Bethel Park beats USC, 6-3, runs baseball record to 8-0
Bethel Park overcame a two-run deficit and defeated Upper St. Clair, 6-3, in the Section 5-AAAA baseball opener at the Boyce-Mayview Complex.
After spotting the Panthers two runs in the bottom of the third, BP exploded for four runs in the top of the sixth.
Logan Corrigan led off the frame with a triple. He scored on Ryan Dodson’s double. Dodson advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Dave Lemley.
After Dakota Forsyth and Ryan Kogler smacked back-to-back singles, both scored on Zac Forsyth’s bloop base hit.
BP tacked on insurance runs in the seventh when Lemley smashed a two-run double along the third-base line. It was his second two-bagger of the game. On the hit, Jake McCall and Corrigan scored. The pair had been on board after being hit by a pitch and walking respectively.
Corrigan hurled five innings and earned the win on the mound before yielding to Corey Augenstein. In registering a save in relief, he struck out three batters, all in the sixth stanza, and allowed no hits.
Ian Frazier carried the big stick for the Panthers. He tagged a two-run single in the bottom of the third. He drove in USC’s other run in the seventh. Though BP committed two fielding errors in the frame, the Hawks turned a double play to get out of the jam.
In the win, Corey Lazor tagged a triple but was stranded in the fifth.
With the win, the Hawks remained undefeated. They ran their record to 8-0. The Panthers slipped to 4-3 overall.
Before entering into league play, the Hawks had the opportunity to play at PNC Park on Aug 7 where they pelted Greensburg Central Catholic, 13-3.
BP also faced Central Catholic in a tune-up for section play. The game was a rematch of last year’s WPIAL quarterfinal playoff contest. While BP lost that encounter, this time, the Hawks won.
In a 4-1 triumph, Tyler Grashoff went the distance on the mound. He scattered seven hits, struck out three and walked one.
Zac Forsyth and Kogler each tagged two hits, drove in and scored a run, for the Hawks, who are ranked No. 1 and off to a 6-0 start.
BP scored three runs in the second stanza. Lemley led off with a single off the third-base bag, moved to second on a sacrifice by Dakota Forsyth and scored on Zac Forsyth’s hit. Kogler, who had singled, scored on Chad Brown’s suicide squeeze bunt.
With two out in the third, Dodson doubled to left. After walks to Lemley and Dakota Forsyth, Dodson scored on Kogler’s base hit.
Bethel Park hosts Mt. Lebanon at 4 p.m. April 10 at Purkey Field in its next section contest. The Blue Devils won their opener, 1-0 against Peters Township.