Westmoreland WPIAL baseball playoff capsules: Games for Thursday, May 18, 2023

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 | 3:09 PM

WPIAL baseball playoffs

Class 3A

First round

18-Derry (8-10) vs. 2-Avonworth (15-5)

4 p.m. Thursday at Plum

Winner plays: Winner of 7-South Park (14-5)/10-Shenango (8-8) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD)

Players to watch: Antonion Hauser, Derry; Mason Metz, Avonworth

Extra bases: Metz, a catcher, led the Antelopes with a .429 average. He scored 11 runs, had 24 hits and 17 RBIs. Senior Mason Horwat is hitting .356 with a team-high 23 RBIs and is 5-0 on the hill with a 0.95 earned run average. He’s struck out 60 and walked 14. … Derry pounded out 19 hits in a 16-5 win against Mt. Pleasant. Hauser had three hits and five RBIs against Mt. Pleasant. Every player in Derry’s starting lineup collected a hit. Brady Angus and Colin Bush each had three RBIs. This is the first year as coach for Tom Kelly.

5-Greensburg Salem (13-5) vs. 12-Mohawk (12-7)

4:30 p.m. Thursday at Shaler

Winner plays: Winner of 4-East Allegheny (12-5)/13-Waynesburg (9-6) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD)

Players to watch: Owen Tutich, Greensburg Salem; Jay Wrona, Mohawk

Extra bases: Wrona is hitting .538 with 24 runs scored, 28 hits, 19 RBIs, seven doubles and three triples for Mohawk. Freshman Bobby McFadden is hitting .338 with 21 runs scored and 15 RBIs. Senior Jacob Werner and freshman Vinny Pezzuolo are the top pitchers. … Grant Smith is the Golden Lions’ top hitter with a .467 average. He has 28 hits and 24 RBIs. Noah DeMary has driven in 14 runs and Peyton Chismar 13. Tutich has scored 26 runs and is hitting .364. Tutich and sophomore Braedon Leatherman are the top pitchers.

3-Yough vs. (15-5) vs. 14-Keystone Oaks (4-13)

4 p.m. Thursday at Norwin

Winner plays: Winner of 6-Neshannock (15-4)/11-Shady Side Academy game (8-9) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD)

Players to watch: Jack Sampson, Yough; Tyler Serakowski, Keystone Oaks

Extra bases: The Cougars have won back-to-back section titles. They defeated Greensburg Salem during the final game of the season to clinch the title. Yough is led by senior catcher Jack Sampson, a Washington & Jefferson commit. The Cougars’ top pitchers are James Shoman, Nate Bell and Cason Pasinski. … Keystone Oaks has lost 10 consecutive games. Tyler Serakowski is the top hitter with a .333 batting average and 11 hits. Ryan Hazlett has logged the most appearances on the mound with nine.

Class 2A

First round

8-Greensburg Central Catholic (9-5) vs. 9-OLSH (12-8)

6:30 p.m. Thursday at Boyce-Mayview Park

Winner plays: 1-Serra Catholic (17-2) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD)

Players to watch: Tyree Turner, Greensburg C.C.; Iseia Fields-Schulz, OLSH

Extra bases: Greensburg Central Catholic finished tied for second in Section 3 at 8-4. The Centurions finished the season by sweeping Riverview and dropping a two-game series to section champ Serra Catholic. Turner has been a key pitcher for the Centurions. Ian Shipley, Max Kallock and Anthony Grippo had RBIs in a 3-2 win over Riverview earlier this month. … OLSH finished tied for third in a competitive Section 2 with a 10-4 record. The Chargers had a five-game winning streak snapped by Seton LaSalle last week. They bounced back with a 10-7 win over Eden Christian. Gino Williams had three RBIs in the regular-season finale. Fields-Schulz (4-1), a sophomore, and junior Quinn Santelli (4-2) have anchored the pitching staff. They have combined for 79 strikeouts. Santelli threw a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts against Aliquippa.

6-Chartiers-Houston (16-3) vs. 11-Ligonier Valley (11-7)

6:30 p.m. Thursday at Gateway

Winner plays: 3-New Brighton (14-4) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD)

Players to watch: Ryan Opfer, Chartiers-Houston; Haden Sierocky, Ligonier Valley

Extra bases: Chartiers-Houston placed second in Section 1 at 10-2. The Bucs had a nine-game winning streak snapped last week at Charleroi. Their only other losses were against section champion Burgettstown and at McGuffey. They have outscored opponents, 205-55 this season. Opfer is 8-0 with a 1.19 ERA and 71 strikeouts and also is batting .450 with 15 RBIs. … Ligonier Valley finished fourth in Section 3 with a 7-5 record. The Rams won their last three games, outscoring Jeannette and Beth-Center 40-1 combined. Sierocky is batting .522 with a .579 on-base percentage, 22 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He also has a 1.78 ERA on the mound. Tyler Smith leads the pitchers with a 1.62 ERA.

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: Avonworth, Chartiers-Houston, Derry Area, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Keystone Oaks, Ligonier Valley, Mohawk, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Yough