Baseball News

Senior right-hander David Posey pitched six innings of one-hit baseball to lead third-seeded North Allegheny to a 3-0 victory over the sixth-seeded Norwin Knights in the WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinals. The U.S. Naval Academy commit struck out 10 batters and the only hit he allowed was a harmless infield single in the third inning. Posey also drove in a pair of runs to easily earn Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors.

All of the game’s run-scoring came in the bottom of the first inning as seniors Matthew Parreaguirre and Owen Schall set the table for NA with back-to-back singles. With one out, junior Nico Varlotta bounced a ground ball to second that was booted by Norwin’s Tristyn Tavares, allowing Parreaguirre to score for a 1-0 lead. Posey followed with a two-run double to deep centerfield to plate Schall and Varlotta for a 3-0 advantage.

The three-run first inning was all the run support Posey needed in a masterful performance on the bump. The only sticky situation for Posey occurred in the third inning when Nate Silberman reached on a two-out RBI single and back-to-back walks by Nolan Ryan and Brayden Wardzinski loaded up the bases. Posey buckled down to strikeout Will Griffiths and Norwin’s biggest threat of the game was thwarted.

From there, Posey cruised until he reached the 105-pitch count limit following his 10th strikeout, which capped a 1-2-3 sixth inning. In the seventh, Penn State University commit, Charles Mau, pitched a scoreless frame to pick up his first save of the season.

For Norwin, Ethan Culbertson was the hard-luck loser against North Allegheny in the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Identical to last year’s 3-0 playoff defeat at the hands of the Tigers, Culbertson pitched a complete game and was saddled with the loss despite a strong pitching performance. He allowed three runs (two earned) with five strikeouts and one walk. After NA’s three-run first inning, Culbertson yielded only three hits for the remainder of the game.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 15-6 overall, while Norwin’s season ends with a 10-10 record. The Tigers advance to the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals to face section rival Pine-Richland at 7:00 p.m. at Boyce Mayview Park. The game will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Line Score - Baseball vs. Norwin - 05/20/2024

Score by Innings	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Norwin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
North Allegheny	3	0	0	0	0	0	X	3	6	0

WP - David Posey (6-0) LP - Ethan Culbertson SV - Charles Mau (1)