Apr 9, 2025 5 min read

Veteran Jefferson-Morgan head coach John Curtis received a Gatorade bath on a chilly Wednesday afternoon and he didn’t even complain.

That’s because Jefferson-Morgan shut out previously undefeated Avella 3-0 in a Class A Section 1 game played in Jefferson.

It was also the 400th career victory for Curtis, who has been the Rockets’ head coach since the 1981 season.

During the more than 600 baseball games Curtis has coached, there have been only a few times when J-M executed as well as it did Wednesday. The Rockets Drew Adams threw a four-hit shutout and worked out of a bases-loaded, no-outs situation in the sixth inning. Avella had three consecutive singles to start the inning before two popouts and a groundout ended the threat.

Adams walked one and struck out three.

J-M’s Brayden Ellsworth drove in two runs and Jaymison Robinson doubled and scored twice.

The win makes J-M is 2-3 in section and 3-3 overall. Avella falls to 4-1, 8-1.

Belle Vernon 12, Laurel Highlands 4

Undefeated Belle Vernon took a shutout into the seventh inning and defeated host Laurel Highlands 12-4 in Class 4A Section 2.

Parker Lind struck out eight over 5 2-3 shutout innings and Cole Matusik doubled and tripled to lead Belle Vernon (6-0, 8-0). Kole Doppelheuer tripled and drove in three, and Lucas Judy had a double and drove in three.

Waynesburg 6, Washington 2

Austin Surber struck out 10 over 3 2-3 hitless innings of relief, sparking undefeated Waynesburg to a 6-2 victory over visiting Washington in Class 3A Section 4.

Derek Turcheck went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI to lead the Raiders’ hitters. Jarrett Tretinik drove in a pair of runs.

Caleb Patton had a double for Wash High, which trailed 3-2 in the fifth.

Chartiers-Houston 18, Bentworth 8

Chartiers-Houston pounded out 21 hits and defeated Bentworth 18-8 in Class 2A Section 1.

Chartiers-Houston trailed 2-1 before scoring seven times in the third inning. Bentworth answered with six in the fourth, but C-H put the game out of reach with an eight-run fifth.

Paul Williamson went 4-for-4 with four RBI to lead the Bucs at the plate. Aaron Walsh was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, J.J. Livingston had three hits and four RBI, and Justus Buckingham doubled.

Ben Hays doubled for Bentworth.

South Fayette 9, Bethel Park 2

Connor Rynn and reliever Ray Schuler scattered eight hits and South Fayette picked up a key win in Class 5A Section 2, defeating Bethel Park, 9-2.

Bo Stover, Cody Bungert and Chaz Kosko each drove in three runs for the Lions (4-1, 7-2). Bungert and Brayden Harris doubled.

South Fayette led 3-2 before scoring six times in the fifth inning.

Fort Cherry 13, Frazier 4

Winning pitcher Connor Temple and Tyler Wolfe each hit a home run and combined for eight RBI, powering Fort Cherry to a 13-4 win over Frazier in Class 2A Section 1.

Temple was 4-for-5 with a home run, double and three RBI. Wolfe finished with five RBI, three on a home run.

The Rangers sealed the win by scoring six times in the top of the seventh.

California 10, Beth-Center 6

Kaden Weston had four hits, Weston Monticelli drove in three runs and California held off Beth-Center 10-6 for a two-game sweep in Class 2A Section 1.

Winning pitcher Caden Monticelli pitched into the seventh inning and helped his cause by hitting a double. Logan Hartley also doubled for the Trojans (3-0, 3-3), who remain unbeaten in the section.

West Greene 11-14, Mapletown 2-3

West Greene swept a Class A Section 1 doubleheader from Mapletown, 11-2 and 14-3 in five innings.

West Greene scored seven times in the seventh to win the opener.

Hunter Hamilton fired a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts and only one walk in the nightcap. Lane Allison hit a double in each game.

Ringgold 11-10, Albert Gallatin 0-0

Ringgold swept a Class 4A Section 2 twinbill from Albert Gallatin, 11-0 and 10-0. The Rams allowed only one hit over the two games.

Ashton Mincin threw a five-inning perfect game in the opener, striking out five.

McGuffey 5, Charleroi 4

McGuffey forged a three-run lead in the middle innings and held off Charleroi 5-4 to sweep the Class 3A Section 4 series.

The Highlanders (3-1, 6-3) took advantage of five errors by Charleroi (3-2, 4-3).

Winning pitcher Brogan Meighen pitched into the seventh inning, when Charleroi scored two runs. Cam Dames got the final out for a save.

Upper St. Clair 6, Trinity 2

Upper St. Clair used a pair of three-run innings to beat Trinity 6-2 in Class 5A Section 2.

USC (2-2, 4-3) led 3-0 before Trinity (2-4, 3-5) scored on RBI singles by Karson Hathaway and Derek Falvo in the sixth. The Panthers, however, scored three times in the bottom of the inning.

Canon-McMillan 4, Norwin 3

Alex Shank hit a two-run homer and Seb Shulsky struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings as Canon-McMillan defeated Norwin 4-3 in a Class 6A game played Wednesday night at Gateway.

Shank also had a sacrifice fly and finished with three RBI. M.J. Maruschak got the final two outs for a save.