Two consecutive days of superb pitching and defense are a lot to ask of any high school baseball team, especially one facing the stiff winds of a section-title chase.
But Penn-Trafford is starting to realize those are the things that put it in this position to start. And those are the things that could take it a long way in the postseason.
Behind a flawless two-hitter from junior left-hander Aiden Drotos and an error-free defensive effort, the Warriors clinched the Section 1-5A title with a 2-0 victory over Franklin Regional on Tuesday at Haymaker Park in Murrysville.
Penn-Trafford’s victory coupled with Latrobe’s win over Plum later Tuesday gave the Warriors their first outright section title since 2019 and fourth title in seven seasons.
“If you’re going to peak, now is the time to peak,” said coach Lou Cortazzo, whose Warriors (14-5, 10-2) have won seven of eight after the sweep.
The Warriors had to wait for the result of the night game between Plum at Latrobe to decide whether they would be outright or co-section champs. Latrobe (17-3, 9-3) beat Plum (16-3, 9-3), 5-1.
Franklin Regional (13-6, 7-5), which has dropped three of four, finished fourth in the section but is also headed to the playoffs.
“We made the plays again,” Cortazzo said. “The plays we needed to make. We need to keep doing those things if we want to win a WPIAL championship. Aiden kept their good hitters off balance, and guys were good behind him. I said it before: (Franklin Regional) has some good hitters.”
Drotos, who committed to Penn State earlier this week, needed only 73 pitches to post his third win of the season. He surrendered a pair of singles, struck out four and walked one.
“We started the season slow but came through some tough times,” Drotos said. “We’re getting hot at the right time. It’s been efficiency. Our defense has been solid.”
The previous day, senior Dom Delio pitched a three-hit shutout, and the Warriors’ outfield was a no-fly zone with 11 putouts as Penn-Trafford won 6-0.
In the rematch, senior leadoff man Nico Casciato went 3 for 4, missing the cycle by a home run, and scored both runs to lead the offense.
If Drotos was the accelerant, Casciato was the spark.
Casciato led off the game with a triple to right field and scored on senior Zach Feldman’s groundout for a 1-0 lead.
“Nico is seeing the ball very well,” Cortazzo said.
Both teams had a double play spoil their ups in the second inning, and the Warriors left two on against Panthers sophomore starter Liam Bernadowski, who went 4 2/3 innings, in the third.
Feldman, the shortstop, made two tough scoops in the third, with senior first baseman Bryce Ruby picking both one-hop deliveries.
“You have to tip your cap to any team that doesn’t have to go to the bullpen,” said Franklin Regional coach Bobby Saddler, a Penn-Trafford alum. “Drotos had his ‘A’ stuff, and they made play after play again. (Drotos) didn’t help us create offense. He commanded the zone with his fastball.”
With Drotos cruising, the Warriors scored again in the fifth. With two outs and Casciato at third after a double and a groundout, senior Logan Matrisch walked.
Saddler pulled Bernadowski, who works on limited, pitch-count outings, for junior Anthony Mitchell.
Though Mitchell was effective working from a quick stretch, he surrendered a single to sophomore Tanner DeStefano, who found daylight past senior shortstop Luke Williams to score Casciato.
Williams, the Vanderbilt commit who again had an audience of MLB scouts watching, finished 0 for 3 with two strikeouts against Drotos in a good-on-good matchup.
The scouts, inadvertently or on purpose, got to catch a glimpse of Drotos, who hopes to be a draft candidate next year.
“(Williams) is a good dude. I know him, and we’ve talked,” Drotos said. “I just wanted to treat him like just any other guy and fill it up.”
Drotos said he worked mainly with a fastball, slider, change-up combination.
Franklin Regional made a slight rustle with two outs in the fifth. Sophomore Dillon Porado walked, and senior Tyler Quinn hit a line-drive single to right to get Porado to third.
But Drotos quickly worked out of it as he got junior Tommy Veruggio to ground out.
Both teams went quietly in the last two innings before Casciato made a running catch to end it and trigger high-fives and daps.
“I thought our approach at the plate was very good,” Saddler said. “We just couldn’t get anything going. That’s baseball. You’re going to fail more than you succeed. Our guys are going to keep working.”
Bernadowski struck out five and gave up just as many hits, and Mitchell allowed one hit and struck out three in 2 1/3 innings.
“We’re right where we want to be, but we have to keep working,” Cortazzo said.
Penn-Trafford has one game left Thursday at Central Catholic.
Franklin Regional hosts Norwin on Friday for its senior day. It will be the final game at Haymaker Park in the current iteration. The longtime venue will undergo a $10 million renovation in June that includes full-field artificial turf and a new press box.