Peters Township to battle West-A for WPIAL baseball title
Peters Township (21-1) will battle West Allegheny (18-4) for the WPIAL Class 5A baseball title at 7:30 p.m. June 1 at Wild Things Park in Washington.
The Indians from McMurray reached the championship contest for the first time since 2011 by blasting Thomas Jefferson, 11-1, in a semifinal game played May 23 at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park. They have three district championships, the last coming in 2008.
The Indians from Imperial won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. They reached this year’s finals by blanking No. 2-seeded Bethel Park, 3-0.
“West-A is an excellent team with a proud tradition,” said PT manager Rocky Plassio. “They are very well-coached and they have a strong belief in who they are and what they have accomplished. We are going to have to play our very best game of the season to be successful against them.”
PT though seems to keep improving with each contest.
In blasting TJ, every player in the lineup contributed at least one hit and half of them managed more than one hit.
Bryce Thompson led the offensive onslaught. He tagged three hits in four plate appearances. In the pivotal third inning, he smacked a three-run homer, scoring Sam Miller, who had singled, and Wes Parker, who had been hit by a pitch.
”Bryce was the spark we needed to get our bats rolling,” Plassio said.
A standout receiver on the football team, Thompson is batting .420 with 25 RBI, second highest on the squad.
Miller dominated on the mound and at the plate as the Indians defeated TJ for the third time this season. During section action, PT routed the Jaguars, 14-2 and 7-1.
Offensively, Miller cranked out two hits, drove in a run, walked and scored a run. Against the Jaguars this spring, he collected seven hits and seven RBI.
A Columbia recruit, Miller raised his pitching record to 7-0 with the win. In six innings, he scattered four hits and struck out six.
Jack Natili’s RBI single tied the contest, 1-1, before Thompson’s heroics broke open the game. PT added single runs in the fourth and fifth on Jack Kail’s ground out RBI and Jack Lutte’s sacrifice fly. The Indians exploded for five runs in the sixth, ending the game via the 10-run rule.
Miller and Joey Bedillion had RBI singles while Lutte drilled a three-run double to highlight the frame.
In addition to Thompson and Miller, Lutte and Bedillion were multiple hitters for the Indians.
”We were obviously happy that we were able to defeat a tough TJ team for a third time this season,” Plassio said.
”We had strong hitting performances up and down our lineup. That balanced offensive attack is a plus for us,” he added.
Defense and pitching are also assets for the Indians as they head into the championship contest. The Indians also possess a few positive intangibles that could spark them to victory against West-A.
“I also really like our mindset,” Plasio said. “The kids have shown resiliency and an ability to stick to the plan, no matter what the score is or the situation in the game at that time.”
While the Indians tweaked all phases of their game during their week layoff, they understand that the season comes down to this one game. In a single outing, anything can happen and the winner will be a survivor.
”Whoever executes the best and makes the fewest mistakes will likely win the game,” Plassio predicted.
”We need to ensure that we stay focused in every situation. We cannot afford to make mistakes because West A will take advantage of those opportunities.
”We are confident in who we are,” he added. “We will be prepared to battle them until the end.”
BP fallsIn other Class 5A semifinal action, Bethel Park dropped a 3-0 decision to West Allegheny.
In the loss, Cody Geddes tagged two hits.
On the mound, Nathan Vargo struck out three in 4 1/3 innings while Sebastian Schein pitched two scoreless frames and fanned two.
Despite their defeats, the Hawks and Jaguars have qualified for the PIAA tournament. The two teams face off in the consolation game to decide seeding for the state playoffs at 4:30 p.m. May 31 at W&J Memorial Park.