High school roundup for May 24, 2021: New Castle uses long ball to upend No. 2 West Mifflin

By: Tribune-Review
Monday, May 24, 2021 | 11:28 PM

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Dom Fornataro and Don Cade hit two-run home runs to lead No. 7 New Castle to a 6-3 upset win over No. 2 West Mifflin in a WPIAL Class 4A baseball quarterfinal Monday afternoon.

Winning pitcher Rocco Bernadina went the distance, allowing six hits and striking out seven, and went 2 for 2 with a double for the Red Hurricanes (12-9), who will meet No. 3 Blackhawk in Tuesday’s semifinals. Eric Link and Jake Walker singled and doubled for West Mifflin (12-5). Devin Kleinhans drove in a run.

Laurel Highlands 6, North Catholic 1 – Nick Kumor homered and pitched 1⅓ innings of scoreless relief to lead No. 5 Laurel Highlands to a Class 4A quarterfinal win. Joe Chambers started and went 5⅔ innings, allowing an unearned run and striking out 12. Chambers, Alex McClain, Carson Damico and drove in runs for the Mustangs (15-5), who will meet No. 1 Montour in Tuesday’s semifinals. Nathan Higgins doubled and Tyler Primrose drove in a run for No. 4 North Catholic (14-8).

Eden Christian 12, West Greene 2 – Brian Feldman went 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs and Andrew Prouty had two hits and drove in a pair to lead No. 1 Eden Christian to a Class A quarterfinal victory. Winning pitcher Logan McNelis allowed an unearned run and struck out nine in five innings. Malachi Manges doubled and drove in two runs and Luke Vittone had a double and an RBI for Eden (16-4), which will meet No. 4 Union in Tuesday’s semifinals. Dalton Lucey had two hits for No. 8 West Greene (10-6).

Union 5, OLSH 1 – Mike Gunn had a two-run single to spark a four-run fifth inning, leading No. 4 Union to a Class A quarterfinal win. Winning pitcher Jake Vitale went the distance, allowing one run on two hits with 12 strikeouts. Shane Roper singled and drove in a pair of runs for the Scotties (9-5). Robert Brazell doubled and drove in a run for No. 5 OLSH (13-6).

Jefferson-Morgan 6, Rochester 1 – Easton Hanko had an RBI single in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the second to lead No. 6 Jefferson-Morgan (13-5) in the Class A quarterfinals. Kyle Clayton had a pair of hits and winning pitcher Bryce Bedillion gave up one unearned run and struck out eight in six innings. Ayden Pratt, Owen Maddich and Troy Wright drove in runs for the Rockets (13-5), who will meet No. 7 Riverview in Tuesday’s semifinals. Ethan Blair doubled for No. 3 Rochester (10-5).

Softball

Beaver 7, Yough 3 – Kayla Cornell homered and Anna Blum tripled and drove in a pair to lead No. 2 Beaver in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Bailey Nicol went 2 for 2 with an RBI. Payton List went the distance, giving up seven hits and striking out seven for the Bobcats (15-0), who will meet No. 3 West Mifflin in Wednesday’s semifinals. Sammie McGhee singled, tripled and drove in a run and McKenzie Pritts had two hits for No. 7 Yough (11-6). Pitcher Emma Augustine, who struck out eight and walked one, singled and drove in a run.

Shenango 9, OLSH 0 – Mia Edwards threw a complete-game no-hitter, striking out 15, to lead No. 5 Shenango to a Class 2A quarterfinal victory over No. 4 OLSH (14-4). Leyna Mason hit a grand slam, going 3 for 4 with a double and four RBIs. Edwards, Brianna DeSalvo, Madison Iwanjenko and Katelyn Peterson also drove in runs for the Wildcats (15-4), who will meet No. 1 Ligonier Valley in Wednesday’s semifinals.

Laurel 7, Burgettstown 0 – Autumn Boyd threw a two-hit shutout with 19 strikeouts to lead No. 2 Laurel to a Class 2A quarterfinal win over No. 7 Burgettstown (11-8). Boyd also singled, doubled and drove in a run. Addie Deal and Abbie Miles homered for the Spartans (15-1), who will meet No. 3 Frazier in Wednesday’s semifinals. Bekah Valenti had two hits and Frankilyn Duddy and Grace Zeppelin drove in runs.

Frazier 4, Chartiers-Houston 1 – Jensyn Hartman homered and Nicole Palmer threw a five-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks to lead No. 3 Frazier in the Class 2A quarterfinals. Delaney Warnick singled, doubled and drove in a run and Maria Felsher had a double and an RBI for the Commodores (16-3). Madison Bednar also drove in a run. Bella Hess and Lexie Brodnich had two hits for No. 6 Chartiers-Houston (13-6). Madyson Smith drove in a run.

Boys lacrosse

WPIAL semifinals – Cole Bordo had five goals, three assisted by Nick Eck, as No. 3 North Allegheny (11-4) advanced to the WPIAL finals with an 11-9 win over No. 2 Mt. Lebanon (15-2), which got four goals from Brodie Campbell. In the other semifinal, No. 1 Shady Side Academy (14-1) handled No. 4 Upper St. Clair (10-3), 20-13.

In Class 2A, Austin Cote scored six goals and Nick Crowley and Wes Scurci added four each as No. 1 Mars (18-0) moved into Thursday’s WPIAL finals undefeated with a 20-6 win over No. 4 South Fayette (14-4). In the other semifinal, No. 2 Chartiers Valley (15-4) edged No. 3 North Catholic (11-3), 7-6.

Girls lacrosse

WPIAL semifinals – Junior Chloe Courinos and freshman Mia Piocquidio scored four goals apiece as Class 2A No. 1 Blackhawk (15-0) stayed undefeated with a 13-11 win over No. 4 Indiana (12-4). In the other semifinal, Kellen Fletcher scored seven goals, Charlotte Stamper had four, and Zoey Krock added three to lead No. 3 Mars (15-2) to a 16-13 win over No. 2 Hampton (12-7), which got seven goals from Jillian Stennett.

In Class 3A, No. 1 Mt. Lebanon (16-1) beat No. 4 Sewickley Academy (10-2), 13-10, and No. 3 Shady Side Academy (14-1) knocked off No. 2 Upper St. Clair (10-3), 12-7. They’ll meet in Wednesday’s finals.