for the Centurions, who improve to 12-5 and will now face the Deer Lakes Lancers in the Quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined.

Beaver Bobcats 6 – Bentworth Bearcats 5 
Beaver Area was able to slip past Bentworth 6-5 in Monday’s Class AA WPIAL baseball playoff game at Chartiers Valley High School, but the lower-seeded Bearcats didn’t make it easy on the favored Bobcats. The back-and-forth contest featured multiple lead changes and some long at-bats as the two schools battled at it out to earn a trip to the quarterfinal round. Things started out well for Beaver (14-3), which retired the top of the Bentworth (10-6) lineup in order during the top of the first inning, before taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the frame. Shortstop Austin Logan led off with a walk, stole a base, and moved to third on an error. The next batter, catcher Ben Herstine, brought Logan home with a sacrifice fly to open the scoring.  The Section 5-AA co-champions looked poised to open up a multi-score lead after starting pitcher Austin Ross and first baseman Nick Hineman followed the run-producing out with back-to-back singles. However, Bearcat starting pitcher Adam Bell induced an inning-ending double play to limit the damage. Following a scoreless second inning, Bentworth took its first lead of the game by scraping together a pair of runs in the top of the third. A single by leftfielder Ben Carlisle and a two-base error during the at-bat of shortstop Jake Rothka put two runners in scoring position with no outs on the board. The Bearcats showcased some first-class fundamentals to plate a pair of scores. Both centerfielder Trevor Wood and Bell connected on a pair of RBI groundouts to the right side of the field to take the 2-1 lead. Bentworth’s first advantage was short-lived, as the Bobcats moved ahead 3-2 in the third when Ross and leftfielder Jalen Lawson drove in designated hitter Jon Hill and pinch-runner Evan McStay, respectively, re-establish a one-run Beaver lead. The Bearcats fired back with another counter-punch in the top of the fourth when Carlisle and Wood plated a run each to make the score 4-3 in their favor. Herstine recorded RBI number two on the day to tie the game up in the fourth. His second single of the afternoon allowed Hill to score his second run of the contest. The game was ultimately decided in the fifth inning. Bentworth took its final lead of the game in the top of the frame thanks to a clutch two-out RBI single by first baseman Andy Lutes that allowed right fielder Zack Atkinson to spring home and grab a 5-4 advantage. Beaver was able to prevent further damage, when Ross struck out Carlisle with runners on second and third and two outs on the board. The Bobcats scored the game-winning runs in their half of the fifth when Logan drove in second baseman Alex Rowse to tie the score (5-5) and Herstine lifted his second sacrifice fly of the game to bring third baseman Matt Rose home with the go-ahead run. Neither team was able to score in the sixth, and Beaver recorded its second one-two-three inning of the ball game to seal up the victory. Ross picked up the victory on the mound in complete-game fashion after allowing three earned runs on five hits, six walks and two hit batsmen. He struck out five Bearcats. Bell suffered the loss after working five innings. He allowed all six runs, four of which were earned, on eight hits, six walks and two hit batsmen. Rothka tossed a scoreless sixth inning of relief. The victors were led offensively by Herstine, who went two-for-two with two singles and a game-high three RBI. Hill added a one-for-one showing with two walks and two runs scored out of his spot in the order. Carlisle boasted Bentworth’s only multi-hit game after going two-for-four with two singles, an RBI and a run scored. The Bobcats will take their next step towards a WPIAL title when they face off with Laurel in the quarterfinals. The site and date for that game will be announced in the near future.

Laurel Spartans 1 – Washington Little Prexies 0 
It would be safe to say that Brandon Ritchie did it all for Laurel Monday afternoon at Chippewa Park. Ritchie pitched a complete game two-hitter while striking out 13 Washington batters as Laurel squeaked out a 1-0 victory over the Little Prexies. The game’s only run scored in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Ritchie. The 10^th-seed Spartans advance to battle the 2^nd-seed Beaver Bobcats in the Quarterfinals after improving their record to 10-7 overall. Section 2 co-champion Washington sees its season end with a final mark of 11-6. 

Shady Side Academy Indians 9 – Riverside Panthers 2 
In one of the biggest upsets of the opening round of the WPIAL baseball playoffs, the Shady Side Academy Indians soundly defeated the Riverside Panthers at Highlands High School.  The Indians ran out to an early 8-0 lead after the initial three innings and got great pitching from sophomore Paul McCullough to stifle an excellent Panthers’ offense.  Shady Side wasted no time by scoring two runs in the bottom of the 1^st inning.  As was the case all afternoon, the top two hitters in the Indians lineup, Chuckie Scales and Chris Sawicki did the damage.  Scales walked and went to third on Sawicki’s first 2B of the ball game.  McCullough then walked to load the bases.  Jake Kleindl then scored Scales on a sacrifice fly to centerfield and Sawicki came home on an RBI single off of the bat of Evan Eisner.  Shady Side would tack on five more runs in the 2^nd inning by stringing together 6 hits, the biggest being a 2-run single by Scales and a 2-run double by Sawicki.  Sawicki would finish 4-4 with 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored.  Riverside would score single runs in the 4^th and 5^th innings.  Anthony Meneice scored on an RBI groundout by Ross Maietta in the 4^th and Peyton Pacella scored on Meniece’s groundout in the 5^th.  McCullough pitched all seven innings for the Panthers, giving up 8 hits along the way.  Riverside’s starting pitcher Blaise McCarty never made it out of the 2^nd inning.  With the victory, Shady Side Academy will now advance to play Chartiers Houston on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round.  Riverside’s season ends with a record of 15-4.

Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 7 – Steel Valley Ironmen 5 
Dylan Pounds singled in the go-ahead run in the fourth, then made it stand up as Chartiers-Houston downed Steel Valley, 7-5. The Bucs advance to face Shady Side Academy in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals. Chartiers-Houston (12-7) took a 2-0 lead in the first, taking advantage of back-to-back walks and an rbi single from Tyler Day.  Steel Valley tied it in the bottom of the frame, when Derek Morrison singled home one run and Jesse Cantley's groundout plated another.  The Ironmen (12-6) went up 5-2 with three unearned runs in the second.  After one out, Sean McShane singled on an 0-2 pitch and should have been retired on a force play hit into by Andrew Chuba, but the throw was dropped at second and everybody was safe. One out later, Brandon Donovan and Morrison had back-to-back run-scoring hits.  The lead was short-lived, however and the Bucs tied it in the third.  Pounds doubled to right and went to third when the ball was drop at the base of the fence.  Alec Ferrari walked and stole second.  After a strikeout, Troy Whitfield singled to score Pounds, Ferrari to third.  A walk to Jake Jones loaded the bases.  Miles Williamson hit a grounder to second, scoring Ferrari, then beat the relay throw to avoid the doubleplay.  An errant pickoff throw allowed Whitfield to score tying the game, 5-5.  In the decisive fourth, Doug Dinardo doubled.  After a flyout, a wild pitch moved him to third.  Pounds' singled to drive in the run, then moved to second on a groundout, to third and home on consecutive wild pitches.  The Bucs' righthander shut the door from there, holding Steel Valley to three hits, all singles, and facing just two batters over the minimum over the final five innings, retiring 14 of the last 16 batters he faced. Pounds' winning line included 7 innings, 2 earned runs, 8 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter and 7 strikeouts.  Cantley took the loss, charged with all 7 runs (6 earned) over 5 1/3 innings.  The Steel Valley starter gave up six hits and walked six, three of whom scored. Chartiers-Houston had three doubles among its seven hits–Dinardo, Pounds and Jones.  The Ironmen did not have an extra-base hit.  Donovan had three singles, Morrison two.

WPIAL CLASS A First Round:

Serra Catholic Eagles 3 – Springdale Dynamos 0 
The Serra Catholic Eagles had steamrolled their way through the 2013 baseball season en route to the top seed in Class A, and the first obstacle in the playoffs they needed to overcome came in the form of the Springdale Dynamos, who edged their way into the postseason over Leechburg by a game for the 3-spot from Section 4.  From the early going, the game was shaping up to be a pitcher's duel between the Dynamos' Alex Demonte and Serra's Wayne Hydak as both pitchers faced the minimum number of batters through the first 3 innings.  The Eagles, however, wopuld cracj the scoreboard in the bottom of the 4th as Parker Janosko led off with a double and Bradon Coddington walked.  Dylan Kugler would reach base on a fielder's choice when Janosko was thrown out at third.  Hydak was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and DH Don Popovich pulled off a clutch 2-RBI single to drive in both Coddington and Kugler.  The Eagles would get another run in the 5th as with 2 outs, Janosko reached on an error, and Coddington tripled to drive him in.  That would turn out to be more than Hydak would need as he would pitch 4 1/3 perfect innnings before giving up a hit to Adam Lock.  Hydak would go the distance scattering 3 hits while walking jst 1 and fanning 9.  The 3-0 win gives Serra Catholic a 17-1 record and a spot in the quarters of the Class A against either Vincentian or Bishop Canevin.  Springdale's season ends 6-8.

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 16 – Vincentian Academy Royals 1 
Bishop Canevin only needed four innings to put away the Vincentian Academy Royals in the first round of the Class A WPIAL baseball playoffs.  In what was expected to be a close game between the 8^th and 9^th seeds, it was anything but as Bishop Canevin scored 10 runs in the decisive 3^rd inning.  With the score tied at 1-1, the Crusaders erupted with 7 hits and benefited from a walk and two Royals’ errors in the inning as well.  In that 10-run inning, Bishop Canevin got RBI hits from Jimmy Caton (triple), Cameron Kohan (single), Jim Dlugos (double), Mark Deschon (single), Giovanni Demarzo (single) as well as a sacrifice fly from Kohan later in the inning.  The Crusaders would get five more runs in the bottom of the 4^th, ending the game early.  Bishop Canevin starting pitcher Nick DiPaolo got the victory, pitching 4 innings of one-hit baseball.  The lone run scored by the Royals was unearned as they scored without the benefit of a hit.  The Crusaders (8-4) now move on to play California in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.  The Royals season ends with a record of 12-6.

Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 10 – Frazier Commodores 0 
The Carmichaels Mighty Mikes had opportunities to blow the game open a lot earlier than they did, but still ended the game in six innings with a 10-0 mercy- rule win over Frazier at Mount Pleasant High School.  The Mikes scored two runs in the first when Ty Cole drew a bases-loaded walk and then Colton Henry drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.  The Mikes then left the bases loaded in each of the next two innings.  They scored one in each of the fourth and fifth innings, but again left the bases loaded after just the one run in the fifth.  Through five innings, the Mikes scored 4 runs on 7 hits and 7 walks and stranded a total of 11.  All the while, starting pitcher Brandon Lawless was rolling through the Frazier lineup.  In his five innings of work, Lawless struck out 7 and allowed only 4 baserunners, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks.  Lawless was relieved by Josh Mundell in the top of the sixth and Frazier's Jamie Fell did double in the inning, but he was stranded at third.  Carmichaels entered the bottom of the sixth with a 4-0 lead, but would score 6 runs on just 1 hit as Frazier's Travis Sanner issued three walks in the inning before being lifted for Hunter Patterson.  Patterson then walked another and hit Josh Mundell with a pitch.  Mike Blasinsky registered the only hit of the inning with a single and the game would end on a wild pitch as Tommy Shoaf scored from third for Carmichaels' tenth run.  Lawless got the win and the loss went to Fell who struck out 4 and walked 6 in 4.1 innings of work.  The Mikes' Mundell reached base 4 out of 5 plate appearances with two singles and a walk to go along with the hit batsman.  The Mikes move on to face Western Beaver in the Quarterfinals.

