May 19, 2026 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

Falling behind the top-seeded team in the WPIAL after only four batters in the bottom of the first inning is usually enough to break an ordinary team.

Trailing the top-seeded team by two runs with two outs in the seventh inning is typically too much for an average team to overcome.

What we’ve learned this postseason is the Charleroi baseball team is not average or ordinary. These Cougars are a resilient and determined bunch with a never-give-up attitude. That outlook almost enabled Charleroi to pull off the biggest upset of the WPIAL playoffs to date.

Charleroi scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday to take a stunning one-run lead over top-seeded Avonworth, before the Antelopes scored twice in the bottom of the inning, without the benefit of a hit, to pull out a 7-6 win over the upset-minded Cougars in the Class 3A quarterfinals at Ross Memorial Park.

The win sends Avonworth (17-5) on to the semifinals while Charleroi (12-10) is left to ponder how its thrilling comeback fell short.

“I thought we had this one,” Charleroi coach Luke Mollis said in disbelief.

Here’s what happened the topsy-turvy seventh:

Avonworth led 5-3 entering the final inning. Charleroi had a runner on second base with two outs, when the Cougars’ Luke Henderson singled to bring the Cougars to within 5-4. Still down to its final out, Charleroi’s Lazer Glasser singled Henderson to third base. Sophomore Jaxson Klinger then laced a single through the left side of the infield, scoring Henderson and tying the score.

Designated hitter Tristyn Woods followed with a single up the middle and Charleroi suddenly led, 6-5.

“I don’t think our guys ever thought they couldn’t beat this team or play with them,” Mollis said. “We just needed to play a clean game and we didn’t do that.”

In the bottom of the seventh, Avonworth had the bottom of its order up against Charleroi reliever Jake Corrin, who had entered in the second inning with Avonworth leading 5-2. He had shut down Avonworth only three hits through the sixth.

Corrin, however, hit two of the first three batters in the seventh with pitches, putting the potential winning run on base with one out. Following a walk that loaded the bases, a popout had Avonworth down to its final out.

An infield roller to shortstop appeared to end the game, but Avonworth’s Jayden Warman hustled and beat the toss to second base in an attempt for a forceout, allowing the tying run to score.

Nick Blackson followed with a walk to force in the winning run, and just like that Avonworth had survived, 7-6.

“Jake was hitting his spots,” Mollis said. “He was fresh. We had relied on him a lot during the season and he got a little taxed at the end of the year. Brock (Henderson) got the hot hand on the mound late and pitched the first playoff game. He wasn’t as sharp in this one.

“Jake came in and shut ’em down so that we could get back in it. He just lost the feel of his changeup, which had been his best pitch, in the last inning. I think he got a little tired.”

Charleroi forged a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on hits by Luke Henderson and Glasser and an error. Avonworth responded by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first, which included back-to-back triples by Chase Latore and Jack Dolan.

“If a team is playing their best at the end of the season, I think that’s a sign of a good team,” Mollis said. “And we did play our best down the stretch. We were just a couple of plays away.”