Canon-McMillan tops N. Allegheny in quarterfinals

Weston walked five and hit one batter against North Allegheny, but he still was a key to the WPIAL champs winning for the 11th time in 12 games. Weston struck out four.

So what in the world made Canon-McMillan coach Tim Bruzdewicz move Weston-ward?

“We had other options,” Bruzdewicz said. “But the bottom line is Cam Weston is just a flat-out stud. The second after we won our [PIAA first-round] game, I said to him, ‘I’m not even thinking about this. It’s your ball next. Go out and get it done.’

“I just felt that North Allegheny had some guys who can’t handle the fastball. He was iffy, but he’s a battler. The biggest thing about him is, even when things are going awry, he’s still focused. He has a great makeup.”

Weston threw only four pitches in the top of the first and Canon-McMillan staked him to a 4-0 lead in the bottom half. But Weston certainly had his shaky moments. North Allegheny (14-12), which lost to Canon-McMillan in the WPIAL final, loaded the bases in the second but did not score. Weston walked two in the fourth and North Allegheny scored twice to make it 4-2. But CanonMcMillan answered with two runs in the top of the fifth against starter Caiden Wood.

“It’s still a whiteknuckle ride with Cam at times and he’s a work in progress, but we’re getting there,” Bruzdewicz said. “He’s going to be fine. ... I thought his forkball was filthy nasty today.”

Weston also used his bat to help himself. He hit a two-run double in the first and a run-scoring single in the fifth. Leadoff hitter Brandon Kline was 2 for 4 and scored two runs and Ian Hess had an RBI double and a sacrifice fly.

Weston wasn’t totally satisfied with his pitching performance but said, “I’ve been struggling to find the zone all year. Relieving has worked better for me. A win is a win. Two hits and three runs? Not bad.”

For North Allegheny, it was yet another subpar offensive game, something that plagued the Tigers often this season.

“The frustrating part for me is through the season, you always feel like you’re working on the right stuff, and the offense just never really showed up,” North Allegheny coach Andrew Heck said.

“You kept waiting for that game. We had a little bit of the same issues last year, but the bats came around in the playoffs.”

North Allegheny’s Brett Loughner scores against Canon-McMillan in the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals Thursday at Seton Hill University. Canon-McMillan beat North Allegheny, 6-3.

Canon-McMillan’s Noah Burke narrowly beats the tag from North Allegheny first baseman Anthony Hattrup.