May 21, 2019 4 min read

WEST MIFFLIN – The South Fayette High School baseball team would not go away no matter how many things failed to go its way.

A five-run deficit the Lions faced after three innings was just another obstacle to overcome against second-seeded Franklin Regional.

South Fayette immediately answered with four runs.

The Lions then had to shrug off a non-call from a field umpire that abruptly ended a scoring threat in the sixth inning.

But after South Fayette cut its deficit to one run in the seventh inning, the Lions’ last gasp was just not enough. Franklin Regional relief pitcher Conner Helm was able to get a game-ending fly out to right field and strand the tying run at third base as the Panthers held off the upset-minded and seventh-seeded Lions, 6-5, in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal game Tuesday afternoon at West Mifflin High School.

“It’s a credit to their desire of always wanting to be in games,” said South Fayette coach Kenny Morgan. “We don’t care who it is we are playing, we are never out of anything. We feel confident to claw back into games and win them no matter what the deficit is.”

Franklin Regional (17-1), which hasn’t lost since April 1, advances to its first semifinal since 2001. The first season in Class 5A for the defending Class 4A district champion Lions ends.

The best chance for South Fayette (12-8) to erase its deficit was in the sixth inning. With South Fayette runners on first and second with one out, Joey Alcorn hit a sinking line drive to right field that forced the runners to freeze to see if the ball was caught. As Franklin Regional right fielder Andrew Muraco dove with his glove outstretched, nobody knew if he caught the ball. The closest base umpire didn’t signal catch or no-catch until after the Lions’ runners were doubled off at second and third as they attempted to advance late.

South Fayette would have had the bases loaded with one out, instead the double play ended the inning and kept Franklin Regional’s lead at 6-4.

“It hurt us,” Morgan said. “We didn’t see a call. It put our runners in a hold position to see how it plays out. I thought I saw the ball on the ground but there was no immediate call. It’s a really unfortunate play that really hurt us.”

What also really hurt the Lions were walks.

A leadoff walk to Franklin Regional’s Mike Klingensmith ignited the Panthers’ five-run third inning. Jake Williams followed with an infield single, then Tommy Kegerreis opened the scoring with a line-drive triple to left centerfield that rolled quickly on the turf field to the fence to score a pair of runs. Louie Kegerreis hit a sacrifice fly on the first pitch he saw to extend the lead to 3-0. Muraco, who was the starting pitcher for the Panthers, helped his own cause by ending the scoring in the third with a two-run homer to right field.

“We want to be aggressive but don’t want to swing at pitcher’s pitches,” said Franklin Regional coach Bobby Sadler. “That’s been our mantra all year. I think the kids, especially in that big third inning, had that approach at the plate.”

Three of the six runs scored by Franklin Regional reached base with free passes. South Fayette walked eight batters.

“We tried to pound the zone,” Morgan said. “The book on Franklin Regional was to throw offspeed and keep it off the plate, but not that far off where we are walking guys.”

The Lions immediately answered with four runs in the top of the fourth inning, capitalizing on some Panthers miscues. Tyler Sharp singled up the middle to score courtesy runner Jon Casillo. A pair of errors and an infield single by Alcorn scored South Fayette’s next three runs to trim the deficit to 5-4.

Franklin Regional added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Louie Kegerreis doubled to left centerfield to score Williams, giving the Panthers a 6-4 lead.

The lone run South Fayette scored in the seventh was on an infield single by Ryan McGuire, who went 2-for-3, and put runners on the corners before the final out.

The Lions stranded seven baserunners.

“I credit Franklin Regional for beating us today, but we had opportunities,” Morgan said. “We just didn’t cash in on them.”