Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL baseball playoff capsules for May 20, 2021

By: Greg Macafee
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 | 3:11 PM

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Today’s games

Class 3A

First round

8-Deer Lakes (9-6) vs. 9-Yough (7-7)

Noon at Highlands

Coaches: Josh Tysk, Deer Lakes; Craig Spisak, Yough

Winner plays: Winner of 1-Hopewell (13-5)/16-Waynesburg (5-9) on Saturday in quarterfinals

Players to watch: Justin Brannagan, Jr., P/OF, Deer Lakes; Vinny Martin, Sr., P/OF, Yough

Extra bases: The Lancers won seven of their first eight games before losing five of their final seven, including two one-run losses to Derry to decide the Section 3 championship. The Lancers are looking for their first playoff victory since finishing fourth in 2017. Brannagan leads the Lancers with a .417 batting average and also has pitched 45 innings with a 1.24 ERA. Josh Wachter leads the team with 18 RBIs and has four doubles. While the Lancers started on a good note, the Cougars got off to the opposite kind of start. They lost five of their first six games but bounced back to finish the regular season with a .500 record. Yough is returning to the playoffs after being knocked out in the semifinals as the No. 2 seed in 2019.

7-Valley (12-7) vs. 10-Mohawk (11-7)

6:30 p.m. at Highlands

Coaches: Jim Basilone, Valley; Kevin Sapp, Mohawk

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Avonworth (13-7)/15-Ligonier Valley (7-11) on Saturday in quarterfinals

Players to watch: John Luke Bailey, Sr., P, Valley; Cooper Vance, Jr, P, Mohawk

Extra bases: At the beginning of the season, Valley swept Section 3 champ and No. 6 seed Derry in their section matchup. All of the Vikings other section losses came in the second game of their section series which was due in part to the dominance of senior pitcher John Luke Bailey, who was Valley’s ace and pitched 48 1/3 innings with a 1.45 ERA. He also tied for the team lead in RBIs with 18 and is hitting .491. The Vikings are making their third playoff appearance in four years. The Warriors finished the regular season winning eight of their final nine games with their only loss coming against No. 5 Ellwood City. The Warriors also split their section series with No. 1 Hopewell but dropped their section series against New Brighton. Cooper Vance produced a 0.44 ERA in 32 innings. He also tallied a .404 batting average with seven doubles, a triple and a home run.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Deer Lakes, Mohawk, Valley, Yough