Baseball postseason rundown: Bishop Canevin freshman Jackson Maddix fires no-hitter in first playoff start, propels reigning WPIAL Class 1A champs to quarterfinal win vs. Western Beaver

Bishop Canevin coach Bill Varley had a simple message for pitcher Jackson Maddix prior to the freshman’s first career postseason start Monday.

“Just throw strikes,” Varley said. “And that’s what he did.”

What he also did was throw a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts to lead his team to the WPIAL semifinals.

Maddix’s terrific pitching performance coupled with a double-digit output in runs propelled No. 4 and defending champion Bishop Canevin to a 10-0 six-inning win against No. 5 Western Beaver in a WPIAL Class 1A quarterfinal at Gateway.

It was the 10th win in 11 games for Canevin (13-4), which eliminated Western Beaver (10-8) in the first round a season ago. Canevin will meet No. 8 Carmichaels in Tuesday’s semifinals.

Maddix, a left-hander, improved to 4-0 after not giving up a hit and pitching to the minimum. He did issue one walk, but the runner was promptly thrown out trying to steal second base. Maddix, who also tossed a no-hitter against Monessen in April, threw 78 pitches in the game.

“That was a great game from him,” Varley said. “He just stayed in rhythm and threw fastballs for strikes. I knew if he was pumping strikes they wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Maddix helped his cause with a hit and RBI offensively, while his brother, junior Tyler Maddix, had a pair of hits and scored two runs.

It was a well-rounded effort at the plate for Canevin, which reached double-digit runs for the 11th time this season. Dom Varley had two hits and two RBIs, while Quentin White drove in four runs, including a three-run double to highlight a five-run sixth inning.

A day after one Maddix threw a gem, another will try to do the same. Tyler is slated to get the start Tuesday. He also has a no-hitter this season after throwing three a season ago.

“They’re very supportive of one another,” Bill Varley said, “but I’m sure Tyler will be looking to match his brother.”

Montour’s Matteo Weber makes a sliding catch in center field during Monday’s 9-5 win against Latrobe at West Mifflin. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

More Class 1A

• Liam Lohr gave up a run and three hits en route to the complete-game win while also adding two hits and an RBI to help No. 8 Carmichaels (13-4) upset No. 1 Union (13-4), 3-0, at Burkett Park. The Mighty Mikes scored all three of their runs in the first inning, with the other RBIs coming from Robbie Wilson-Jones and Colin Andrews. Mike Gunn had two of Union’s three hits.

• Brayden Fuller’s two-run double with two outs in the fifth inning snapped a tie and helped No. 6 Avella (11-5) win its rubber match with No. 3 and section-rival Fort Cherry (12-4), 6-3, at Peterswood Park. Cole Jaworowski later added an RBI single for Avella, which split with Fort Cherry in the regular season, falling to the Rangers, 14-4, before claiming a 14-8 win.

Class 6A

• David Shields fired a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts to propel No. 1 and two-time defending champion Mt. Lebanon (17-4) to a 5-0 win against No. 8 Butler (6-13) at Boyce Mayview Park. Shields allowed only two singles and did not issue a walk. Graham Keen got Mt. Lebanon on the board with an RBI double in the third and the Blue Devils added four runs in the fifth.

• No. 2 Pine-Richland (17-4) mustered only one hit, but that double from Peyton Ford in the sixth drove in two runs to break a tie score and helped the Rams to a 4-1 win against No. 7 Central Catholic (10-11) at Shaler. Winning pitcher Keegan Deihl gave up one run and five hits in 6⅓ innings. Central Catholic’s Ryan Tatar gave up four runs and one hit over five innings.

• David Posey combined with Charles Mau on a one-hitter and smacked a two-run double as part of a three-run first to lead No. 3 North Allegheny (15-6) to a 3-0 win over No. 6 Norwin (11-10) at Boyce Mayview Park. Posey allowed one hit and struck out 10 in six innings before Mau struck out two in the seventh. Miles Pealer had two of North Allegheny’s six hits.

• Ryan Rebholz’s single in the fifth scored Nick Parrotto and vaulted No. 5 Seneca Valley (12-8-1) into the semifinals for the first time since 2014 following a 5-4 win against No. 4 Hempfield (14-7) at Plum. Zach Tkatch pitched five scoreless innings of relief to earn the win for the Raiders, who got two hits and an RBI from Owen Malak. Caden Biondi had two RBIs for Hempfield.

Class 5A

• Darren DeRiggi collected three hits and four RBIs and No. 6 Franklin Regional (14-7) scored nine runs in the first two innings on its way to a 13-1 six-inning win against No. 3 North Hills (12-5-1) at Fox Chapel. DeRiggi delivered a two-run homer in the sixth. Winning pitcher Max Bernadowski gave up four hits in six innings and chipped in two hits and scored two runs.

