Baseball postseason rundown: No. 15 East Allegheny uses offensive outburst to slam No. 2 Mohawk, 10-1, in WPIAL Class 3A opener

On paper, No. 15 East Allegheny knocking off No. 2 Mohawk on Tuesday was the biggest upset of these WPIAL playoffs.

However, the Wildcats, who reached the semifinals a season ago and entered this spring as one of the WPIAL’s top teams in Class 3A, didn’t really view it as a big surprise.

“I think we were not given due respect as a No. 15 seed. We were a little bit shocked,” East Allegheny coach Mike Cahill said. “But I think we proved to everyone [Tuesday] that we’re not a No. 15.”

The Wildcats may not label themselves a Cinderella, but that didn’t stop them from having a ball in their playoff opener.

Joe Connors and Ryan Kirk combined to drive in nine runs and Michael Cahill was strong on the mound to lead East Allegheny to a 10-1 win against Mohawk in a Class 3A first-round game at Shaler.

It was the sixth win in eight games for East Allegheny (13-6), which placed fourth in Section 3. Meanwhile, Mohawk (16-4) ended its season with three consecutive losses after starting 16-1. The Warriors also fell to East Allegheny, 5-4, in last year’s quarterfinals.

Offense has often been tough to come by for East Allegheny, which entered the game with a .245 batting average this season. But there were no struggles Tuesday, with the Wildcats pounding out 16 hits on the way to their third-highest run total of the season. The outburst included a four-run second inning and a five-run seventh.

“That was the most explosive our offense has been all season, and we were certainly due,” Mike Cahill said.

Connors and Kirk, who bat third and fourth in the lineup, combined for seven of East Allegheny’s hits and nine of its RBIs. Connors had four hits, among them a three-run triple to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead in the second, an RBI double in the fourth, and a run-scoring single in the seventh. Kirk added three hits, which included an RBI single in the second and a three-run double in the seventh. Traynor Janosko drove in the other run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh.

Michael Cahill improved to 5-2 this season and picked up the 18th win of his career after giving up one run and two hits to go along with seven strikeouts in 5⅔ innings. On the season, Cahill has fanned 77 in 51⅓ innings. He’s healthy again after an ankle injury limited him at times during the regular season.

Hunter Garvin combined with teammate Zach Hare to throw a no-hitter Tuesday in Riverside’s 4-1 win against Keystone Oaks at North Allegheny. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Other Class 3A

• Zach Hare and Hunter Garvin teamed up to throw a no-hitter while helping No. 1 and defending champion Riverside (14-1) rally for a 4-1 win against No. 16 Keystone Oaks (4-11) at North Allegheny. Hare pitched the first four innings, striking out nine while allowing an unearned run in the fourth. Garvin, the winning pitcher, then fired three perfect innings with four strikeouts. Hare added two hits and knocked in one of Riverside’s four runs in the sixth.

• Sophomore Cooper Scharding tossed a no-hitter and also knocked in three runs to drive No 7 Avonworth (13-8) to a 7-0 win against No. 10 Greensburg Salem (8-9) at Peterswood Park. Scharding had 13 strikeouts and walked two. Avonworth scored six of its runs in the third. Luke Zelinko added two RBIs and Ben Barnes chipped in a pair of hits.

• A.J. McLafferty hit a two-run triple before scoring on an error to highlight a four-run fourth that propelled No. 14 Burrell (12-8) to a 6-2 upset of No. 3 Mount Pleasant (13-5) at Gateway. Burrell’s Issac Lacinski also had two RBIs via a groundout and a single. Mount Pleasant, which had won nine games in a row, scored its only runs on Cole Chatfield’s double in the seventh.

• South Allegheny (16-4), the No. 4 seed, captured its first-ever playoff win by blanking No. 13 McGuffey (6-9), 7-0, at Boyce Mayview Park. Trenton Popovich was terrific on the mound, striking out 13 on his way to the win. Ryan Cortes had two RBIs for the Gladiators, one coming on a double in the third and the other on a single that was part of a five-run fourth inning.

• No. 12 Shenango (11-9) scored three runs in the fifth to snap a 2-2 tie and went on to upset No. 5 Valley (16-5), 5-3, at North Allegheny. Joe Campoli’s RBI double in that fifth gave the Wildcats a 4-2 lead and proved to be the winning run. Jason Malley, Christian Anterock and DJ Graham also had RBIs for Shenango. Nikolas Heakins homered twice and drove in three for Valley, which saw its 11-game win streak end.

• Winning pitcher Jake Rynd allowed one run and six hits to go along with eight strikeouts over six innings to push No. 11 Neshannock (12-9) to a 6-1 win against No. 6 Waynesburg (13-4) at Boyce Mayview Park. Boyd Kurutz had two hits and Dom Cubellis walked three times and scored twice for Neshannock, which has won four of its last five games.

• Cooper Hochendoner struck out 16 on his way to the pitching win and drove in the winning run via a double with two outs in the seventh to give No. 9 South Park (13-7) a 3-2 win against No. 8 Shady Side Academy (9-8) at Plum. South Park trailed, 2-0, before scoring two runs on an error in the sixth to tie the score. Sewickley Academy’s Soren Cooper had 13 strikeouts in six innings and hit a two-run home run.

Class 2A

• Tyler Samide drove in a pair of runs and pitched the final 2⅓ innings to pick up the save in helping No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic (12-5) claim a 3-2 win against No. 12 Washington (9-10) at Gateway. Samide had an RBI double in the first and his sacrifice fly in the third gave the Centurions a 3-0 lead. Washington stranded runners on second and third in its final at-bat.

• Chartiers-Houston (10-8), the No. 6 seed, jumped to a 5-0 lead after three innings and held on for a 7-4 win against No. 11 Freedom (11-9) at Burkett Park. Luke Camden homered and knocked in two runs and Anthony Romano added three hits for the Bucs, who will meet No. 3 Seton LaSalle in the quarterfinals. Boden Hilliard had two hits and two RBIs for Freedom.

• After falling behind, 2-0, in the first, No. 8 Laurel (12-8) used a six-run fifth to rally for a 7-2 win against No. 9 Charleroi (10-8) at Burkett Park. Freshman Will Zwolenik drove in two runs for Laurel and had two of the team’s five hits. Winning pitcher Hunter Kobialka gave up two runs and five hits while striking out six in seven innings. Next up for Laurel is No. 1 Serra Catholic.

• Jack Loughren fired 6 ⅓ scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out nine to propel No. 7 Riverview (13-6) to a 2-0 win against No. 10 Beth-Center (9-10) at Gateway. Loughren then gave way to Johnny Bertucci, who earned the save. Bertucci also had two of Riverview’s six hits and drove in a run. Freshman Miles Duncan had the other RBI.

• No. 4 Burgettstown (12-3-1) scored four runs in the first and six in the second to cruise to its ninth consecutive win, 10-3 against No. 13 Jeannette (7-10) at Burkett Park. Winning pitcher Brodie Kuzior surrendered three runs and six hits while striking out 13 in 6 ⅓ innings. Kuzior also reached base three times and scored two runs. Teammate William Stevenson had two RBIs.

Keystone Oaks’ Nate Rohe, left, and Roman Keaney celebrate after Rohe scored the first run of the game against Riverside on Tuesday. Riverside would rally for a 4-1 win. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Class 1A

• Bryce Wright earned the pitching win after striking out 12 over six innings and No. 6 Avella (10-5) picked up its first playoff victory since 2009 courtesy of a 5-3 triumph against No. 11 Springdale (5-10) at Boyce Mayview Park. Westley Burchianti had two RBIs for Avella, which led, 5-0, before Springdale scored three runs in the seventh. The Eagles will meet No. 3 Fort Cherry in the quarterfinals.

• Winning pitcher Liam Lohr gave up one run and five hits while striking out nine over 6⅓ innings and added two hits and three RBIs to push No. 8 Carmichaels (12-4) to a 9-1 win against No. 9 Carlynton (12-10) at Peterswood Park. Dominic Colarusso and Robbie Wilson-Jones added two RBIs apiece for Carmichaels, which will play No. 1 Union in the quarterfinals.

Scores

Class 3A first round

Avonworth 7, Greensburg Salem 0

Burrell 6, Mount Pleasant 2

East Allegheny 10, Mohawk 1

Neshannock 6, Waynesburg 1

Riverside 4, Keystone Oaks 1

Shenango 5, Valley 3

South Allegheny 7, McGuffey 0

South Park 3, Shady Side Academy 2

Class 2A first round

Burgettstown 10, Jeannette 3