May 19, 2021 4 min read

Drake Long and Trenton Carter each drove in three runs, and Gavin Pratt and Dylan Rohrer combined on a two-hitter as third-seeded Carmichaels rolled to a 12-1 win Apollo-Ridge in a Class 2A first-round playoff game Wednesday at Mount Pleasant.

Carmichaels (17-1) advances to the quarterfinals Friday against Chartiers-Houston at a site and time to be determined. C-H dealt Carmichaels its lone defeat, 7-6, back on April 16 in Houston.

Against Apollo-Ridge, Carmichaels turned a 1-0 lead into a 9-0 advantage by scoring eight times in the second inning.

Rohrer went 3-for-3 with a double for the Mikes, and Long and Liam Lohr each belted a triple.

Apollo-Ridge (7-7) scored its lone run in the fourth inning.

Jefferson-Morgan 7, Leechburg 1: Bryce Bedilion did a little of everything in Jefferson-Morgan’s 7-1 win over Leechburg in a Class A game at Mount Pleasant.

Bedilion was the winning pitcher, tossing one-hit ball over six innings and striking out eight. At the plate, Bedilion had three hits, including a triple, four RBI, a run and a stolen base. He had a two-run single in J-M’s four-run third inning and added a two-run triple in the fourth that made it a 6-1 game.

The only hit Bedilion allowed was a leadoff triple to Thomas Burke, the first batter of the game. Leechburg (7-9) didn’t have another hit until two outs in the seventh.

J-M (12-5) advances to the quarterfinals Monday against Rochester (10-4).

Neshannock 4, Burgettstown 3: Michael Morelli’s two-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning scored JA Quahliero from third base with the winning run as Neshannock edged Burgettstown 4-3 in a Class 2A game at Hampton.

The Morelli hit spoiled a thrilling comeback by Burgettstown (11-6), which scored three runs in the top of the seventh to tie the score.

Maddox Gratchen had a run-scoring single in the Burgettstown (11-6) seventh and the Blue Devils pulled to within 3-2 when a run scored on a groundout by Eric Kovach. The tying run crossed home plate with two outs as an error on a ball hit by Luke Lounder scored Gratchen.

Nathan Klodowski pitched 6 2/3 innings for Burgettstown, striking out 11 and allowing just two hits and four runs (one earned).

Neshannock is 13-8.

Laurel 8, Beth-Center 0: Robert Herr pitched a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts as fifth-seed Laurel defeated Beth-Center 8-0 in a Class 2A playoff game at Burkett Park.

Herr allowed only a single by losing pitcher Cam Palmer and a walk to Ryan Ross.

Laurel (12-7) scored four times in the bottom of the first inning and that was all Herr needed. The Spartans led 5-0 before scoring three times in the sixth.

Beth-Center finishes the year with a 6-12 record.

Riverview 7, Avella 2: Vince Shook struck out 11, Taylor Zellefrow hit a home run and Riverview slipped past Avella 7-2 in a Class A first-round game at Plum.

Alerio Ciorra had four singles for Riverview (9-6), which broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run third inning. The Raiders tacked on two runs in the sixth.

Avella (2-12) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Eagles were held to four singles, by four different players.

Highlands 3, Belle Vernon 0: Tanner Nulph struck out 10 over 61 1/3 shutout innings and Jimmy Kunst drove in a pair of runs as Highlands blanked Belle Vernon 3-0 in a Class 4A game at Plum.

Nulph and Kunst combined on a five-hit shutout.

Serra Catholic 8, Fort Cherry 2: Fourth-seeded Serra Catholic beat Fort Cherry, 8-2, in a Class 2A game at Peterswood Park.

After a scoreless first two innings, the Eagles finally broke through in the bottom of the third on a two-run double by Zach Miklos, and added two more on another two-run double by Nico Eremic, that made it 4-0. Miklos went 3-4 with four RBI.

Fort Cherry picked up a boost with two runs in the fourth. The Rangers’ first run came in via an RBI infield single by Jake Tkach, and Luke Sweder drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit in half. But that was all the offense the Rangers could muster.

Matt Bisceglia got the win for Serra, pitching four innings.

Fort Cherry ends its season at 9-8.

In other games: Peters Township slipped past South Fayette 6-4 in Class 5A, California knocked off Shady Side Academy 4-2 in Class 2A and Seton LaSalle blanked Bentworth 5-0 in Class 2A. No game details were made available to the O-R.