Mt. Lebanon leading topsy-turvy Section 4 in baseball
Peters Township catcher Brett McIntosh fields the throw from the outfield but not before Bethel Park’s Joe Zufall crosses the plate safely. Bethel Park defeated the Indians, 11-6, in section baseball action.
Joe Zufall fires a fastball to the plate during Bethel Park’s 11-6 victory against Peters Township.
Unless the baseball team is Mt. Lebanon, winning or losing streaks have been short lived this spring in Section 4-AAAA of the WPIAL. Managers like Joe Maize from Peters Township and Tony Fisher of Bethel Park cite parity as the reason. “On any given day, any team can beat you,” they have said.
Last week’s results support such statements. Take for example, Peters Township’s fray with rival Canon-McMillan under the lights, April 17, at Peterswood Park. The Indians snapped a three-game losing skid with a 5-2 victory against the Big Macs, who had been on the upside of four straight section outings.
“We’ve had a lot of big games here and against Canon- McMillan, but that’s as big as we’ve had in three years,” Maize said. “That helps keep us in the thick of things and I think this section is wide open.”
At the start of this week’s action, Lebo led the division with a perfect 5-0 record. The Blue Devils were 8-1 overall. In spite of their loss to Peters, the Big Macs followed in second place with a 4-2 mark. Overall, they were 7-3 heading into their clash with Lebo. Bethel Park started the week in third place.
With the win versus Canon-Mac, PT improved to 7-5 overall. Heading into this week’s schedule, which featured back-to-back outings with Baldwin, a visit to Carrick and a Friday night (April 24) showdown against Bethel Park at 7 p.m. at Peterswood Park, the Indians were tied with the Highlanders and Panthers for fourth place in the section with 2-3 records. The top three teams advance to the WPIAL playoffs, scheduled to begin May 11.
Phil Mary battled on the mound for Peters. He struck out seven and scattered five hits in beating the Big Macs. Two of the hits were doubles by Tanner Piechnick and Connor Coleman in the first frame.
Tor Sehnert tagged three hits, including his first career home run, a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth, and a double. Ryan Tassone also doubled for the Indians.
The victory, which came on the heels of losses to Lebo, 14-4, Bethel, 11-6, and USC, 3-0, lifted the Indians’ spirits.
“This was a big win for us,” Mary said. “We were in a hole with those three losses, but this gives us a spark. I feel like we can make a run.”
Thanks to Austin Kitchen, Lebo made its assault on the top slot in the section. The senior southpaw fanned 15 in beating the Indians. The Coastal Carolina recruit scattered five hits, including a two-run double by Brett McIntosh in the first frame. Mary tagged two hits while Cameron Asbell and Adam Cisney accounted for the other safeties.
Kitchen also topped USC, 4-1. He struck out 12 in the win.
After blanking Carrick, 8-0, on April 18, Lebo had a full plate of games, too, before its rematch with the Indians on April 29. The Blue Devils were scheduled to host Canon-Mac (rained out Monday), Baldwin and Carrick as well as battle Bethel Park in a home-and-away series April 21 and 27.
Sandwiched in between losses to Lebo and PT, CM defeated USC, 7-5, Carrick, 6-2, Baldwin, 7-6, and Bethel Park, 6-3.
Against BP, George Carson and Tanner Piechnick drilled RBI singles in a critical four-run, third inning. Ian Hess and Justin Neis combined for the win on the mound for Canon-Mac.
Against Baldwin, the Big Macs scored four runs to tie the game in the seventh and then scored the winning run in the eighth. After a walk and two bunts loaded the bases, Connor Coleman drove in the decisive tally.
Clay Martin earned the win on the mound. Chandler Palyas doubled for the Big Macs, who outhit the Highlanders, 8-6.
BP’s topsy-turvy week also included a 6-1 loss to USC. However, the Hawks (5-3) rebounded with wins against Peters, 11-6. The Hawks ended the week with a shutout over Baldwin, 1-0.
Against the Big Macs, Joe Zufall, Lou Ridgeway and Bo Williams all tagged doubles for the Hawks.
In BP’s win against Peters Township, Zufall struck out eight batters on the mound. At the plate, he socked two hits, including a home run in the first frame.
In the loss, McIntosh and Mary both tagged two hits, including doubles. McIntosh drove in three runs, two in the first frame, when the Indians bolted to a 3-0 advantage.
The Hawks exploded for five runs in the third and fifth frames.
In the third stanza, Luke Hahey and Bo Williams each doubled while John Scarsella, Corey Augenstein and Rob Morosetti all collected base hits. In the fifth, Tyler Shoemaker, Hahey, Ridgeway and Scarsella all singled.
Augenstein tossed six scoreless innings against the Highlanders. He scattered three hits, walked two and struck out 10.
“It was a great pitcher’s dual,” said Fisher. “Not much hitting on either side.”
Shoemaker and Dereck Pritchard provided enough punch to beat Baldwin. Shoemaker laid down a bunt to score Pritchard in the bottom of the fifth.
After posting wins against BP, 6-1, and PT, 3-0, USC dropped decisions to Lebo, 4-1, and Baldwin, 5-1. They visit Canon-Mac this afternoon (April 22).
Andrew Wheeler excelled against the Indians. In racking up the shutout, he struck out six and scattered five hits, all singles. Kevin Marthinsen backed Wheeler with his bat, drilling a double and driving in two runs.