May 10, 2021 3 min read

It was only the fourth game of the season but it became the turning point, even if the players on Bentworth High School baseball team didn’t realize it.

What appeared to be a 5-4 home loss to Frazier April 7 became a 1-0 forfeit to the Bearcats last week when the PIAA sided with Bentworth that Frazier pitcher Don Dorcom had exceeded his pitch count in the game.

PIAA rules state, among other things, no pitcher may throw more than 100 pitches in a calendar day. … A pitcher is limited to no more than 200 pitches in a calendar week (Sunday through Saturday). If a pitcher throws more than 100 pitches to complete an at-bat, that pitcher will be credited with 100 pitches for the appearance.

Dorcon was credited with 107 pitches in 5 1/3 innings by the Bentworth scorekeeper, but less than 100 by Frazier scorekeepers.

“(Our scorekeeping) showed the Frazier pitcher started a batter while over 100 pitches,” said Bentworth athletic director Brian Malecki. “Before my coach could get clarification on it, the inning was over. We talked to them later and we had to let the WPIAL know.

“(The WPIAL) started an investigation. How it went down was there was a discrepancy on the pitch count. (Frazier) had a different number than we did. The WPIAL made their decision. They went with the home book.”

Interestingly, Malecki wanted to keep the whole situation quiet. He didn’t want to drag anyone’s name through the mud.

“We didn’t think it would be an issue,” Malecki said.

But it was. The Bearcats fell to 1-8 overall and 0-6 in Section 1-AA after that loss to Frazier. But Bentworth won four out of the next six games, including section games against Beth-Center and Washington. Suddenly, that forfeit meant securing a spot in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs.

“Just to make the records right, we decided to tell everybody,” said Malecki. “We didn’t even tell the players until then.”

When the WPIAL undertook its investigation, they inquired about possible throws over to first base to keep a runner close to the bag being counted as a pitch and was satisfied that didn’t happen.

Now, Bentworth is 3-6 in the section, 5-10 overall. The Bearcats are in the playoffs no matter what Frazier (1-7, 2-9) does. Bentworth has one section game remaining, at home against Washington at 4 p.m. today. Washington can still make the playoffs.

Frazier has section games against Washington and California remaining.

“We started out poorly this year but came on recently,” Malecki said. “It’s hard to tell kids that an adult made a mistake and it cost them a win. I don’t think (Frazier) did anything malicious. It was just a mix up in numbers.”

Who’s in

With the final week of the regular season upon us, these local baseball teams are playoff bound:

Class 6A: Canon-McMillan

Class 5A: South Fayette, Peters Township

Class 3A: McGuffey

Class 2A: Carmichaels, California, Beth-Center, Bentworth, Chartiers-Houston

Class A: Jefferson-Morgan, West Greene

Eight teams are sitting on the bubble: Belle Vernon and Ringgold in Class 4A, Waynesburg in Class 3A, Washington, Burgettstown and Fort Cherry in Class 2A, and Monessen and Avella in Class A.

These local softball teams are playoff bound:

Class 6A: Canon-McMillan

Class 5A: Trinity, South Fayette

Class 4A: Belle Vernon

Class 3A: Waynesburg

Class 2A: Carmichaels, Charleroi, Chartiers-Houston, Burgettstown

Class 1A: West Greene, Jefferson-Morgan, Mapletown

Six teams are on the bubble: McGuffey in Class 3A; Fort Cherry, Bentworth, California and Beth-Center in Section 2-A.