Baseball celebrate Seniors, Fall to North Hills in Series Opener
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
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Hills | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
LP - Nico Varlotta (2-2)
