Bethel Park bounces back
Bethel Park second baseman makes the throw to shortstop David Kessler as Bryce Thompson slips into the bag during Peters Township's 11-2 victory over the Black Hawks.
Aiden Bewick (left) and Joey Bedillion (right) congratulate Tucker Ferris (center) after he scored during a five-run, fourth inning, propelling Peters Township to victory, 11-2, over Bethel Park in a key section clash.
Luke Markowski brings the heat to the plate during Peters Township's 11-2 victory against Bethel Park.
Drew Ripepi slides into second in an attempt to break up the double play throw by Bo Conrad. Despite the defensive play, Bethel Park committed more than a handful of errors on the way to an 11-2 loss to Peters Township.
Bethel Park recovered from dropping consecutive games to Peters Township and swept Connellsville in scholastic baseball action.
The Black Hawks raised their overall record to 9-2 with back-to-back wins against the Falcons. They improved to 6-2 in Section 2 but remained in second place in the section standings behind the rival Indians, who fell to 7-1 after a loss to Albert Gallatin.
Nathan Vargo hurled five two-hit innings and Ryan Walsh preserved a 6-4 victory in relief.
Cody Geddes clubbed three hits, including a double. David Kessler tagged a triple and a double. Ben Hudson and Ray Altmeyer each smacked two hits. Hudson and Dylan Schmude each doubled.
In a 6-2 win, Evan Holewinski tossed four shutout innings.
Altmeyer smacked a two-run homer and John Chalus doubled. Kessler drove in two runs on one hit.
The wins came on the heels of an 11-2 loss to Peters Township.
In the defeat, BP’s defense broke down, allowing five runs on four errors. The fourth-inning failure paved the path for victory for the Indians.
“We pride ourselves on playing sound defense and doing the little things right,” said BP manager Patrick Zehnder. “I have reflected on that (performance) and know I can do a better job as a coach getting them ready for the situations we weren’t successful in.”
BP pitching could not stop Kail. He had three hits, including a homer, and drove in four runs in the game.
Wes Parker homered as well. He posted the win on the mound. He pitched three scoreless innings in relief of starting pitcher Luke Markowski.
“The team had a great practice to help us bounce back from the loss,” said Zehnder. “It was good to get wins against a scrappy Connellsville team but we still did not play our “A” game.”
The Blackhawks close out section action with a two-game series against Thomas Jefferson. They host the Jaguars on May 2 before a reciprocal visit on May 3.
“We are looking forward to finishing strong,” Zehnder said.
BP hosts Fox Chapel (May 5), Seneca Valley (May 9) and Chartiers Valley (May 11) to close out the regular season before making a playoff run.
The Hawks are the defending PIAA Class 5A champions. They were WPIAL runners-up in 2021.
PT rebounds
Peters Township rebounded from its first loss of the season to blank Albert Gallatin, 10-0.
The Indians, who are 7-1 in Section 4 and 12-1 overall, had lost to the Colonials, 7-6, two days before the rematch on April 27 at Peterswood Park.
Tucker Ferris tossed a one-hitter in recording the win on the mound. He struck out seven and walked one batter.
Sam Miller led the offensive onslaught. He went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and four RBI.
Jack Kail, Jack Lutte, Jack Natili and Nick Sampson all tagged two-baggers for the Indians, who scored runs in every inning but the second.
Peters closes out section action with a home-and-home series against Trinity. On May 2, they play at Washington and Jefferson College and On May 3, the teams travel to Peterswood Park. First pitch is at 7 p.m.
Before the playoffs commence, the Indians will play four non-section tune-up games against Ringgold (May 6), at Upper St. Clair (May 9), at Hempfield (May 10) and South Park (May 12.