Norwin baseball coach Craig Spisak did not blink in the top of the seventh inning when Mt. Lebanon loaded the bases with one out and his team clinging to a one-run lead.
That’s because he trusted senior pitcher Jake Knight would get the job done.
Knight struck out the final two batters, and Norwin defeated Mt. Lebanon, 2-1, on Thursday to win two of three in Section 2-6A baseball series. The Knights (12-6, 8-4) finished tied with Canon-McMillan for first place in the section standings but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“Jake has had some very good outings this season as a first-year starter,” Spisak said. “He has taken the role as a starter very well.
“He was very gritty on the mound. He threw strikes and got ahead of a lot of hitters and had movement on his pitches.”
Mt. Lebanon (12-6, 7-5) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a home run by Ben Kraemer.
Norwin tied the score off Mt. Lebanon ace and Vanderbilt recruit Graham Keen when Tristyn Taveras homered over the left-field fence in the fourth inning.
“When Tristyn hit the home run, it our kids the confidence that we could win this game,” Spisak said. “It took Mt. Lebanon back a step. Then we got great bunt and a big hit in the fifth.”
The winning run came in the fifth when Ethan McMullen was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Pinch runner Tristen Cole moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dante Marino and scored on a double by Trevor Vitsas.
Knight allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked three. Keen allowed three hits, fanned four and walked three.
“Getting this win feels great,” Knight said. “The mindset at the end, you must have that dog in you. You must have that confidence and you have to trust every one of your fielders. When you have that confidence, it is hard to stop.”
Allderdice 9, Keystone Oaks 0 – Lukas Stead and Chris Graves each collected two hits and two RBIs, Brendan Stecik doubled and knocked in a run and Niv Friedman tossed five shutout innings and gave up three hits for the win as Allderdice (8-10) blanked Keystone Oaks (7-9) in nonsection play.
Avonworth 8, Mars 4 – Newton Coffey drove in three runs, Cooper Scharding went 3 for 4 with an RBI and Sam Hustwik and Carson Franc each doubled and plated a run as Avonworth (15-5) defeated Mars (6-11) in nonsection play. Tyler Renneneck smashed a solo home run for the Fightin’ Planets. Patrick Bykowski picked up the win for the Antelopes.
Butler 7, Seneca Valley 6 – Boden Lenyk clubbed a solo home run in the top of the eighth and Section 1-6A champ Butler (15-3, 10-2) held on in the bottom of the frame to defeat Seneca Valley (10-10, 5-7). Ryan Rattigan and Mavrik Clement each drove in two runs, Trent Best plated another and Jacob Szbalskie got the win for the Golden Tornado. Jaxten Plunkard finished with three RBIs for the Raiders.
California 3, Brownsville 1 – Landon Abercrombie drove in a run and Logan Hartley earned a win for California (11-6) in nonsection play. Cooper Cetero doubled for Brownsville (3-12), which outhit the Trojans 7-1.
Central Catholic 11, South Fayette 0 – Landon Greene doubled and drove in four runs while CJ Proch and Jack Conley each doubled and plated a run as Central Catholic (8-10) blanked South Fayette (10-7) in nonsection play. Trey Skeen had a hit for the Lions. Austin Quinlan got the win for the Vikings.
Fox Chapel 10, Shady Side Academy 0 – Drew Moyer threw a six-inning no-hitter, striking out eight, to lead Fox Chapel (10-6) to a nonsection victory over Shady Side Academy (9-7). Milan Fluhme went 2 for 2 with a double and an RBI and Tristan Blum, Morgan O’Brien and Joe Geller each had a single and an RBI for the Foxes.
Hempfield 7, Woodland Hills 0 – Alex Waitkus struck out nine in a two-hit complete game shutout as Hempfield (10-9, 7-5) beat Woodland Hills (5-12, 0-12) in Section 2-6A. Ian Kovalcik and Evan Dunlap each had two RBIs, Grady Wheaton doubled twice and drove in a run and Owen Shuglie doubled and plated a run for the Spartans. Aaron Concepcion doubled for the Wolverines.
Highlands 6, Freedom 5 – Troy Bielak, Aiden Cale and Luke Hewitt each singled and drove in a run while William Singer got the win and Beckham Ochoa picked up a save as Highlands (5-13) beat Freedom (7-9) in nonsection play. Zach Kuntz doubled and drove in two runs for the Bulldogs.
Jefferson-Morgan 7, Washington 1 – Jaymison Robinson went 2 for 4 with a pair of triples and three RBIs and winning pitcher Drew Adams gave up one run on six hits and struck out four as Jefferson-Morgan (9-8) thumped Washington (8-10) in nonsection play. Isaac Charnik doubled and drove in a run for the Prexies.
