NA Wins 9th WPIAL Crown On Stength Of No-Hitter By David Posey
A season ago in the WPIAL Class 6A championship, Mt. Lebanon left-handed pitcher David Shields threw a no-hitter against North Allegheny to secure a 4-0 win for the Blue Devils. In a title game rematch on Wednesday night at Wild Things Park, it was North Allegheny’s David Posey who returned the favor against Mt. Lebanon with a no-hitter of his own to lead the Tigers to a 1-0 win. The victory marked the Tigers’ ninth WPIAL championship and second district crown in the last four seasons. North Allegheny is the first school in WPIAL history to win nine district titles in baseball.
The NA right-hander and U.S. Naval Academy commit struck out 11 batters and limited the Blue Devils to just four base runners for the entire night. For his efforts, Posey was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.
Projected as a pitcher’s duel before the game began, Posey matched up against Shields, a University of Miami commit who is projected as a second or third-round draft pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft.
Mason Smith’s solo HR in the 3rd inning provided the only run of the game.
While Shields didn’t give up much and was also impressive with 11 strikeouts, it was one fortuitous bounce for the Tigers that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. In the top of the third inning, junior Mason Smith clubbed a deep fly ball to left field that deflected off the glove or upper body of outfielder Sawyer Klasnick and over the fence for a home run. The home run, the first of Smith’s varsity career, gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, a dazzling defensive play by third baseman Owen Schall helped keep Posey’s no-hitter intact and the Tigers maintained their one-run lead deep into the night. The biggest jam for Posey came in the bottom of the sixth inning following back-to-back walks by Shields and freshman Graham Keen. With two runners on and two outs, Posey induced a pop-up by Jake Tinnemeyer to thwart the threat and the Blue Devils remained scoreless.
David Posey throws a no-hitter in the 2024 WPIAL Class 6A championship game.
After pitching out of a sticky situation in the sixth, there were no such dramatics in the bottom of the seventh. Posey retired the Blues Devils in order in the final frame, including back-to-back strikeouts to cap the 11th no-hitter in North Allegheny history. It was the first no-hitter since Nico Varlotta tossed a no-no against Allderdice last season on April 20, 2023. The Posey no-hitter was also just the sixth in a WPIAL championship game since 1940. For an official box score from the WPIAL championship, click here.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 17-6 overall and Mt. Lebanon slips to 18-5 on the season. Both teams qualify for the PIAA playoffs next week. The Tigers will host Wilson, the third-place finisher out of District 3, on Monday in the opening round of states. The game will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.
(Below are highlights of the WPIAL Class 6A championship edited by Jared Barton with video courtesy of the NFHS Network. Audio courtesy of the North Allegheny Sports Network with broadcasters Randy Gore and Lee Mohn).
Line Score - Baseball vs. Mt. Lebanon - 05/29/2024
| Score by Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Allegheny | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Mt. Lebanon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |