Franklin Regional notebook: Spring teams book trips to playoffs

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, May 13, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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Several Franklin Regional teams earned the right to compete for championships in the WPIAL spring sports postseason.

Teams in softball, boys track and field, girls track and field, girls lacrosse and boys tennis all qualified for the playoffs.

The eighth-seeded tennis team cruised to a 4-1 win in the Class 3A first round against Allderdice.

Dhruv Kulkarni won his second singles match, 6-4, 7-5, and Aditya Arkalgud was a winner by forfeit at No. 3 singles. Both doubles teams also won: Josh Selvakumar and Tim Cao (6-4, 6-0) and Prem Nadesan and Arnesh Parua (7-5, 1-6, 7-5).

The Panthers fell to No. 1 North Allegheny in the quarterfinals, 4-1.

The boys and girls track and field teams did not advance out of the semifinal round.

Baseball eliminated

The Franklin Regional baseball team fell short of the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2014.

The Panthers dropped two games at Penn-Trafford, coach Bobby Saddler’s alma mater, by scores of 7-5 and 10-9, to close Section 1-5A play with a 6-6 record.

“Every single game, our guys left it all out there,” said Saddler, who has only missed the playoffs three times in his 12 seasons. “Our guys are always fighting, giving great effort and showing resiliency. They did everything they were asked to do.

“This group has outstanding talent, so it hurts (to not move on). I didn’t do enough, so it’s partly on me, and I own that. These seniors, man, I’ll miss them.”

College scene

Updates on Franklin Regional athletes competing in college:

Baseball

Gaston (N.C.): Freshman third baseman Andrew Maruco hit two home runs and drove in four runs to power Gaston to an 8-0 victory over USC Sumter in the NJCAA Region 10 Tournament. Maruco, a Coastal Carolina transfer, also scored two runs in the win. He added anther home run in the Rhinos’ 9-6 victory over USC Lancaster

Maruco was hitting .293 with six doubles, seven homers and 22 RBIs in 39 games.

Men’s track and field

Westminster: Senior Ryan Beard finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles at the Slippery Rock Last Chance Meet with a time of 11.02 seconds.

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

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