• Brandon Roher surrendered two hits in six shutout innings to propel No. 7 Penn-Trafford (18-3) into the semifinals for the second straight year after a 2-0 win against No. 2 Fox Chapel (14-7) at Gateway. Hunter Brown earned the save for the Warriors, who got a run-scoring single from Logan Matrisch in the second and a home run from Ethan Septak to lead off the sixth.

Montour coach Bob Janeda talks with Jake Robinson (24) and Jonathan Cecil during Monday’s 9-5 win against Latrobe at West Mifflin. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Class 4A

• Tommy Schafale tossed a three-hit shutout to improve to 8-0 and Josef Safar knocked in three runs for the second consecutive game to vault No. 6 North Catholic (15-4) to a 4-0 win against No. 3 West Mifflin (17-3) at Fox Chapel. Safar had an RBI single in the fourth and his two-run triple highlighted a three-run sixth. The Trojans blanked first-round opponent Elizabeth Forward, 8-0.

• In a game that saw 11 first-inning runs and both starting pitchers knocked out after collecting just one out, No. 4 Montour (14-6) rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat No. 5 Latrobe (18-4), 9-5, at West Mifflin. Jason George’s two-run double highlighted Montour’s seven-run first. Jake Robinson added two hits and an RBI for the Spartans. Latrobe was the runner-up last season.

• Tyler Lesko hit a dribbler in front of home plate that brought home Noah Kaszer and gave No. 2 Thomas Jefferson (19-2) a 4-3 walk-off win against No. 7 Chartiers Valley (12-7) at Boyce Mayview Park. Both of Thomas Jefferson’s wins against Chartiers Valley in the regular season were also by one run. Brady McGough knocked in three runs for the Jaguars.

• Greg Minnick, Ben Ryan and Sully VanHoose combined on a two-hitter to push No. 9 Indiana (12-9) to a 5-0 win against No. 16 Blackhawk (8-11) at North Allegheny. Minnick, a Texas Tech recruit, got the start and struck out seven in 4 ⅔ innings on his way to the win. Hunter Martin knocked in a pair of runs for Indiana, while Tim Birch and Mark Collinger each collected two hits.

Class 3A

• Christian Lucarelli pushed his record to 4-0 after giving up one run and two hits to go along with seven strikeouts while leading No. 1 and defending champion Riverside (15-1) to a 11-1 five-inning win against No. 9 South Park (13-8) at Neshannock. Darren McDade hit a three-run double in the first for Riverside, which also got three hits and two RBIs from Sam Barber.

• No. 7 Avonworth (14-8) scored five runs in the first before holding on for a 5-4 win against No. 15 East Allegheny (12-7) at Penn-Trafford. Mason Metz had three RBIs and Cooper Scharding two for Avonworth, which advanced to the semifinals for the fourth year in a row. Scharding was also the winning pitcher after giving up three runs and striking out nine in 6⅔ innings.

• After earning its first-ever playoff win last week, No. 4 South Allegheny (17-4) picked up its second, as the Gladiators defeated No. 12 Shenango (11-10), 2-0, at Plum. Trenton Popovich tossed a three-hit shutout and added a home run in the fifth inning for the Gladiators, who have won six of seven and will play Riverside in Tuesday’s semifinals.

• Stevie Hasson tossed a two-hitter with six strikeouts to vault No. 14 Burrell (13-8) to a 1-0 win against No. 11 Neshannock (11-10) at Seneca Valley. The Bucs scored the game’s only run with two outs in the fourth when freshman Trey Coury singled home A.J. McLafferty. Jake Rynd took the loss for Neshannock after allowing three hits and striking out nine over seven innings.

Class 2A

• Pinch hitter Bruno Williams singled in Quinn Santelli with one out in the seventh to give No. 2 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (17-4) a 1-0 walk-off win against No. 7 Riverview (13-7) at Seneca Valley. Santelli also picked up the pitching win for OLSH, which has won 12 straight games. Santelli and Riverview starter Jack Loughren went the distance.

• Tyler Skaggs had nine strikeouts in a complete-game win and No. 1 Serra Catholic (16-1) raced to a five-run, second-inning lead on its way to a 9-1 win against No. 8 Laurel (11-9) at North Allegheny. Owen Dumbroski had three hits and Isiah Petty scored three runs for Serra, last year’s runner-up which reached the semifinals for the ninth consecutive season.

• Winning pitcher Eric Kovach allowed three hits and fanned 13 in 5 ⅔ innings to propel No. 4 Burgettstown (13-3-1) to its 10th win in a row, 3-1 against No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic (11-6) at Peterswood Park. Sam Elich had an RBI double for the Blue Devils, while Brodie Kuzior picked up the save. Anthony Grippo had two hits and walked twice for Burgettstown.