May 20, 2026 By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read

A grand slam home run by Cody Bungert coupled with a run-scoring single by RJ Borgesi propelled South Fayette to victory over No. 2 seed Penn-Trafford in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal game played May 19 at West Mifflin High School.

The victory did a number of things for the Lions. It improved their record to 13-9 overall and advanced them to the semifinals of the district playoffs. Plus it qualified them for the PIAA tournament.

The Lions were scheduled to face Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals. The winner advanced to the championship game set for May 26 or 27 at EQT Park in Washington. The state tournament commences June 1 with the finals set for 4:30 p.m. June 12 on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the Penn State University campus.

In what was expected to be a pitcher’s duel between Trey Skeen and Zach Feldman because of their playoff opening wins against Franklin Regional and Fox Chapel respectively, the contest turned into a slugfest as South Fayette pounded out 17 hits and the Warriors managed 11 safeties. The Lions committed three errors while Penn-Trafford had two miscues.

Bungert broke open a tight contest with his round tripper in the fifth frame. With the Lions trailing, 6-5, he smashed the ball over the left field fence for the grand slam. Skeen doubled, Ryan Speer was hit by a pitch and Bo Stover walked to reload the bases for Bungert.

Earlier in the five-run, fifth frame, Stover’s free pass drove in Colt Cloherty, who had reached base on a one-out double to ignite the rally.

The Warriors, however, did not quit. They responded with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Colton Tyburski clubbed a three-run triple and Bryce Ruby followed with an RBI single to cap the stanza.

South Fayette scored the game-winning run in the top of seventh. Stover singled and advanced two bases on throwing errors before scoring on Borgesi’s base hit.

Penn-Trafford powered its way into the lead, 6-5, in the fourth thanks to a two-run homer by Logan Matriarch.

Bungert also tagged a run-scoring double for the Lions in the fourth inning.

Luca Giola had three hits in the win for the Lions, including a double and a run-producing single in the first frame, as did Stover and Skeen. Jacob Bostian also tagged a two-bagger for the Lions.

Evan Mizia earned the win on the mound while Feldman was saddled with the loss, Penn-Trafford’s sixth of the season against 16 wins. The Warriors were Section 1 champions with a 10-2 record.

Meanwhile, Thomas Jefferson advanced to the semifinals by virtue of a 3-2 win against Bethel Park. The Jaguars scored the tying and decisive runs in the bottom of the seventh on well-executed bunts, a sacrifice fly by Josh Chalovich and a walk-off single by designated hitter Eli Graff.

The Black Hawks had taken the lead in the top half of the frame. They scored their second run of the game after Caden Stokes and Michael Hladio were hit by pitches, Mike Bruckner was intentionally walked and Nick Rillo reached base on a fielder’s choice.

Bethel Park scored its first run in the top of the third. With one out, Stokes reached base on a two-base error and advanced to third on a balk call. After Bruckner was intentionally walked, Hladio singled.

Chase White had BP’s other hit in the game. He stole a base, and while Owen Turoski walked and Stokes was hit by a pitch, the Hawks failed to produce a run in the fourth frame because of TJ’s defense. The Jaguars threw a runner out at the plate and made two other nifty plays.

With the loss, Bethel Park finished 13-9 overall. The Hawks failed to qualify for the state tournament for the first time under Patrick Zehnder, who became head coach in 2020. The Hawks were back-to-back state champions in 2021 and 2022.

In other quarterfinal action, Upper St. Clair upended Moon, 10-9, at Ross Memorial Park in Washington.

Brooks York’s single drove home the winning run in the top of the seventh inning. York was 2 for 3 with four RBI in the game.

Also for the Panthers, Nico D’Orazio pounded out four hits in five plate appearances and also drove in a run while Maximillian Dietrick earned the win on the mound.

Nick Machusko tripled and homered and Owen Amey doubled twice for the Tigers, who were seeded fourth and finished 16-5 overall.

With the win, USC improved to 12-8 overall, qualified for the PIAA playoffs and advanced to play Montour in the WPIAL semifinals.