May 17, 2022 5 min read

Class 2A Section 1 champion Carmichaels had no trouble in its first-round game Tuesday, rolling over Apollo-Ridge 12-0 in five innings at Latrobe.

Winning pitcher Drake Long fired a one-hitter, and Trenton Carter drove in three runs and scored three times as the Mikes (15-1) advanced to the quarterfinals Thursday against Riverside, a 5-4 winner over Chartiers-Houston.

Carmichaels, the No. 4 seed, scored in every inning, building leads of 4-0 after two innings, 7-0 after three and 12-0 after four.

Nick Ricco homered and had a pair of RBI, Long helped his cause with a triple, and Carter and Liam Lohr each had a double as the Mikes pounded out 13 hits.

Long struck out six and did not allow a walk.

Sewickley Academy 7, Avella 4: Sewickley Academy forged an early four-run lead before holding off a late charge by Avella to defeat the Eagles 7-4 in a Class A first-round playoff game.

Sewickley Academy led 4-0 after two innings, but Avella pulled to within 5-4 after scoring single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Sewickley Academy sealed the win by pushing across two runs in the sixth inning.

Adin Zorn smacked a home run for Sewickley Academy’s lone extra-base hit.

Avella, which held a 7-5 edge in hits, received a double from Isaiah Bradick. Westley Burchianti, Brian Humensky and Bradick each had two hits for the Eagles.

Deer Lakes 1, McGuffey 0: Justin Brannagan pitched a two-hit shutout and drove in the game’s only run as Deer Lakes edged McGuffey 1-0 in a Class 2A first-round game at Peterswood Park.

Brannagan allowed only two singles and two walks to McGuffey (7-10). He struck out 11.

The game’s lone run came in the bottom of the third inning. Danny Geis hit a one-out double off McGuffey starter Austin Hall and scored when Brannagan followed with a double. The two doubles were half of offensive output by Deer Lakes (10-11) against Hall and reliever Jantzen Durbin.

Hall and Jacob Ross had the only hits by the Highlanders.

Neshannock 11, Bentworth 5: Colten Shaffer, Grant Melder and Nathan Rynd each hit home runs as Neshannock defeated Bentworth 11-5 in a Class 2A first-round game at Chippewa Park in Beaver County.

Neshannock (15-6) was clinging to a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning, when the Lancers had six consecutive batters reach base, leading to a six-run outburst that broke open the close game.

Bentworth’s Colton Brightwell led off the Bearcats’ two-run fifth inning with a home run. Lucas Burt had a triple and John Scott drove in a pair of runs.

Melder, Neshannock’s starting pitcher, struck out 10 over 4 2/3 innings. He also had a double to go with his home run. Shaffer drove in four runs.

South Park 14, Waynesburg 1: Austin Lafferty homered and doubled, Drew Lafferty pitched a four-hitter and second-seeded South Park cruised to a 14-1 win over Waynesburg in a Class 3A first-round game at West Mifflin.

South Park (15-5) had 12 hits, including six that went for extra bases, and scored eight runs in the fourth inning. Three Waynesburg pitchers issued five walks and hit two batters.

Luke Rider doubled and drove in three runs for South park. Lincoln Pack had a triple and single for Waynesburg (5-13). Mason Switalski had two singles and an RBI.

Serra Catholic 9, Beth-Center 4: Zach Black’s two-run homer broke a 4-4 tie and propelled top-seeded and unbeaten Serra Catholic to a 9-4 victory over upset-minded Beth-Center in a Class 2A first-round game at Latrobe.

The Eagles (20-0) advance to play No. 8 Laurel in the quarterfinals on Thursday with the site and time to be determined.

“That kid is a good hitter,” Beth-Center coach Matt Sabatini said of Black. “We had him on our radar. We threw him a fastball and he caught it, and the wind helped. That was a big spot in the game.”

Beth-Center got a double by Greg Nopwasky and singles by Dom Revi, Chase Malanosky and Tyson Dingle in a three-run first inning, but the Eagles scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the inning off Bulldogs starting pitcher Ethan Varesko.

Serra eventually tied the game at 4-4 then pulled away after Black’s big blast.

“We knew they were No. 1 ranked in the state and the WPIAL but we embraced it all week,” Sabatini said of the challenge. “We scored three right away. We put pressure on them.”

Riverside 5, Chartiers-Houston 4: Riverside scored the game’s first five runs and held on to edge Chartiers-Houston 5-4 in a Class 2A first-round game at Plum.

Riverside (14-5) led 5-0 after three innings, but Chartiers-Houston (11-8) put up two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to make it a one-run game. The Bucs put a runner on base in the seventh but the rally was cut short by a double play.

Losing pitcher Ryan Prise had a triple and drove in two runs. Jake Mele and Justus Buckingham each drove in a run.

In other games: Class A Section 2 champion West Greene rolled to an 8-1 victory over Western Beaver in a first-round game at Peterswood Park Tuesday night. Shenango eliminated Fort Cherry 10-0 in a Class 2A first-round game at Chippewa Park. South Fayette also was a 10-0 winner over Franklin Regional in a Class 5A game at Burkett Park. OLSH defeated jefferson-Morgan 12-2 in a five-inning Class A game at Peterswood Park. No game details were available at press time.