Mohawk 2, Sharpsville 0 – Vinny Pezzuolo hit a two-run home run while winning pitcher Adam Deal gave up two hits and fanned four in a complete-game shutout for Mohawk (13-4) in a nonsection win. Jared Bissell doubled for Sharpsville.
Montour 6, Central Valley 4 – Caleb Armbruster went 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs and Tyler Puffer had a single and two RBIs to lead Montour (12-5) to a nonsection win. Will Ciucci had a single, double and RBI for Central Valley (4-12).
Moon 4, Hampton 3 – Nick Machusko slapped a walk-off single in the eighth inning to lift Moon (14-3) past Hampton (9-8) in nonsection play. Machusko finished 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and Carter Posey got a win for the Tigers. Brody Bruce-Fritz doubled and knocked in a run for the Talbots.
Neshannock 14, Springfield (OH) 4 – Nathan Rickel went 2 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs, Mason Moroz doubled and knocked in three and Antonio Quahliero doubled twice and drove in two to lead Neshannock (15-2) to a nonsection win. Cooper Ensley doubled and brought home a run for Springfield. Hayden Tatterson and Luca Pagley each had an RBI and Cole Hutchison got the win for the Lancers.
Northern Garrett (Md.) 11, Albert Gallatin 0 – Jake Wampler went 4⅔ innings, allowed one hit and struck out five while Jacob Chambers doubled and had two RBIs and Hunter Livengood doubled and plated a run as Northern Garrett blanked Albert Gallatin (1-16) in nonsection play. Cole Smith had the Colonials’ only hit.
North Hills 6, North Allegheny 1 – Tino Volpe had two hits and two runs scored, Liam Connolly singled and knocked in two runs and Austin Ellis struck out seven in 6⅓ innings to lead North Hills (3-15, 2-10) to a Section 1-6A win. Ryan Evanish went 3 for 3 and scored a run for North Allegheny (11-6, 8-4).
OLSH 4, Union 3 – Down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Ryan DeNinno singled in two runs with two outs to help OLSH (12-5) past Union (6-10) in nonsection play. Colton Cox and Cole Harper each drove in a run for the Scotties. Dean Douglass picked up a win for the Chargers.
Pine-Richland 7, Knoch 0 – Logan Plummer threw six one-hit innings, striking out 11, and went 3 for 4 with two doubles and an RBI to lead Pine-Richland (12-5) to a nonsection win. Austin Cwynar tripled twice and drove in two runs and Cooper Stiscak singled, tripled and knocked in a run for the Rams. Dante Pelloni had the lone hit for Knoch (12-6).
Quaker Valley 11, Sewickley Academy 9 – Holden Kirkham slugged a home run and drove in two runs, Michael Semonik went 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs and Henry Zupanc doubled and knocked in a run for Quaker Valley (7-7) in a nonsection win. David Young brought home a pair of runs for Sewickley Academy (8-6). Kolton Johnson got the win and Damien McClay picked up a save for the Quakers.
South Allegheny 8, Bishop Canevin 1 – Liam Fonner went 3 for 3 with a double and a pair of RBIs and Fischer Lelase and Trey Carpenter each doubled and knocked in a run to lead South Allegheny (8-9) to a nonsection win. Jamin Brock had two hits for Bishop Canevin (5-11). Adam Jackowski got the win for the Gladiators.
Thomas Jefferson 10, Elizabeth Forward 2 – Colin Pearson yielded one unearned run on one hit and struck out nine while Justin Fry and Andy Brnusak each knocked in two runs as Thomas Jefferson (14-4) beat Elizabeth Forward (11-6) in nonsection play. JB Crovak doubled twice for the Warriors. Bryce Butler went 2 for 3 with an RBI for the Jaguars.
Upper St. Clair 10, Obama Academy 0 – Nolan Wilson doubled and drove in four runs, Cooper Stutzman tripled and had two RBIs and winning pitcher Aaron Goettler tossed five shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out four, as Upper St. Clair (8-7) throttled Obama Academy (11-4) in a nonsection matchup. James Lozecki had the Eagles’ only hit.
Western Beaver 7, Steel Valley 3 – Sawyer Chaffee doubled and brought home two runs while Vinny Ross and winning pitcher Christian Stefankis each plated a run to lead Western Beaver (10-2) to a nonsection win. Immanuel Owens homered and drove in two runs for Steel Valley (5-12).
