Clinging to a one-run lead, Latrobe considered intentionally walking Luke Williams with a runner on second and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
A conference on the mound let the Wildcats turn the idea over in their minds.
Ultimately, the risk outweighed the benefits, so reliever Aaryn Chappel went right at Williams, the Franklin Regional standout shortstop and potential high-round MLB Draft pick.
“We wanted to go after him,” Wildcats coach Matt Basciano said. “We don’t want him on first as the go-ahead run with that speed he has.”
Chappel got Williams to fly out to left to seal a 3-2 victory for newly No. 1-ranked Latrobe as the teams resumed their weather-suspended Section 1-5A game Wednesday at Haymaker Park in Murrysville.
Despite no runners after the game resumed, Latrobe (10-2, 6-2) held on and avoided a sweep — Franklin Regional (9-3, 4-2) won the opener 10-5 — as Chappel pitched 32⁄3 scoreless innings and allowed one hit.
Tyler Quinn led off the seventh with an infield single for the Panthers, and Thomas Veruggio sacrificed him to second.
After a strikeout, Chappel faced Williams, a Vanderbilt commit, who finished 1 for 4.
“I knew a lot of their kids,” Chappel said of Franklin Regional. “My friend was coming up (after Williams), and I didn’t want (Liam Bernadowski) to hit a double off me. We had to go at (Williams).”
The game resumed with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Heavy rain and lightning Tuesday forced the suspension.
Tuesday’s pitchers were not permitted to throw again by rule, so Chappel took over for the first-place Wildcats and Anthony Mitchell took the restart for the Panthers.
Aaron Gaskey earned the win, pitching 31⁄3 innings with four hits and three strikeouts.
“You have to tip your cap to Chappel,” Franklin Regional coach Bobby Saddler said. “He located his fastball really well. Latrobe is an extremely well-coached team. I hate to lose. We’ll take the 1-1 split, but we’d have loved to get two.”
The Wildcats, who took the No. 1 ranking Sunday, have won 5 of 6.
“Our guys showed a lot of heart after that loss at home,” Basciano said. “I am really proud of how they responded. It’s a new season. It’s the second half now.”
As for the No. 1 ranking?
“We don’t want to be No. 1,” Basciano said. “We like being the underdogs. And, to be honest, we’re not deserving of No. 1.”
Latrobe took a 1-0 lead in the first Tuesday on a throwing error, and Franklin Regional tied it when a run scored on a balk.
After two walks, Mason Hrubes gave Latrobe a 2-1 lead with a single in the second, and the Wildcats made it 3-1 in the third with three straight hits.
Cole Short doubled, Noah Noel singled and Joey Crimboli added a run-scoring single.
Franklin Regional cut it to 3-2 in the third when Bernadowski doubled off the fence in left and scored on a triple by Tim Pirone.
But offense was fleeting the rest of the way Tuesday and dried up Wednesday because of solid pitching and defense.
Both teams came in averaging more than eight runs.
Mitchell set down six in row in his two innings of relief, and Bernadowski pitched a scoreless seventh.
“(Franklin Regional) is a strong-hitting team,” Chappel said. “I tried to get ahead with the fastball. Losing (after getting ranked No. 1) made us mad a little bit. Being No. 1 comes with a lot of pressure. We knew there would be a target on our backs.”
Chappel retired seven in a row before issuing a walk in the sixth. But the Panthers left a runner at first.
Lucas Brazel took the loss, surrendering six hits and two earned runs in four innings.
“Offensively, the onus falls on you when you come back (after the suspension) in the bottom (inning),” Saddler said. “You want to get out from the jump. You want to come out and have a good approach and maximize at-bats.”
Quinn finished 2 for 3 for the Panthers, who had won 6 of 7 coming in.
Somehow, the field at Haymaker was playable for game time. There was some discussion about moving the game to Latrobe, which has an all-turf field.
“Our maintenance man, Harold Wallace, was incredible getting out here (early Wednesday morning) and getting the field ready,” Saddler said. “He deserves a lot of credit.”