Western Beaver Golden Beavers 6 – Jefferson-Morgan Rockets 5 
Western Beaver survived a late-game surge from upset-minded Jefferson-Morgan on Monday to advance into the second round of the 2013 McDonald’s WPIAL Class A baseball playoffs. The Golden Beavers (15-2) raced out to a 6-1 lead after two innings then held on to pick up a 6-5 victory over the Rockets (11-5) at Chartiers Valley High School. The Beavers needed little time to jump out to their first lead. After left fielder Tracy Brozich walked and shortstop Robert DiMaggio doubled to put two runners in scoring position with one out on the board, third baseman John Petrosky slapped a two-run single to put the Section 3-A champions ahead 2-0. J-M fired back with a run in the bottom of the frame when right fielder Dom Cage singled in starting second baseman Logan Bowman to cut Western Beaver’s lead down to 2-1. The victors broke the game open with a four-spot in the top of the second inning. Brozich, starting pitcher Nick Miller and starting catcher Steve Menich all recorded RBIs in the frame. The Golden Beavers maintained their five-run lead through the third and fourth innings. After keeping the higher seeds off the scoreboard in the top of the fifth, the Rockets made their move in the bottom of the frame by sending eight batters to the plate and coming through with a trio of scores that cut their deficit down to 6-4. Shortstop Jordan Dicks, Logan Bowman and catcher Ty Bowman all collected RBIs in the innings. Still trailing by two in the bottom of the seventh, J-M continued its comeback effort after Dicks singled and two batters later, Logan Bowman reached on an error. An error during the at-bat of Ty Bowman brought Dicks home, and with two runners on and one out on the scoreboard, things got more than a little tight for Western Beaver. However, Menich, who moved from behind the plate onto the mound, posted back-to-back outs to slam the door on the comeback try. Miller picked up the win on the mound after giving up just one run on one hit and two walks over three innings of work. He added two strikeouts to his day’s work. Menich scored the save after working the final 2.1 innings of the game. Ironically, the best pitching effort of the game may have come in a losing effort. After relieving starting pitcher Austin Clark in the middle of the second inning, Logan Bowman didn’t allow a run over the final 4.2 innings. He allowed five hits and walked three over that span, while striking out five Golden Beavers. DiMaggio and first baseman Cody Acon collected a team-high two hits each, while seven of the nine Western Beaver hitters scored at least run and/or drove in at least one run each. Dicks, Logan Bowman and Cage recorded two hits each, while Dicks scored a team-high two runs. The Golden Beavers will face off with another Greene County opponent in Carmichaels, who beat Frazier 10-0 in six innings on Monday. The quarterfinal showdown will be played at a date and site to be named later.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 12 – Monessen Greyhounds 0 
Monessen’s first taste of postseason baseball in 26 years was quick and painful. Playing in the first WPIAL baseball playoff game since 1987, the Greyhounds were no match for the Class A Section 5 champion Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in a 12-0 five inning triumph for the 2^nd-seed Chargers Monday afternoon at Burgettstown High School. Tim Mulvey threw a five inning complete game two-hitter for OLSH, who improves to 17-2 overall and will now face the 10^th seed Union Scotties on Wednesday. Mulvey carried a no-hitter into the fifth before giving up a pair of Greyhounds hits. He struck out seven. Noah Shahen had two hits and three RBI while Dan Bechek had two hits and a pair of RBI. Monessen’s memorable season comes to an end with a final record of 6-12.

Union Scotties 9 – North Catholic Trojans 5
recap still to come

Riverview Raiders 9 – Rochester Rams 4 
The Raiders sent 16 batters to the plate in the 4^th & 5^th innings and scored four times in each frame on their way to the first round win at Fox Chapel High School. Leading 1-0 heading into the 4^th, Riverview sent 8 players to hit against the Rams Chaz Verrico with the big hit being a two-run single by LF Zach Aber. Rochester answered with two-runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to cut the score to 5-2. But it was the same scenario for the Raiders in the top of the fifth, 8 hitters and four runs to take a 9-2 lead. Jason Anthony drove in a pair of runs with a single and Aber drove in another with a sacrifice fly. Anthony and Aber combined for 6 or the 8 runs batted in for the Raiders with the other run scoring on a wild pitch. Seven of the batters for Riverview recorded hits and 8 of the 9 spots in the batting order reached base. That support was enough to earn the victory for Nick DiBucci who allowed one earned run in 4 innings of work for Riverview. Dom Conte notched the three-inning save in relief of DiBucci. Verrico was charged with 9 earned runs and took the loss for Rochester. O’Shea Anderson and Brandon Hopkins paced the 11-hit attack for the Rams, both going 3-for-4 with Hopkins driving in 2 runs and Anderson scoring a pair in the game. Rochester finishes the year at (6-9). The Raiders continue to enjoy their return to Class A, improving to (15-2) and advancing to the quarterfinals after not making the Double-A playoffs last season. Third seeded Riverview faces the sixth seeded California Trojans in the next round of the WPIAL A Playoff tournament. That game will take place at a site and time to be determined later this week.

California Trojans 6 – Sewickley Academy Panthers 4
Michael Luketich had a huge day at the plate for Claifornia, which spelled doom for Sewickley Academy. Luketich was four-for-four at the plate with two runs scored and a pair of RBI as the Trojans edged the Panthers 6-4 Monday afternoon at Burgettstown High School. The win improves California to 16-4 and sets up a great Class A Quarterfinals matchup on Wednesday with Riverview at a site and time to be determined. The Panthers break out season ends with a final mark of 11-6.