A-K Valley WPIAL baseball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, May 17, 2023

By: Bill Hartlep
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 | 4:27 PM

Purchase Photo Options

WPIAL baseball playoffs

Class 5A

First round

8-Fox Chapel (12-8) vs. 9-Mars (9-9)

6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Plum

Winner plays: Winner of 4-Plum (13-7) and 13-Trinity (6-9) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD)

Players to watch: Jeremy Haigh, Fox Chapel; Jacob Maple, Mars

Extra bases: The Foxes finished third in Section 1-5A with an 8-4 record. They split section series with Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional, Armstrong and Plum. Fox Chapel dropped three of its final four games after a five-game winning streak midseason. Haigh leads the Foxes with a .412 batting average and has 10 RBIs. He also has a 6-1 record on the mound with a 1.02 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 48 innings. Zach Johnston is hitting .367 with a team-high 19 RBIs. … Mars finished tied for third in Section 3 with a 5-5 record. The Fightin’ Planets are in the midst of a three-game skid after a pair of 4-3 wins over Moon and a 15-0 triumph over Nazareth Prep. Sophomore infielder Luke Goodworth leads Mars at the plate with a .364 average. Senior Benjamin Astbury is batting .323 with 16 RBIs. Maple, a junior, carries an on-base percentage of .434 and is one of the team’s top pitchers at 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA.

4-Plum (13-7) vs. 13-Trinity (6-9)

6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gateway

Winner plays: Winner of 8-Fox Chapel (12-8) and 9-Mars (9-9) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD)

Players to watch: Colin Watson, Plum; Gibson Havanis, Trinity

Extra bases: Plum tied Penn-Trafford for the Section 1 title with a 9-3 record. The Mustangs won nine of their last 10 games. A 5-2 loss to Fox Chapel on May 8 snapped an eight-game winning streak during which they outscored opponents 63-26. Three Mustang starters are batting better than .400: Daniel Macioce, Erik Streussnig and Brady Dojonovic. Caden Norcutt and Watson have each knocked in 15 runs. Dojonovic (4-1, 3.17), Streussnig (3-2, 4.97) and Watson (2-1, 1.11) have anchored the pitching staff. They’ve combined to strike out 120 batters. … Trinity tied for fourth in Section 2 at 3-7. The Hillers snapped a six-game losing streak with wins over Albert Gallatin and Thomas Jefferson last week. Against Albert Gallatin, Kaden Hathaway doubled and homered, and Ty Banco was 2 for 4 with two RBIs. In the win over TJ, Havanis hit a two-run home run, and Zack Thornburg was 3 for 4.

Class 4A

First round

5-Latrobe (14-6) vs. 12-Kiski Area (9-9)

4 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin

Winner plays: Winner of 4-Chartiers Valley (13-6) and 13-Central Valley (6-11) Thursday (time, site TBD) in quarterfinals

Players to watch: Anthony Massari, Latrobe; Dom DiNinno, Kiski Area

Extra bases: This all-Westmoreland County matchup in the Class 4A bracket pits familiar foes in Latrobe and Kiski Area. The Wildcats were Section 2 champions. They defeated North Catholic and Franklin Regional, two teams that beat the Cavaliers. … Kiski Area has dropped four consecutive games. The Cavaliers are led by senior DiNinno with a .418 average. Senior Blake Fritz is hitting .395, and junior Nathan Witt had 19 RBIs. Junior Jacob Smith is 4-3 with 51 strikeouts, and senior Lebryn Smith is 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA. … Junior Anthony Massari is leading the Wildcats with a .414 batting average. He has seven doubles and 16 RBIs. Senior Logan Bradish is hitting .306 with six doubles and 18 RBIs. Bradish is 6-0 on the hill with a 1.56 ERA, and Riley Smith is 4-1 with an ERA of 1.98.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Fox Chapel, Mars, Plum, Trinity