Softball
Baldwin 5, Montour 4 – Jordan Gerendash hit a two-run single in the top of the seventh for Baldwin (14-4) in a nonsection win. Reese Temme went 2 for 3 with a double and RBI for the Highlanders. Emily McClean had two hits for Montour (9-6).
Fox Chapel 10, Deer Lakes 3 – Giuliana Foley hit a solo home run and grand slam and Jillian Haigh doubled and homered twice to lead Fox Chapel (12-5) to a nonsection win. Kaylee Pryor went 2 for 3 with two RBIs for Deer Lakes (7-10).
Jeannette 17, Ellis School 2 – Grace Stein went 2 for 2 with a double, triple and five RBIs, Peyton Pitzer went 2 for 2 with a double and two RBis and Gianna Casino singled and drove in three runs to lead Jeannette (8-3, 6-2) to a Section 3-A win over Ellis School (0-8, 0-7).
Jefferson-Morgan 6, Waynesburg 4 – Gabby Marmie went 3 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs and Ava Wood went 4 for 5 with a double for Jefferson-Morgan (13-5) in a nonsection win. Gina Tedrow struck out 14 and Ellie Makel homered for Waynesburg (6-8).
Karns City 5, Butler 3 – Ronni Rakaker had a double, home run and four RBIs for Karns City in a nonsection win. Kyra Olivares went 4 for 4 with a double and two RBIs for Butler (1-16).
Neshannock 2, Armstrong 1 – Gianna DeSalvo hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh for Neshannock (10-5) in a nonsection win. Isabel Prazenica singled and drove in a run for Armstrong (11-7). Gianna Paglia earned the win, giving up one run on six hits.
Plum 18, West Mifflin 5 – Jaiden Gentile went 3 for 3 with a double, home run and three RBIs, Brooke Bernosky went 2 for 3 with a home run and five RBIs and Makenzie Marotta went 4 for 4 with a double and three RBIs to lead Plum (13-4) to a nonsection win. Aubrey Jaskulski went 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs for West Mifflin (12-6).
South Range (OH) 3, Mohawk 2 – Solena DeJesus had a double and three RBIs for South Range in a nonsection win. Brooklyn Moskal and Mylie Pistorius drove in a run apiece for Mohawk (13-3).
Trinity 8, Canon-McMillan 2 – Ally Krenzelak had two singles and two RBIs and Nina Christy, Gabby Humphreys and Alexa Zawacki doubled for Trinity (16-3) in a nonsection win. Addy Jordan went 2 for 3 with an RBI for Canon-McMillan (7-9).
Upper St. Clair 7, Peters Township 3 – Nora Stutzman went 4 for 4 with a double and home run and Caroline Barnard had a single, double and two RBIs to lead Upper St. Clair (8-7) to a nonsection win. Addie Brunette singled and drove in two runs for Peters Township (5-12).
Yough 10, Brownsville 0 – Jaidyn Vay threw a five-inning two-hit shutout and went 2 for 3 with two doubles and four RBIs while Kylee Fisher went 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs to lead Yough (13-6) to a nonsection win over Brownsville (9-6).
Boys lacrosse
Plum 9, West Allegheny 2 – Jack Majcher recorded a hat trick, and Shane Jenkins scored twice to lead Plum (9-7) to a nonsection victory. Colby Burch got the win in goal. James Beall, Matthew Amen, Noah Madden and Vinny Barclay also scored for Plum, which secured the first winning season in program history.
Girls lacrosse
Mars 21, Freeport 1 – Anna McGrath scored five goals, Tess McGrath finished with three goals and four assists and Hailey Long also scored three goals to lead Mars to a Section 2-2A win. Katie Blake, Ella DePaoli and Reanna Schmitt each added two goals for the Fightin’ Planets. Jocelynn Johns scored for Freeport.
Boys volleyball
Derry 3, Summit Academy 0; Derry 3, Summit Academy 0 – Derry secured a sweep in a rare boys volleyball doubleheader in Section 2-2A. In the first game, Caden Marsh, William Stockett-Harter and Jaiden Beeman had six kills each, Landon Campbell had 21 assists and 10 aces and John Kerin added 20 digs for the Trojans. In the second game, Marsh had 13 kills and nine aces, Stockett-Harter and Kerin each added seven kills, Brennan Borbonus had 16 digs and Zane Elzafraney had 12 digs.
Penn-Trafford 3, Norwin 1 – Ethan McDonald had 20 kills, Matthew Eguaoje finished with 14 kills and Billy Spena had 44 assists and four aces to lead Penn-Trafford to a Section 3-3A win.