Westmoreland WPIAL baseball capsules: Games for Monday, May 22, 2023

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, May 21, 2023 | 5:18 PM

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WPIAL baseball playoffs

Class 6A

Quarterfinals

1-Pine-Richland (14-6) vs. 8-Hempfield (11-9)

6:30 p.m. Monday at Plum

Winner plays: Winner of 4-Seneca Valley (16-4) vs. 5- Mt. Lebanon (10-10) in semifinals 7 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny

Players to watch: Carson Shuglie, Hempfield; Owen Henne, Pine-Richland

Extra bases: The Spartans are the eighth seed. They were sitting atop of Section 2 but dropped six consecutive section games before defeating Norwin, 11-0. The Spartans defeated Franklin Regional, 10-4, in a nonsection game. … Shuglie is hitting .365 with seven home runs and 23 RBIs. Gage Wheaton is hitting .383 with six doubles and two triples. … Pitcher Parker Donsen has 46 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings and is 3-1. Connor Burkey is 3-2 with two saves and 35 strikeouts. Jack Kurdziel is 4-3. … Pine-Richland finished in a three-way tie for first place with North Allegheny and Seneca Valley but was awarded the No. 1 seed because they were 4-2 against them. … Henne is hitting .365 with 20 runs, 19 RBIs and eight doubles. … Sophomore Tanner Cunningham hit .431 with 25 hits, 21 runs and 15 RBIs. … Pitcher Jacob McGuire is 6-0 with a 2.44 ERA. Sophomore Keegan Deihl is 4-0 with an ERA of 1.43, and in 34 1/3 innings, he has struck out 50. … Pine-Richland defeated Hempfield, 10-1, on March 17.

2-North Allegheny (14-6) vs. 7-Norwin (8-11)

7 p.m. Monday at Boyce-Mayview Park, Upper St. Clair

Winner plays: Winner of 3-Canon-McMillan (15-5) vs. 6-Butler (12-8) in semifinals 7 p.m. Tuesday at Boyce-Mayview Park, Upper St. Clair

Players to watch: Spencer Barnett, North Allegheny; Nolan Ryan, Norwin

Extra bases: The Tigers defeated Norwin, 10-3, on March 30. … Barnett batted .431 with 28 hits, including six doubles, 22 runs and 13 RBIs. Senior Andrew Hart hit .407 with 24 hits and 16 RBIs. Junior J.D. Costanzo is 3-0 with a 1.70 ERA, and junior David Posey is 3-1 with a 1.56 ERA. … Senior Chris Slatt, a Seton Hill commit, hit .365 with four doubles, two homers and 19 RBIs. Ryan hit .395 with eight doubles, two home runs and 19 RBIs, and Keegan Carr batted 436. Pitcher Ryan Orosz is 2-1 with a 2.59 ERA, and Ethan Culberton is 1-0 with a save and a 1.85 ERA.

Class 5A

Quarterfinals

3-Penn-Trafford vs. (13-5) vs. 6-Peters Township (14-6)

2 p.m. Monday at West Mifflin

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Bethel Park (15-4) vs. 10-Upper St. Clair (10-11) in semifinals 7 p.m. Tuesday at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park, Washington

Players to watch: Dylan Grabowski, Penn-Trafford; Jack Lutte, Peters Township

Extra bases: The Warriors drew a first-round bye. They finished the season strong by winning six consecutive Section 1 games to finish tied for first with Plum. … The Warriors lost two starters for the season — catcher Jakob Haynes and Otto — with injuries. Jason Sabol also has missed much of the season with an injury. Sophomore shortstop Brayden Stone batted .377 with 20 hits and 17 runs. Tyler Freas hit .354 with 23 hits, and Grabowski and Chuck Fontana had 17 RBIs each. Grabowski is 2-0 with a 2.66 ERA, and Nolan Marasti is 4-2 with a 2.17 ERA. … The Indians defeated West Allegheny, 5-4, in a first-round game. Lutte hit .444, Jack Natili .441 and Vinny Sarcone .389. Natili had 28 RBIs, and Lutte had 22. Sophomore pitcher Zach Miner is 3-2 with a 1.93 ERA, and senior Steven Laurence is 3-0.

Class 4A

Quarterfinals

5-Latrobe vs. (15-6) vs. 4-Chartiers Valley (14-6)

4 p.m. Monday at Gateway

Winner plays: Winner of 1-Montour (18-3) vs. 9-Hampton (9-9) in semifinals 4 p.m. Tuesday at Boyce-Mayview Park, Upper St. Clair.

Players to watch: Logan Bradish, Latrobe; Joey Vanzin, Chartiers Valley

Extra bases: The Wildcats rallied to defeat Kiski Area, 7-6, in the first round. 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 a 1.98 ERA. Eli Boring hit a tying RBI single, and Dante Basciano followed with the winning RBI grounder as No. 5 Latrobe scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to pull off a thrilling first-round win. … No. 4 Chartiers Valley overcame a shaky start defensively to gallop past Central Valley, 8-4, in a first-round game. Senior-laden Chartiers Valley scored six runs in the second inning. Michael Switala and Brendan Cruz delivered two-run singles in the big inning, and Cruz added an RBI.

Class 3A

Quarterfinals

3-Yough vs. (16-5) vs. 6-Neshannock (16-4)

7 p.m. Monday at Highlands

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Avonworth (16-5) vs. 10-Shenango (9-8) in semfinals 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Pullman Park, Butler.

Players to watch: James Shoman, Yough; Dom Cubellis, Neshannock

Extra bases: The Cougars rolled to a 12-2 victory against Keystone Oaks in the opening round. Shortstop Gavin Roebuck drove in four runs, and senior Carson Pasinski pitched five-plus innings, allowing one earned run. Roebuck hit a two-run homer to give Yough a 3-1 lead. … Cubellis hit the winning double in the 10th inning to lift the Lancers past Shady Side Academy, 6-5, in the first round. Rob Giles had two hits, including a double, for Neshannock.

Class 2A

Quarterfinals

11-Ligonier Valley vs. (12-7) vs. 3-New Brighton (14-4)

3 p.m. Monday at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Seton-La Salle (14-4) vs. Riverview (10-7) in semifinals 6:30 p.m., Tuesday at Gateway

Players to watch: Haden Sierocky, Ligonier Valley; Evin Smith, New Brighton

Extra bases: Logan Johnston roped the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the eighth to propel the Rams to an upset first-round victory. Adam Moreland doubled and brought home three runs, and Haden Sierocky (.507, 34 hits, 21 RBIs) and Leo Balaza collected two hits and an RBI each for the Rams. Sierocky is 4-2, and Moreland is 3-1. … The Lions had a first-round bye. Smith batted .479 with 23 hits, 25 runs and 14 RBIs. Sophomore Jake McKee batted .407 with 22 hits and 16 RBIs. Bobby Budacki drove in 19 runs and batted .357. Budacki is 8-1 with a 0.77 ERA. He has struck out 51 in 45 2/3 innings.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Hempfield, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Yough