Latrobe took a break from the stress of a section title chase, but that didn’t stop the Wildcats from chasing a different title.
Latrobe made its regular trek to Altoona to play in the two-day Altoona Curve Classic.
With three wins and no losses last weekend, the Wildcats (16-2) won the championship. They defeated Juniata Valley (16-2, five innings), Forest Hills (5-4) and Mifflin County (5-3), with the latter two wins coming on the same day at Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of the Curve, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A affiliate.
Latrobe’s Cole Short was named MVP of the event.
“We have been doing this for a very long time, with a gap off for a few years,” Latrobe coach Matt Basciano said. “In the last few years, it has worked out great because it was our off week (from section play).
“This year was really encouraging because we saw some really good teams and great pitching. Moving forward, we are going to see great teams and pitching, so that was good to see.”
Latrobe has made a habit of winning one-run games this season. A 6-5 win at Armstrong when the Wildcats came back from Altoona was their fifth victory by a single run.
“Also, we won a couple different ways,” Basciano said of the trip to Altoona. “We talk about having that experience because you are going to be in games like that down the road and now having that experience to fall back on.
“It is a great experience all around. Getting the kids on a little road trip — playoffs can be distanced like that — getting them on an amazing field like that, and also a guaranteed two games. Also, (Curve director) Ed (Moffett) and the Curve are a great organization and a pleasure to deal with. We look forward to going up and seeing him and knowing it will be an amazing experience every year they have us.”
Senior day
Not many teams can boast about college-level talent like Norwin.
The Knights have 13 seniors on this year’s roster, and nine of them are committed to play baseball at Division I, II or III.
The college commits are Derek Berger (West Liberty), Aiden Catterall (Westminster), Ryan Helphenstine (Saint Vincent), Jake Howard (Penn State Greater Allegheny), Jayden Marcius (Lackawanna), Zane Markovitz (Bethany), Liam O’Donnell (Geneva), Matt O’Neil (Mercyhurst) and Caden Sivrich (Pitt).
Tristyn Tavares is committed to Cal (Pa.) for football.
Playoff teams
The WPIAL playoff pairings are set to be announced next Friday.
The local field is just about set. Qualifiers are: Norwin and Hempfield in Class 6A; Belle Vernon, Valley and Derry in 4A; Mt. Pleasant in 3A; and Greensburg Central Catholic in A.
Rank and file
Five Westmoreland County teams made this week’s TribLive HSSN rankings.
Norwin held on to the No. 5 spot in 6A, while Latrobe remained No. 3 in 5A and Valley jumped to the No. 5 position in 4A, joining No. 4 Belle Vernon, which moved up one spot.
Greensburg Central Catholic was still No. 2 in Class A.
Making their pitch
Two local pitchers put together impressive performances in leading their teams to wins this week.
Penn-Trafford left-hander Aiden Drotos struck out a season-high 15 and allowed three hits on a 13-1 win over Kiski Area.
Miles Smith of Ligonier Valley, meanwhile, struck out 11 in a two-hit shutout as the Rams beat Southmoreland, 6-0.
Around the bases
Knoch pitcher Zane Pacek was 7 for 7 against Derry. No, he didn’t have seven hits. He is 7-feet tall and struck out seven hitters. … Tyler Samide not only pitched a four-inning no-hitter with nine strikeouts, but he homered and drove in five runs in Greensburg Central Catholic’s 18-0 win over West Greene. … Belle Vernon is averaging 9.7 runs per game. … Yough and Ligonier Valley were tied for fourth in Section 3-3A and jockeying for the final playoff spot. … There were three undefeated teams in the WPIAL: Freeport (14-0), Fort Cherry (14-0) and GCC (10-0). … Luke Williams of Franklin Regional was leading Westmoreland County in hitting with a .528 average and had the top spot in runs with 30. … Tim Pirone of Franklin Regional had the county lead in RBIs with 25.