High school roundup for May 31, 2022: Hopewell tops Avonworth to make states

By: Tribune-Review
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 | 10:55 PM

Stephen Slate hit a tie-breaking two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to lead top-seeded Hopewell to a 3-2 victory over Avonworth in the WPIAL Class 3A baseball third-place game Tuesday.

Lucas Arington doubled twice and drove in two runs and winning pitcher Landon Fox threw 1⅓ scoreless innings with three strikeouts for the Vikings (16-7), who earned the third and final playoff berth out of the WPIAL and will face District 10 champion Fairview in the first round of states Monday. Jack Hustwit homered in the first inning for No. 3 Avonworth (15-9).

Bethel Park 6, Thomas Jefferson 0 – Winning pitcher Evan Holewinski struck out six in five innings and Nathan Vargo had two hits and two RBIs as No. 2 Bethel Park (17-3) defeated No. 12 Thomas Jefferson (15-8) in the Class 5A third-place game.

Dylan Schmude singled and doubled and Ben Hudson had two hits and an RBI for the Black Hawks, who will meet the winner of Wednesday’s game between DuBois and Central Mountain in the first round of the state playoffs Monday. Thomas Jefferson will meet the WPIAL champion, Peters Township or West Allegheny, in the first round of states.

Riverside 6, Burgettstown 4 – Ashton Scholsser hit the go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning to lead No. 5 Riverside (16-6) to victory in the Class 2A third-place game. Darren McDade singled, tripled and drove in a pair and Bo Fornataro and Sean Hayes each had two hits for the Panthers, who will face District 6 champion Mount Union in the first round of the state playoffs Monday. Christian Lucarelli struck out nine in 4⅔ innings to earn the win.

AJ Kuzior and Eric Kovach singled and doubled for Burgettstown (14-5), which will meet District 9 champion Johnsonburg in the PIAA first round.

Softball

Laurel 6, OLSH 0 – Autumn Boyd threw a complete-game two-hit shutout with 17 strikeouts to lead No. 5 Laurel (17-4) in the Class 2A third-place game. Grace Zeppelin homered and Addie Deal had three hits and two RBIs for the Spartans, who will meet District 10 champion Reynolds in the first round of the state playoffs Monday. Boyd and Grace Kissick had two hits apiece.

Morgan O’Brien and Alyssa Minton had hits for No. 6 OLSH (10-5), who will meet the WPIAL champ, Neshannock or Frazier, in the first round of states.

North Hills 13, Chartiers Valley – All nine players in the lineup for No. 4 North Hills (16-4) had at least one hit and one run scored in a five-inning win in the Class 5A third-place game. Kaylee Bischoff went 3 for 3, Kyra Blauth doubled and drove in a run, and winning pitcher Sophia Roncone struck out 10 for North Hills, which will meet Central Mountain in the first round of the state playoffs Monday.

Marie Kinchington singled and doubled and Gianna Welsh also doubled for No. 11 Chartiers Valley (15-6), which will meet the WPIAL champ, Armstrong or Penn-Trafford, in the first round of states.

Boys lacrosse

Mars 18, Cocalico 2 – Josh Seipp, Austin COte, Enzo Grieco and Kyle McEwen scored three goals apiece as WPIAL Class 2A champion Mars opened its state playoff run with a first-round win over Cocalico. The Fightin’ Planets will meet Susquehannock in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Quaker Valley in Class 2A and WPIAL Class 3A champion Shady Side Academy also advanced to the quarterfinals. Quaker Valley beat Cathedral Prep, 14-4, and will meet Penncrest. Shady SIde Academy defeated McDowell, 15-4, and will take on Radnor. Class 3A runner-up Mt. Lebanon lost to Manheim Township, 16-10.

Girls lacrosse

Chartiers Valley 17, Conneaut 4 – The Chartiers Valley girls lacrosse team came into the WPIAL playoffs seeded fifth and made a surprise run to a championship. The Colts aren’t finished either. After defeating Conneaut in a first-round game, they’ll meet Strath Haven in Saturday’s state quarterfinals.

WPIAL Class 3A champion Shady Side Academy also advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Hempfield from District 3, 8-5. The Bulldogs will meet Wilson on Saturday.

Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon bowed out in the Class 3A first round. The Panthers lost 19-2 to Manheim Township and the Blue Devils lost 8-5 to State College. In Class 2A, Mars lost to Twin Valley, 23-2.

Boys volleyball

Shaler 3, Cumberland Valley 2 – Two WPIAL teams advanced to PIAA quarterfinals Tuesday, but it wasn’t the two teams many expected. WPIAL champ North Allegheny advanced, beating Palmyra in three games. WPIAL runner-up Seneca Valley, however, did not, falling to McDowell in four games. Third-place finisher Shaler, though, knocked off Cumberland Valley in five games. The Tigers and Titans will meet in the state quarterfinals Saturday.

In Class 2A, WPIAL runner-up OLSH advanced with a sweep of West Shamokin, but WPIAL champ Montour was swept by Cochranton and third-place Ambridge was blanked by Meadville. OLSH will meet Meadville on Saturday.