Both local baseball teams earned opening round victories in the WPIAL Class 3A Playoffs on Tuesday.
LAKE DOMINATE, WOLVERINES SHUTOUT LIGIONER VALLEY
Ellwood City defeated Ligonier Valley 3-0 on Tuesday at Pullman Park behind a strong pitching effort by senior Aaron Lake.
Lake struck out six batters and allowed only three hits across his 6.1 innings. Nate Kennedy sat down the final two batters as Ellwood City advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinals.
The Wolverines were the first to get on the board in the first when Jake Biskup singled, scoring one run. A single by Matt Kelly extended the Ellwood City lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning.
Biskup, Kelly, and Geordon Bokor each collected two hits for Ellwood City. The combo of Bokor and Kelly in the Wolverines lineup each produced an RBI from their 8-9 spots in the lineup.
Miles Smith took the loss for Ligonier Valley. The starter went four innings, surrendering three runs (two earned) on eight hits, striking out three and walking one.
Ellwood City (16-3 Overall) advances to play 11-seed Burrell who upset 6-seed Mohawk in its opening round of the WPIAL 3A playoffs on Tuesday night at Pullman Park. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19th at a site and time TBA.
RIVERSIDE WALKS OFF SHADY SIDE ACADEMY
Riverside took its opening round contest in dramatic fashion, with a 3-2 walk-off extra innings victory over Shady Side Academy on Tuesday at North Hills High School.
The game was tied at two in the bottom of the ninth when Brock James doubled, scoring the game winning run.
The pitching was strong on both sides. Riverside pitchers struck out 13, while Shady Side Academy sat down nine.
Shady Side Academy Varsity Bulldogs got on the board in the first inning after Ty McCaskey doubled, scoring one run before Riverside could counter. Dylan Meyer doubled to center field, which helped the Panthers tie the game at one in the bottom of the first.
The Bulldogs took the lead in the top of the fourth. Sebastian Woodhouse singled, scoring one run, to give Shady Side the advantage, 2-1.
Cole Vogel hit a sacrifice fly, which helped Riverside tie the game at two in the bottom of the fourth before the theatrics of the extra innings took place.
Jackson Barber earned the win for Riverside as the righty allowed one hit and zero runs over two and two-thirds innings, striking out four and walking two. David Dillon took the loss for Shady Side Academy as the hurler went one and two-thirds innings, giving up one run on three hits, striking out two and walking two.
Matt Santillo began the game for the Panthers. The starter allowed five hits and two runs over six and one-third innings, striking out nine and walking three. Gabe Centor stepped on the mound first for Shady Side. The starting pitcher allowed five hits and two runs over seven innings, striking out seven and walking three.
Alex Weisz, Barber, and Santillo each collected two hits for Riverside. Cole Vogel, Dylan Meyer, and Brock James each drove in one run for Riverside.
Riverside will face 15-seed South Allegheny on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. The Gators knocked off No. 2 seed Seton-LaSalle 1-0 behind a three-hit shutout from starter Adam Jackowski.
With victories against lower seeds next week, Ellwood City and Riverside could square up in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals. [VIEW BRACKET]
photos courtesy: www.ellwoodcitybaseball.com
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