Tigers No-Hit By Blue Devils In WPIAL Championship
Already owning a league-best eight WPIAL titles, North Allegheny’s quest for a ninth district crown fell short on Wednesday night in a 4-0 defeat to Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game at Wild Things Park. Mt. Lebanon pitcher David Shields threw a no-hitter, with nine strikeouts, a walk and two hit batsmen. Shields’ performance was 21 years to the day of when Chris Koutsavlis pitched the first no-hitter in PNC Park history in a Mt. Lebanon WPIAL championship win over Blackhawk.
Appearing in the WPIAL Championship game for the 18th time in program history, North Allegheny seemed poised to strike first when senior Harron Lee led off with a walk in the bottom of the first inning. A Drew Daugherty sacrifice bunt advanced Lee to second base, but he’d traverse no farther as Shields retired the next two batters to keep the game scoreless.
Mt. Lebanon gave Shields more than enough run support with a three-run second inning. A two-out RBI single from Jacob Tinnemeyer scored the game’s first run and a two-run triple later in the frame by Tanner Donati gave the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead.
Mt. Lebanon added an insurance run in the top of the fourth inning when Tinnemeyer raced home on a North Allegheny error for a 4-0 advantage.
Shields made sure that the four runs would stand and permitted only four base runners on the night. Shields improved to 5-1 on the season with the victory. North Allegheny junior J.D. Costanzo pitched well despite taking the loss. The NA southpaw struckout six batters and allowed four runs (three earned). Junior David Posey worked one scoreless inning of relief.
Following the loss, North Allegheny falls to 16-7 on the season, while Mt. Lebanon improves to 13-10. The Tigers will take on McDowell in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs on Monday at a site and time to be determined. The game will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.
Line Score - Baseball vs. Mt. Lebanon - 05/31/2023
| Score by Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mt. Lebanon | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |