Baseball News

North Allegheny headed south to Peterswood Park to take on the Peters Township Indians in their final regular season game on Friday night. Traffic delayed the start time but once the Tigers were there, the offense exploded for 11 runs to defeat Peters Township, 11-5.

NA got things going in the top of the first inning when JJ Mancuso walked, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on a Nico Varlotta single to make the score 1-0. The Tigers would get another run in the second inning when Augie Maslo led the inning off with a double, advanced to third on a balk, and scored on a Sean O’Donnell groundout to make the North Allegheny lead 2-0. Peters Township would respond with two runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 2-2.

The top of the fourth was NA’s big inning. It started with four straight walks to Varlotta, Mason Smith, Maslo and O’Donnell to give the Tigers the lead back at 3-2. Grant Husky walked making the score 4-2 and Miles Pealer singled home two runs to open the lead to 6-2. Christian Simons came up with a two-out, two-RBI single to expand the Tiger lead to 8-2 going into the bottom of the fourth. The Indians would respond with another run in the bottom of the fourth and NA led 8-3.

North Allegheny tacked on another run in the top of the fifth inning on a O’Donnell solo blast to make it 9-3. Smith hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot in the sixth inning to give North Allegheny an 11-3 lead. Peters Township would score two runs in the bottom of the seventh but reliever Ben Wilcox got a line out to end the game and the Tigers came away with the 11-5 victory.

Colin Moore got the start and the win for North Allegheny going four innings allowing three runs and three hits. He struck out three batters. Wilcox threw the final three innings allowing two runs, neither earned, and two hits, striking out four. Pealer and Varlotta each had two hits for the Tigers while Pealer, Simons and Smith all drove in two runs.

North Allegheny finishes the regular season with a 14-6 record. Peters Township falls to 13-7. The Tigers will return to action on Monday, May 19 when they will battle Hempfield in the WPIAL Quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined. This game will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Baseball Summary at Peters Township, 5-9-25

North Allegheny traveled to Matulevic Field, the home of the Shaler Titans on Thursday afternoon to take on one of the top teams in 5A. The bats stayed quiet most of the afternoon but the Tigers exploded for three runs in the seventh inning to defeat Shaler by a score of 3-1.

Shaler got their one run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single to put the Titans up 1-0. NA stormed back in the top of the seventh when Miles Pealer walked, JJ Mancuso singled and Christian Simons walked loading the bases. Nate Surman would also walk to tie the game 1-1. Nico Varlotta came up with the big hit with a one-out, two-RBI single to give North Allegheny the 3-1 lead. Nate Surman closed the door in the seventh inning and the Tigers came away with a 3-1 victory.

Jackson Walsh started the game for North Allegheny going five innings allowing five hits and one run. He struck out eight batters. Surman picked up the win going two innings in relief allowing a hit and striking out four.

North Allegheny improves to 13-6 overall. Shaler falls to 13-6. The Tigers return to action tomorrow when they travel to Peterswood Park to take on the Peters Township Indians at 6:30 p.m. in their final playoff tune-up. The WPIAL brackets will also be announced tomorrow so NA will learn their playoff fate.

Baseball Summary at Shaler, 5-8-25

by Randy Gore

Senior Jackson Walsh tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout to lead North Allegheny to an 8-0 victory over North Hills on Thursday afternoon. The Gannon University commit struck out eight and retired 14 consecutive batters over the final five innings to silence the Indians. For his dominant performance, Walsh was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

Coming off a nine-run outburst in game two of the series, the North Allegheny lineup provided more than enough run support for Walsh in game three. In the third inning, Nico Varlotta gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly and Mason Smith added a two-out, two-run triple later in the frame for a 3-0 advantage.

A pair of RBI singles by Miles Pealer and Christian Simons in the fourth inning made it 5-0, Tigers. North Allegheny tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning for an 8-0 lead thanks to RBI singles by J.J. Mancuso and Varlotta, along with an RBI double by Smith. Smith, a Dartmouth College commit, went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Varlotta drove in a pair. Mancuso was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Simons and Pealer each scored a pair of runs and tallied an RBI.

North Allegheny, who had already clinched a Section 1-6A title entering the contest, finished section play with a 10-2 record and has a 12-6 mark overall. North Hills falls to 7-12 overall and 4-8 in the section. The playoff-bound Tigers will play a pair of non-section road games next week, facing Upper St. Clair on Wednesday and Shaler on Thursday.

Baseball Summary at North Hills, 5-1-25

North Allegheny traveled to North Hills High School to battle the Indians on Wednesday night in a Section 1-6A matchup. After falling on Monday, the Tigers evened the series rallying late to defeat North Hills by a score of 9-3.

NA struck first in the top of the first inning when Miles Pealer singled, got to second on a Nate Persinger walk and scored on an error by the North Hills’ shortstop to make the score 1-0.

The Indians would respond with two runs in the bottom of the second to make the score 2-1. The Tigers answered back in the top of the fourth when JJ Mancuso led the inning off with a walk, Nico Varlotta singled, both players moved up on a balk, Augie Maslo walked to load the bases and Sean O’Donnell hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Mancuso to tie the game at 2-2.

North Hills would get the lead right back in the bottom of the fourth scoring another run to make the score 3-2. The top of the sixth is when the Tigers really got work. Just like the fourth inning, Mancuso got it started with a walk and Varlotta singled. Mason Smith got a sacrifice bunt down putting runners on second and third. Maslo put down a safety squeeze that was mishandled by the first baseman, scoring Mancuso and the game was tied 3-3. O’Donnell would then put a perfect bunt down, giving himself a single and loading the bases. With two outs, Pealer stepped up clearing the bases with a three-RBI triple to break open the game and give NA the 6-3 lead.

North Allegheny would tack on three more in the seventh when Christian Simons led the inning off with a walk, Simons was pinch-ran for by Sam Vargo who stole second and scored on a Mancuso single to make the score 7-3. Varlotta singled, Smith walked and with the bases loaded, Maslo was hit by a pitch to make it 8-3. An O’Donnell walk made it 9-3 and the Tigers would put North Hills down in order in the bottom of the seventh to come away with the victory.

Persinger got the win going five innings allowing three runs on three hits and striking out eight. Liam Cooper pitched the final two innings in relief not allowing a hit and striking out two. Varlotta was 3 for 4 at the plate and Mancuso scored three times. Pealer was 2 for 5 with three RBIs.

North Allegheny improves to 11-6 overall and 9-2 in the section. North Hills falls to 7-11 overall and 4-7 in section play. The Tigers and Indians will compete in the series finale tomorrow at North Allegheny High School at 7 p.m. That game will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Baseball Summary at North Hills, 4-30-25

by: Brandon Rossi

The North Allegheny baseball team began its final section series of the season on the losing end of a 7-3 final score Monday night to North Hills. The loss drops the Tigers to 10-6 on the season and 8-2 in section play. Although the Tigers lost, Seneca Valley defeated Butler, which made NA section champions.

During pregame, the 10 North Allegheny seniors were celebrated in the Tigers’ annual Senior Night. The decorated class includes Augie Maslo, Nico Varlotta, Miles Pealer, Nate Persinger, Colin Moore, Carson Burns, Ben Wilcox, Jackson Walsh, Mason Smith, and Sean O’Donnell. Out of these 10 players, eight of them are currently committed to play collegiate baseball.

North Allegheny got out to the early lead after an RBI single by Varlotta put the Tigers on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. However, the wheels quickly fell off in the top of the third when 10 North Hills batters came to the plate and five of them scored, reaching in a myriad of ways including base hits, walks, hit by pitches, and even a strikeout on a passed ball allowing said baserunner to reach.

After the Tigers were struck out in order in the bottom of the third, but were able to get one run back in the next inning after junior Nate Surman led off with a base hit. The next two batters grounded out, which allowed Surman to reach third base, and then he eventually scored on a wild pitch.

The gap quickly went back to four runs after a leadoff walk for North Hills came all the way across the diamond on three separate wild pitches. In the fifth, Pealer grounded to second base with runners on second and third, driving in the latter and giving him the RBI, putting the score at 6-3. An RBI single in the top of the sixth put the nail in the Tigers’ coffin at 7-3.

Despite the four-run defeat, there were some bright spots. Three Tigers’ pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts in the game, and every batter in the North Hills lineup struck out at least once. However, what did NA in was several wild pitches, hit batsmen, and a pair of walks. Varlotta took the loss in four innings of work, striking out seven in that span. Wilcox went the next two innings and fanned four Indians of his own, while Moore finished out the seventh inning.

As for baserunners, the Tigers only reached base six times with three hits and a trio of walks. Varlotta was the only NA player to reach base more than once with an RBI single and a leadoff walk in the fifth.

The Tigers will look to get a win back tomorrow with the second of a three-game set with the Indians beginning at 7 p.m. tomorrow night at North Hills.

Baseball Summary vs. North Hills, 4-28-25

North Allegheny traveled to Seneca Valley High School to take on the Raiders in the rubber match of the section series. The Tigers fell behind early 4-0 but had a huge fourth inning that catapulted NA to a 9-6 win on Thursday afternoon. The win puts North Allegheny in prime position to claim the section title as they are now two games up on Seneca Valley with three games to go.

Seneca Valley got two runs in the bottom of the first and two more in the bottom of the third to jump out to a 4-0 lead.

The Tigers responded in the top of the fourth inning as they got three straight singles from JJ Mancuso, Grant Husky and Sean O’Donnell to load the bases. Miles Pealer grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Mancuso and cut the Seneca Valley lead to 4-1. Augie Maslo walked to reload the bases and Nate Surman also walked to make the score 4-2. Nate Persinger got hit by a pitch to cut the lead to 4-3 before Christian Simons walked to tie the game 4-4. With two outs, Mancuso got his second hit of the inning, a bases clearing double, and the Tigers had their first lead of the day at 7-4.

 NA tacked on one more run in the fifth inning when Pealer got hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a Surman single to make the score 8-4.

The Tigers got some insurance in the top of the seventh inning when Mason Dratfinsky and O’Donnell had back-to-back doubles to make the score 9-4. Seneca Valley made the game interesting in the bottom of the seventh inning getting two runs before reliever Surman shut the door, and North Allegheny took the series with a 9-6 win.

Jackson Walsh got the win on the mound going four innings allowing four hits and two earned runs. Walsh struck out five batters. Surman picked up the save going the final 2 1/3 innings giving up four hits and one earned run.

Mancuso went 3 for 4 on the day driving in two runs. Husky, O’Donnell and Surman all had two hits.

North Allegheny improves to 10-5 overall and 8-1 in section play. Seneca Valley falls to 8-6 overall and 5-4 in the section. The Tigers return to action on Monday when they host North Hills at 7 p.m. This is Senior Night, and the game will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Baseball Summary at Seneca Valley, 4-24-25

by: Brandon Rossi

After a rare three-game losing streak, the North Allegheny baseball team got back in the win column with an 8-1 win over Seneca Valley on Wednesday evening at North Allegheny High School.

After a silent first inning and a half, North Allegheny broke through in the bottom of the second. With a couple baserunners on and just one out, a base hit and a throwing error to first base allowed for the first run of the game to come in. Then an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Sean O’Donnell scored another to make it 2-0.

Lightning struck two more times in the fourth inning, mostly due to one swing of the bat. Miles Pealer obliterated a pitch to the outfield, which got past the diving Seneca Valley center fielder and bounced around at the wall. This drove in Mason Dratfinsky, and by the time Pealer was running to third base the throw was botched, allowing him to score on a little league home run.

In the fifth inning, NA blew the game wide open. An RBI double by Christian Simons, a two-RBI triple by JJ Mancuso, and a fielder’s choice by Dratfinsky all combined for a four-run frame, putting the score at 8-0. While Seneca Valley was able to respond in the top of the sixth with an RBI triple, it proved to be futile as the Tigers comfortably came away with the 8-1 win. 

North Allegheny would have baserunners in every inning minus the first frame and were efficient in having those baserunners. They only left six runners aboard while 14 different plate appearances led to a baserunner. 

Defensively, the Tigers got an outstanding performance on the mound by Nate Persinger, who was the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. Persinger struck out seven batters in a 101-pitch complete game performance, only allowing four hits in a stellar outing.

