High school roundup for May 15, 2024: Top seeds tumble in WPIAL baseball, softball playoffs

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Wednesday, May 15, 2024 | 11:49 PM


Emma DeSimone doubled twice and drove in three runs as No. 10 Thomas Jefferson knocked off No. 2 North Hills, 6-4, in the WPIAL Class 5A softball playoffs Wednesday.

Allie Chalovich had two RBIs and Morgan Alisesky and Zoe Krivan each went 2 for 3 for the Jaguars (11-7), who will meet No. 11 Latrobe in the semifinals. Emma Culver went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs for North Hills (14-5).

Armstrong 4, Connellsville 1 – Emma Paul hit a two-run home run in the third inning and Lily Gutherie provided No. 1 Armstrong (16-3) with insurance runs with a two-run single in the sixth for a Class 5A quarterfinal victory against No. 9 Connellsville (13-8). Cali Leichliter doubled and drove in a run and Iris Burd went 2 for 3 for the Falcons. Madison Baker threw a complete game and struck out 10 for the River Hawks, who will take on No. 4 Penn-Trafford in the semifinals.

Blackhawk 5, Indiana 3 – Mia Yenges went 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs and Brynn Hysong slashed an RBI double as No. 11 Blackhawk (9-7) toppled No. 3 Indiana (13-5) in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Haley Hamilton went 2 for 4 and knocked in a run for the Little Indians. Karma Malcolm hit a pair of doubles and Peyton Kimberlin got the win for the Cougars, who will play No. 2 Hampton in the semifinals.

Canon-McMillan 3, North Allegheny 1 – Lyla Mowery threw a complete-game five-hitter and Olivia Ford singled, tripled and scored twice to lead No. 6 Canon-McMillan (7-11) in the Class 6A quarterfinals. Emily Booher singled and drove in a run for the Big Macs, who were swept by the Tigers in the regular season. Canon-McMillan will take on No. 2 Seneca Valley in the semifinals next Wednesday. Anne Melle had two hits and Julia Drazga drove in a run for No. 3 North Allegheny (12-7).

Chartiers Valley 19, Montour 2 – Lily Duffill went 2 for 2 with two homers and four RBIs to lead No. 4 Chartiers Valley (16-3) in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Annabelle Helt went 3 for 4 with a homer and four RBIs, Kaitlyn Truong went 2 for 2 with a home run and three RBIs, and Taylor Walsh went 2 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs for the hard-hitting Colts, who will face No. 1 Elizabeth Forward in the semifinals. Danielle Terpack tripled and drove in a run for No. 5 Montour (10-7).

Elizabeth Forward 10, West Mifflin 0 – Shelby Telegdy tossed a no-hitter, allowing one walk and striking out 13 in six innings, and was 4 for 4 at the plate with a home run, a double and a pair of RBIs to propel top-seeded Elizabeth Forward (18-1) to a shutout win over No. 9 West Mifflin (10-9) in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Julia Johnson doubled twice and drove in two runs and Berlyn Holibaugh and Addy Migut each brought home two runs for the Warriors. Elizabeth Forward will play No. 4 Chartiers Valley in the semifinals.

Hampton 11, Knoch 2 – Winning pitcher Marissa Snyder allowed one hit, struck out 15, singled, doubled and knocked in two runs to power No. 2 Hampton (16-3) to a Class 4A quarterfinal win. Mackenzie Reese doubled, tripled and drove in four runs, Katelyn Dubee had a single, two doubles and two RBIs, and Brooke Murgenovich went 4 for 4 for the Talbots, who will face No. 11 Blackhawk in the semifinals. Lindsay Wise collected the only hit for No. 7 Knoch (14-7).

Latrobe 5, West Allegheny 4 – Winning pitcher Kayla Williams struck out seven and helped her cause with two hits and three RBIs as No. 11 Latrobe (11-10) knocked off No. 3 West Allegheny (17-3) in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Corrine Wright went 3 for 3 with an RBI and Sarah Blossey doubled for the Wildcats, who took control with a four-run fifth inning. Latrobe will meet No. 10 Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals. Aubrey Police doubled and homered for West Allegheny.

Penn-Trafford 13, Shaler 4 – Mack Keenan went 3 for 4, belting a pair of home runs and driving in three, and Erin Drotos was 2 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs as No. 4 Penn-Trafford (14-5) crushed No. 5 Shaler (15-4) in the Class 5A quarterfinals. Cameron Ponko went 3 for 3 with a homer and a pair of RBIs and Rilie Moors doubled and brought home two runs for the Warriors. Leah Eich smashed a three-run home run for the Titans. Allyson Paulone picked up a win for Penn-Trafford, which will face top-seeded Armstrong in the semifinals.

Baseball

Blackhawk 7, Belle Vernon 3 – Winning pitcher Dylan Smith went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and Cody Woodward drove in two runs to lead No. 16 Blackhawk (8-10) to a Class 4A first-round upset of top-seeded Belle Vernon (13-4). Alex Nash, Jake Gedekoh and Parker Lind each doubled and knocked in a run for the Leopards. The Cougars will play No. 9 Indiana in the quarterfinals Monday.

