Plum and Franklin Regional are known for having one of the more competitive rivalries in all of WPIAL baseball.
But the Mustangs made sure they established themselves as the superior team this season with a Section 1-5A series sweep that upped their section-leading record to 9-1 and helped them remain hot as the WPIAL playoffs approach.
The wins over the Panthers extended Plum’s winning streak to seven since its only loss in section play to that point, a 5-2 setback to Penn-Trafford on April 9. Franklin Regional fell to 6-4 in the section.
The Mustangs hoped to keep up their momentum toward the end of section play with a nonsection matchup with rival Gateway on Friday, May 2. That game led up to a monster series against Latrobe on Monday and Tuesday, May 5 and 6, that helped decide the section title.
The Wildcats set themselves up for a shot at section gold with a sweep of Armstrong last week which put them in a second-place tie with Penn-Trafford at 8-2.
Latrobe started its season 2-3 but then began a streak which saw it win 12 of 13 through the pair of victories over the River Hawks.
Plum last year ended in a four-way tie for the Section 1-5A title as it finished a wild race at 9-3 with Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional and Fox Chapel.
The Mustangs are set to conclude the regular season Thursday with a nonsection home matchup against Hempfield.
They then will find out their playoff fate as the WPIAL baseball committee meets Friday to set the brackets for the six classifications. Plum’s first playoff matchup could be as early as Monday.
Plum, Latrobe, Penn-Trafford and Franklin Regional have clinched the four playoff spots from Section 1.
Game 1 – Plum 12, Franklin Regional 5
Plum faced early deficits of 1-0 and 3-2 but was unfazed as the Mustangs were able to rally to a tie with a run in the fifth and pull away with three in the sixth and six more in the seventh.
“We clearly did not execute as well early. It was a tight game, then we opened things up,” Plum coach Carl Vollmer said. “We were facing a good arm, but we finally broke through.”
Plum pitcher Braden Kemmerer worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth inning to keep the score tied 3-3.
He pitched six complete and gave up five hits and two walks while striking out six. The three runs FR scored while he was on the mound were earned.
Plum went ahead in the sixth on a two-run double from Timmy Ruggiero and an RBI single from Jake Dombkowski.
Dombkowski returned to the plate in the seventh and crushed a two-run homer as part of the Mustangs’ six-run uprising. Enzo Mele added a two-run single in the frame as Plum provided comfort to the relief efforts of Dombkowski, who grinded his way through a seventh inning which saw the Panthers collect two hits and two walks and put a pair of runs on the board.
But with runners on first and second, Dombkowski ended the game with a strikeout.
“Once we were able to get into their ‘pen, we were able to do some damage,” Vollmer said.
Dombkowski, Connor Wilson and Daniel Macioce each finished with two hits for the Mustangs who collected 10 hits as a team.
Game 2 – Plum 7, Franklin Regional 2
Max Vollmer came up big for the Mustangs in the series finale as he tallied five RBIs with a bases-clearing triple in the first inning and a two-run triple in the fourth.
Plum scored four runs in the first and three more in the fourth. The game was called and declared final after the fifth when the severe storms rolled into the area.
In addition to Max Vollmer’s big game, Dombkowski’s hitting success carried over, as he went 2 for 3 with two runs scored.
Macioce and Mele both doubled as part of Plum’s seven-hit attack, and Ruggiero singled and scored twice.
The four-run first inning helped starter Michael Tedrick settle in on the mound. He surrendered two hits and walked one while striking out five batters in five innings.
The 19 runs in the two games against FR gave the Mustangs 94 through 10 section games and 121 through 16 games overall (14-2).
Staff writer Paul Schofield contributed.