Pine-Richland silences Bethel Park Rams’ pitching continues to make difference in drive to 6A title game
Pine-Richland pitchers have been lights out this season.
That dominance continued Wednesday, sending the Rams to the WPIAL Class 6A championship.
Matt Schietroma and Josh Scherer combined to shut out Bethel Park, 6-0, in a semifinal at Shaler.
Pine-Richland (17-4), the No. 2 seed, will try to win its second title in three years when it meets No. 1 PennTrafford (18-3) in the final next week.
Schietroma nearly went the distance against Bethel Park (15-4), scattering six hits over 6 1/3 innings. Scherer recorded the final two outs.
Pine-Richland has given up eight runs in its last eight games and has surrendered an average of 2.1 per game this season.
The Rams got all the offense they needed in the first inning. Josh Johnson and Scherer highlighted the three-run first with RBI singles. Troy LaNeve hit an RBI single in the fourth and Matt Wood added another in the fifth.
Class 5A
Shaler 8, Mars 2: Colton Schott and Will Jamison both drove in a pair of runs to lift Shaler (14-7) to the win against Mars (12-9) at Pullman Park. Nick Rispoli earned the complete-game win. The Titans scored four runs in the first.
Laurel Highlands 4, Franklin Regional 1: Laurel Highlands (14-6) advanced to its first final after eliminating No. 2 Franklin Regional (17-2) at West Mifflin. Kaleb Scott broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run single in the fifth. Justin Brestensky was the winning pitcher.
Class 4A
Blackhawk 4, New Castle 3: Marco Borello’s walk-off single allowed Blackhawk (164) to defeat New Castle (1010) at Shaler. New Castle held a 3-1 lead before the Cougars got RBI singles by Borello and Ray Knallay in the fifth.
Beaver 7, Yough 2: After being held scoreless for six innings, Beaver (13-7) scored seven in the seventh to upset No. 2 Yough (14-6) at Washington & Jefferson. Vinny Mastrangelo’s bases-loaded walk gave the Bobcats the lead and Alec Berg followed with a three-run triple.
Class 3A
Steel Valley 5, Freeport 3: Top-seed Freeport (14-6) scored three in the first, but Steel Valley (12-8) rallied to score five in the fifth to grab the win at Fox Chapel. Joe Kraft hit a solo home run and Terevon Harris had a two-run single.
Hopewell 6, Keystone Oaks 1: Roman Gill pitched a complete game, giving up just five hits, to help Hopewell (15-5) take down Keystone Oaks (14-5) at Boyce Mayview Park. Hopewell’s four-run fifth was highlighted by Anthony Slate’s two-run single.
Class 2A
Seton LaSalle 5, Laurel 4: Trevor O’Donnell’s walk-off single vaulted Seton LaSalle (18-2) past Laurel (12-7) at Burkett Complex. It was the third one-run win of the playoffs for the Rebels, who got two hits and two RBIs from Brett Wagner.
Serra Catholic 4, Neshannock 1: Serra (19-2) snapped a 1-1 tie by scoring three runs in the sixth to topple Neshannock (18-3) at North Allegheny. Winning pitcher Pat Brennan went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Serra slugger Mark Black was intentionally walked three times.
Class 1A
Union 6, Vincentian 1: Union (15-3) avenged a loss in last year’s final by beating defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Vincentian (12-4) at Seneca Valley. Winning pitcher Rob King tossed a complete game. Sean Louis and Brayden Porter had two RBIs apiece.
California 3, Quigley Catholic 1: Nathan Zemany pitched a complete game and struck out seven to lift No. 1 California (17-1) to the win