Indiana 4, Central Valley 1 – Greg Minnick tossed five scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out 12, and Ben Ryan fanned three in two innings for the save as No. 9 Indiana (11-9) defeated No. 8 Central Valley (10-8) in the opening round in Class 4A. Andrew McGee drove in a pair of runs while Ryan and Mark Collinger each doubled and drove in a run for the Little Indians. Will Ciucci singled and scored and Zachary McLean fanned eight in six innings for the Warriors. Indiana advances to play No. 16 Blackhawk in the quarterfinals Monday.

Latrobe 3, Hopewell 2 – Luke Nipar-Smith was hit by the pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning to give No. 5 Latrobe a walk-off win over No. 12 Hopewell in the Class 4A first round. Winning pitcher Riley Smith went the distance, allowing two hits and two walks and striking out two. Mason Leonard and Louie Amatucci drove in runs for the Wildcats (18-3), who will face No. 4 Montour in the quarterfinals Monday. Charles Smetana doubled and drove in a run for the Vikings (9-10), who defeated Latrobe in the WPIAL finals last season.

Montour 3, Uniontown 1 – Matteo Weber gave up one run on two hits in 5⅓ innings to earn the win and Maddox Tarquinio worked 1⅔ scoreless innings to pick up the save as No. 4 Montour (14-5) won a Class 4A first-round game. Jake Robinson doubled and drove in two runs and Andrew Porto had a double and an RBI for the Spartans, who will meet No. 5 Latrobe in Monday’s quarterfinals. Mason Kuhn homered for No. 13 Uniontown (6-10).

North Catholic 8, Elizabeth Forward 0 – Josef Safar went 3 for 4 with a pair of home runs and three RBIs and Blake Primrose belted a two-run homer as No. 6 North Catholic (14-4) held No. 11 Elizabeth Forward (11-8) to four hits in a shutout victory in the opening round in Class 4A. AJ Grese and Joseph Crovak each doubled for the Warriors. Winning pitcher Thomas Schafale went 2 for 3 with a solo homer for the Trojans, who will take on No. 3 West Mifflin in Monday’s quarterfinals.

Shaler-South Fayette, suspended – The Class 5A first-round game between the No. 8 Titans and No. 9 Lions at Boyce Mayview Park was suspended in the bottom of the first with South Fayette leading 1-0. The game will resume at 4 p.m. Thursday at a site to be determined.

Thomas Jefferson 11, Ringgold 3 – Alex Warden went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI and Carter Kirsch doubled and drove in four runs to lead No. 2 Thomas Jefferson (18-2) in the Class 4A first round. The Jaguars will meet No. 7 Chartiers Valley in the quarterfinals Monday. Andrew Sprinkle had two hits for No. 15 Ringgold (8-12).

Trinity 6, Plum 4 – Derek Falvo homered in the second inning and singled and scored the go-ahead run in the 11th as No. 12 Trinity (9-8) stunned No. 5 Plum (13-8) in the Class 5A first round. Logan Daniels followed with a two-run single in the 11th for the Hillers, who will take on No. 4 Bethel Park in Monday’s quarterfinals. Jackson Burt struck out six in five innings and combined with JR Rieg to hold Plum to just five total hits. Ryan Lafferty drove in two runs and Sean Franzi scored three times for the Mustangs.

West Mifflin 9, Knoch 3 – Jayvon Thompson doubled, tripled and knocked in two runs and winning pitcher Zane Griffaton fanned seven in four innings as No. 3 West Mifflin (17-2) beat No. 14 Knoch (9-10) in the opening round in Class 4A. Chase Maggio and Caden Wills each drove in a run for the Titans. Logan Cypher finished with a pair of RBIs and Aidan Jones doubled and drove in a run for the Knights. West Mifflin wil take on No. 6 North Catholic in Monday’s quarterfinals.

Kiski School 2, Western Reserve 1 – Tyler Hahn went 3 for 3 with two RBIs and winning pitcher Ty Zufall allowed one hit and struck out 10 for Kiski School.

Boys lacrosse

South Fayette 9, Indiana 8 – Bryce Watkins scored the game-winning goal and finished with a hat trick to lift No. 2 South Fayette (17-1) past No. 7 Indiana (11-6) in the Class 2A quarterfinals. Owen Makar also produced a hat trick and Drew Welhorsky tallied a pair of goals for the Lions. South Fayette will take on No. 3 Penn-Trafford in Monday’s semifinals.

Girls lacrosse

Pine-Richland 17, Canon-McMillan 7 – Mada Mill scored four goals and had two assists while Cate Gentile scored five goals and added six assists to lead No. 2 Pine Richland (15-1) to a Class 2A quarterfinal win over No. 7 Canon-McMillan (11-5). Mallory Boivin recorded a hat trick and Kendyll Jerry netted a pair of goals for the Rams.

More Baseball

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WPIAL approves new section alignments for spring sports in 2025, ’26 seasons