With North Allegheny salvaging game two and the series tied at 1-1, the three-game finale takes place tomorrow on the road, with the Tigers traveling to Seneca Valley for a 4:00 p.m. first pitch. 

Baseball Summary at Seneca Valley, 4-23-25

North Allegheny traveled to Seneca Valley High School to take part in an important three-game series against the Raiders. Seneca Valley threw the first punch defeating the Tigers, 4-1 on Tuesday afternoon.

The Tigers jumped out to a lead early as in the top of the first with two outs, Mason Smith was hit by a pitch. He got to second on a Christian Simons single and scored on a Nate Persinger RBI single, giving NA the 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the first.

Pitching prevailed both ways until Seneca Valley got four runs in the bottom of the sixth and held North Allegheny scoreless in the top of the seventh, and the Tigers fell 4-1.

Nico Varlotta was the tough-luck losing pitcher for North Allegheny going 5 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, two runs (one earned) and striking out four batters.

North Allegheny falls to 8-5 overall and 6-1 in section play. Seneca Valley improves to 8-4 and 5-2 in the section. The Tigers and Raiders return to action tomorrow when the series shifts to North Allegheny High School. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Baseball Summary at Seneca Valley, 4-22-25

North Allegheny traveled to Fox Chapel High School to take on the neighboring Foxes in a non-section matchup. The Foxes jumped in front and held the Tigers to one run, to trip up NA, 4-1 on Monday afternoon.

The first two innings were clean before Fox Chapel got a two-out RBI triple from Antonio LeDonne to give the Foxes a 1-0 lead going into the fourth. Fox Chapel got another run in the bottom of the fifth when a couple of errors led to an RBI groundout from Jeremy Haigh and it was 2-0 Foxes after five.

North Allegheny responded in the top of the sixth inning when Mason Dratfinsky led off the inning getting hit by a pitch, Miles Pealer singled getting Dratfinsky to second, Mason Smith grounded in a fielder’s choice to get Dratfinsky to third and Dratfinsky finished it off scoring on a wild pitch to make the score 2-1. Fox Chapel replied with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and shut the door on the Tigers in the seventh, and NA fell by a score of 4-1.

Liam Cooper started for North Allegheny going five innings, allowing four hits, two runs (one earned) and struck out a batter. Pealer was 2 for 3 to lead the Tiger offense.

North Allegheny falls to 8-4 overall. Fox Chapel improves to 9-3 overall. The Tigers return to action tomorrow when they start a massive three-game series with second-place Seneca Valley. Game one is at Seneca Valley with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.

Baseball Summary at Fox Chapel, 4-21-25

by Randy Gore

In a battle of champions, the reigning WPIAL Class 6A champion, North Allegheny Tigers, fell to the reigning WPIAL Class 5A champion, Penn-Trafford Warriors, on Saturday afternoon, 9-1.

The visiting Warriors got off to a quick start, capitalizing on two errors and a walk for a five-run second inning. The frame included RBI singles from Brayden Kane and Nico Casciato for Penn-Trafford. PT’s lead swelled to 7-0 in the fourth inning thanks to a two-run single by Jon Lovre.

Penn-Trafford starting pitcher Dom Delio limited North Allegheny to one hit in five innings and exited the game following an approximate one-hour lightning delay. When the game resumed, Hunter Brown took over for the Warriors and permitted a run to the Tigers when Nate Surman drove in Miles Pealer with an RBI double, cutting the PT lead to 7-1.

Penn-Trafford tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh on back-to-back bases-loaded walks by Logan Matrisch and Ethan Septak to bring the final score to 9-1.

Delio earned the win for Penn-Trafford, and North Allegheny starter Lucas Manczka took the loss and was chased after two innings. Sophomore Preston Howard was a bright spot for the Tigers in relief and tossed two scoreless innings with one strikeout. For his efforts, Howard was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

The non-section loss, which snapped an eight-game winning streak, drops North Allegheny’s record to 8-3 on the season. Penn-Trafford improves to 8-5 on the campaign. The Tigers will visit Fox Chapel on Monday for another non-section contest before returning to section play for a three-game series with Seneca Valley next week.

Baseball Summary vs. Penn-Trafford, 4-19-25