Anyone expecting a pitchers’ duel between No. 10 South Fayette and No. 2 Penn-Trafford would have been disappointed.
The two teams put on an offensive display. South Fayette pounded out 17 hits and Penn-Trafford 12.
For the second consecutive game, R.J. Borgesi drove in the winning run as South Fayette outscored Penn-Trafford, 11-10, in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal at West Mifflin.
The Lions (13-9) will face Thomas Jefferson, a 3-2 winner against Bethel Park, in the semifinals Thursday at a site and time to be determined.
Penn-Trafford ends the season at 16-6.
“That is a good-hitting team, and we made some mistakes that aided them,” Penn-Trafford coach Lou Cortazzo said. “We battled back after that home run and showed our resiliency.”
The winning run was aided by two Penn-Trafford errors in the top of the seventh inning. Bo Stover singled and moved to third on two throwing errors and scored on Borgesi’s hit.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Kule Grabowski reached on a walk but was picked off by catcher Cody Bungert. Relief pitcher Evan Mizia was able to get the final two batters to end the thrilling contest.
The game was a see-saw affair as both teams exchanged leads.
South Fayette grabbed a 10-6 lead in the top of the fifth inning when Bungert hit a grand slam. An inning earlier, the Warriors snatched a 6-5 lead when Logan Matrisch hit a two-run homer.
“He had a few blunders that gave them some unearned runs,” Cortazzo said. “That is the difference when you do not make the routine plays and get the outs. It is the playoffs, and the pressure is a lot higher.”
The Warriors never quit. They tied the score 10-10 in the bottom of the sixth inning on a three-run triple by catcher Colton Tyburski and an RBI single by Bryce Ruby.
Neither starting pitcher, Penn-Trafford’s Aiden Drotos and South Fayette’s Trey Skeen, was sharp.
Even the relief pitchers for both teams struggled.
Skeen and Luca Gioia had three hits each for the Lions. Ruby had three hits for the Warriors.