PIAA baseball postseason rundown: Central Valley, Mohawk, Freedom claim first-ever PIAA wins; Indiana pitchers fire 12-inning one-hitter; WPIAL champ Serra Catholic falls

Central Valley faced a few major challenges as it played its first-ever game in the PIAA playoffs Monday.

Not only did Central Valley have to travel two hours to play a perennial power that last week won an 11th consecutive district title, but the Warriors, with just two hits at the time, found themselves trailing, 2-0, going into their final at-bat.

“We were hitting the ball all day,” Central Valley coach Tim Brudzewicz said. “We were very close to getting runs, but they made some very nice defensive plays. The bottom line is, if you keep putting the ball in play, they’re going to make mistakes. And eventually they did. And that got us to our small game.”

Antonio Perri’s safety squeeze bunt scored Adam Shroads to cap a three-run seventh and give Central Valley its first PIAA win following a 3-2 upset of District 10 champion Cathedral Prep at Mercyhurst University.

With the win, Central Valley (14-11), the WPIAL’s third-place finisher, advanced to take on WPIAL champion Indiana in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Cathedral Prep (17-6) got a two-run double from K.J. Williams in the second and carried that 2-0 lead into the final inning. That’s when Central Valley jumped on Davin Friedman, Cathedral Prep’s third pitcher of the game. Daniel McIntosh led off with a single and Cameron Miller followed with a run-scoring double. That brought up Shroads, who reached third on an error that scored Miller. Following a walk to Blake White, Perri delivered a bunt down the first base line that allowed Shroads to score.

“First and third, we know if we get the ball down the first-base line, there’s nothing they can do about it,” Brudzewicz said. “It was the perfect bunt and the perfect read.”

Cathedral Prep loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Central Valley’s Will Ciucci struck out Joe Flanagan swinging to end the game. Ciucci pitched the final 1⅓ innings to earn the win in relief of starter McIntosh.

The PIAA win may have been the first for Central Valley, but not the first for its coach. Brudzewicz guided Canon-McMillan to the PIAA Class 6A championship in 2018. Now in his third season at Central Valley, Brudzewicz hopes this team can make a long title run, too.

Of facing Indiana on Thursday, Brudzewicz said, “We don’t have anything else better to do that day, so we’re going to try to win that game.”

Other Class 4A

• Ryan Okopal and Greg Minnick combined on a 12-inning one-hitter to push WPIAL champion Indiana (23-1) to a 1-0 win against District 6 champion Bellefonte (12-9) at White Township Park in Indiana. Ethan Shank hit a walk-off single to score Tim Birch, who opened the bottom of the 12th with a double. Bellefonte led off the game with a hit and never added a second. Okopal struck out eight in eight innings and Minnick fanned eight in four innings. Indiana had 12 hits.

• Cy Herchelroath’s two-run home run highlighted a three-run seventh that allowed WPIAL runner-up Elizabeth Forward (17-4) to claim its first PIAA win since 2011 after rallying to defeat District 9 champion Punxsutawney (17-5), 5-3, at Showers Field in DuBois. Herchelroath was also the winning pitcher after allowing three unearned runs and four hits in seven innings. A.J. Grese went 2 for 3 with three RBIs while Charlie Nigut scored three runs and stole four bases.

Class 5A

• Colby Weber fired a one-hitter and struck out five to vault WPIAL champion Shaler (18-6) to a 4-0 win against visiting District 3 fourth-place qualifier Conestoga Valley (13-11-1). Troy Leas had a two-run single in the first and Luke Jarzynka an RBI double in the second for Shaler, which also got a run-scoring single by Ben Yeckel in the fifth. The Titans had seven hits overall, with Leas and Yeckel accounting for two apiece.

• WPIAL runner-up Pine-Richland (21-4) raced to a big lead before holding on for an 8-5 win against District 6 champion Central Mountain (15-1) at Lock Haven University. Pine-Richland scored three runs in the first and four in the third to take a 7-0 advantage. Two of the runs in the first came via bases-loaded balks and the other scored when Tanner Cunningham was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Breck Hemphill had two RBIs, including a run-scoring double.

• Peters Township (15-10), the WPIAL’s fourth-place qualifier, got little going offensively in a 2-1 loss at District 3 champion Lampeter-Strasburg (20-5). The Indians had only four hits and their only run came via Jackson Stocker’s RBI single in the fifth. Lampeter-Strasburg had taken a 2-0 lead on run-scoring groundouts in the third and fourth innings. Peters Township starting pitcher Zach Miner gave up two unearned runs and seven hits in six innings.

• Ethan Stanhoff knocked in five runs and Mike Bruckner drove in four to power WPIAL third-place finisher Bethel Park (20-5) to a 15-1 five-inning win against District 9 champ DuBois (14-8) at Showers Field in DuBois. Bethel Park scored 13 runs in the fourth. The Black Hawks sent 18 players to the plate and cranked out 10 hits in the inning. Bruckner and Eric Miehl each had three of Bethel Park’s 14 total hits. Winning pitcher Owen White pitched 3⅓ innings.

Class 6A

• Andrew Malichky gave up one unearned run and three hits in seven innings to push WPIAL champion Seneca Valley (18-6) to its first PIAA win since 2014 following a 7-1 home triumph against District 10 champion McDowell (17-6). Ryan Piekutoski had a big game offensively for the Raiders, going 3 for 3 with two RBIs. He hit an RBI double in the first and homered in the fourth. Brandon Godleski also homered for the Raiders and Wes Conville had two hits.

Class 3A

• With Zach Hare (24⅓ consecutive hitless innings), the star of the WPIAL playoffs, being limited to hitting duty, Christian Lucarelli took the bump and fired a three-hitter with seven strikeouts to drive WPIAL champion Riverside (18-2) to a 9-0 win against visiting District 2 runner-up Huntingdon. Dylan Meyer had two hits and two RBIs for the Panthers, who scored five runs in the third. John Bowser and Hunter Garvin each added a pair of hits.

• Todd Kagle homered twice and drove in nine runs to power WPIAL runner-up Quaker Valley (16-7) to its first PIAA win since 2015 courtesy of a 22-6 win at District 5 champion Bedford (13-10). Kagle had three hits and reached base five times. His three-run home run highlighted a nine-run first inning. Oscar Roig went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Kyle Radar went 2 for 3 with two RBIs. The Quakers, who scored seven in the seventh, collected 12 hits and drew 14 walks.

• Winning pitcher Cooper Hochendoner struck out 11 in 6⅓ innings to propel WPIAL third-place qualifier South Park (16-7) to a 5-3 win at District 6 champion Forest Hills (14-5). South Park scored three runs in the fifth and two in the seventh to take a 5-0 lead before Forest Hills scored three in its final at-bat. Andrew Mittleider collected three hits and Ryan Spitznagel had two for the Eagles, who won a PIAA game for the first time since reaching the final in 2017.

• Jackson Chapman collected two hits and scored three times to lead WPIAL fourth-place finisher Mohawk (13-11) to its first-ever PIAA win, 5-4 against District 10 winner Titusville (18-4) at Slippery Rock University. Chapman scored on an error in the sixth to give Mohawk a 5-3 lead. Titusville then added a fourth run in the bottom of the seventh, but stranded runners on second and third. Winning pitcher Bobby Fadden pitched the final four innings.

Class 2A

• WPIAL champion Freedom (16-7) earned its first PIAA win by rallying from three runs down to beat District 6 runner-up Bishop McCort (13-9), 5-3, at Neshannock. Bishop McCort scored three runs in the first before Freedom scored two in the fourth and three in the fifth. Mason O’Donnell hit an RBI triple in the fourth and Tommy Ward an RBI single in the fifth for Freedom, which finished with three hits. Winning pitcher Boden Hilliard struck out nine in 5⅔ innings.

• WPIAL runner-up Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (15-9) saw a three-run lead slip away in a 7-6 loss at District 5 champion Tussey Mountain (14-10). OLSH led, 5-2, in the top of the fourth before Tussey Mountain scored two runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth. Dean Douglass had two hits and three RBIs for OLSH, delivering a two-run single in the third and adding a home run in the seventh. The Chargers were seeking their first PIAA win since 2013.

• District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep (23-1) used a four-run first inning to propel to a 5-3 win over WPIAL third-place finisher Riverview (15-8) at Mercyhurst University. Miles Duncan had three of Riverview’s six hits and added an RBI groundout in the third. Riverview scored all of its runs in the third, with Eli DeVita registering an RBI single and the Raiders scoring another run on a fielder’s choice. Riverview was aiming for its first PIAA win since winning the title in 1983.

Class 1A

• Derek Smail’s three-run homer in the sixth allowed District 9 runner-up Clarion (14-7) to knock off WPIAL champion Serra Catholic (20-4), 3-2, at Norwin. Serra had taken a 2-0 lead an inning earlier when Chris Johnson and Jake Jellison drew walks with the bases loaded. Max Black had two of Serra’s five hits. Tyler Skaggs, who tossed a no-hitter in the WPIAL final, took the loss after surrendering three runs and two hits in 5⅔ innings.

• Dom Shimko’s three-hitter propelled District 6 champion Homer-Center (20-5) to a 10-0 five-inning home win against WPIAL runner-up Carmichaels (15-6) at First Commonwealth Field. Homer-Center’s Collin Dunn went 3 for 3 with three RBIs while Brayden Rado also had three hits. The Wildcats scored three runs in both the third and fourth innings. Robbie Wilson-Jones, Jordan Davis and Dillon Fisher all had singles for Carmichaels.

• Noah Emswiler pitched a three-hitter and hit a three-run home run in the third to push WPIAL third-place finisher Eden Christian (17-5) to a 4-0 win against DuBois Central Catholic (18-4) at Stern Field in DuBois. Emswiler walked three and struck out six. Emswiler, Jacob Janicki and Josh Tilden had two hits apiece for Eden Christian, last year’s PIAA runner-up. The Warriors scored their fourth run on an error in the sixth inning.

• Greensburg Central Catholic (18-4), the WPIAL’s fourth-place finisher, pounded out 16 hits and used a six-run eighth to defeat District 10 champion West Middlesex (12-9), 12-9, at Slippery Rock University. Bobby Smithnosky had four hits while Ian Shipley finished with three hits and three RBIs for the Centurions, who scored six runs in the top of the eighth before West Middlesex scored three in the bottom half. Brody Bothell also knocked in a pair of runs.

Scores

Class 6A first round

Seneca Valley 7, McDowell 1

Class 5A first round

Bethel Park 15, DuBois 1 (5)

Lampeter-Strasburg 2, Peters Township 1

Pine-Richland 8, Central Mountain 5

Shaler 4, Conestoga Valley 0

Class 4A first round

Central Valley 3, Cathedral Prep 2

Elizabeth Forward 5, Punxsutawney 3

Indiana 1, Bellefonte 0 (12)