NEW CASTLE — Ryan Brumbaugh put out the fire for the Wilmington High baseball team yesterday.

Brumbaugh struck out three straight batters with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh to preserve a 5-4 District 10, Region 2-AA home victory over Sharon.

Brumbaugh relieved Greyhounds starter Vince Pitzulo in the seventh with two runners on base. He walked the first batter he faced before fanning the next three, earning his first save of the season.

“We have all the confidence in the world in Ryan,” Wilmington coach Garett Malinak said.

Pitzulo (2-0) worked six-plus innings, giving up five hits and four runs — two earned — with a walk and eight strikeouts.

“Vince Pitzulo pitched a great game,” Malinak said. “He worked hard the whole game.

“The score doesn’t reflect how well he pitched. His pitch count was getting up there and we went to Ryan Brumbaugh. Ryan came through big for us.”

The Tigers dropped to 0-1 in the region and 5-1 overall.

“This was a huge win for us,” Malinak said. “Sharon is a good team and it’s big to start region play with a victory.”

Davis Smith was 3 for 4 for the Greyhounds (1-0, 3-3) with two RBIs. James Foltz added two hits and a pair of RBIs for the winners.

“Davis Smith was fantastic at the plate,” Malinak said.



West Allegheny 11,

New Castle 4

West Allegheny took command with six runs in the second inning and three more in the third en route to a Section 1-AAA home decision over New Castle.

“We just can’t get out of that one bad inning each game,” Red Hurricane coach Paul Malley Jr. said. “It just snowballs and puts us in a hole early on.”

New Castle (0-3, 3-5) got within 9-4 but left the sacks packed in the fifth and the Indians (3-1, 7-2) put it away with two markers in the sixth.

“To the kids’ credit, we battled back,” Malley said. “We had an opportunity but just didn’t convert.

“I thought the guys were making good contact with the ball, too.”

Vinny Jannetti and Ethan Pagley recorded two hits each for the ’Canes. Joey Ambrosini knocked in two runs for New Castle.

Julian Cox (1-1) started and took the loss. Cox tossed 21⁄3 innings, allowing eight hits and nine runs — four earned — with a walk and a strikeout.

The ’Canes have lost four in a row.



Neshannock 11,

Aliquippa 1

Neshannock’s John Sansone belted his 19th career home run in an easy Section 3-A home win over Aliquippa.

Sansone’s blast, his second of the season, was a two-run shot in the second that helped lift the Lancers (3-0, 7-2) to a 5-0 buffer after two innings. He finished with three RBIs.

Ernie Burkes was 3 for 3 for Neshannock with two RBIs. Matt Cioffi was 3 for 3 with an RBI for the winners.

Marcus Giangiuli and Connor Jones notched two hits apiece for Neshannock, which is the defending WPIAL Class A champions.

Joe Bullano (2-1) started and earned the win. Bullano pitched one frame and struck out two batters.

The Quips are 0-4, 0-5.

The Lancers have won five in a row.



Riverside 9,

Laurel 0

Blaise McCarty tossed a four-hit shutout to stifle the Spartans in a Section 5-AA clash.

McCarty struck out four and walked three in seven innings for the visiting Panthers (4-0, 7-3). Riverside’s Dylan Jones paced the offense by going 2 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Rob Hardy went 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI.

Laurel (2-2, 7-3) had four hits by four different players and no extra-base hits. The Spartans also committed four errors.

“I thought it was  a horrible effort on our part all the way around,” Laurel coach Eric Verdi said. “I thought (McCarty) mixed his pitches well. We hit the ball, but we hit it right at them and not with a lot of force.

“It was definitely not our best effort, but I know the kids will work hard to get better.”

Josh Dando took the loss as he allowed five runs — three earned — on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout.

The Spartans have dropped two straight following a five-game winning streak.



Shenango 12,

Mohawk 3

Dane Gecina led a powerful offensive attack for Shenango in a Section 5-AA rout of Mohawk.

Gecina slugged a three-run triple in the third, when the host Wildcats (3-1, 6-3) scored six runs to take the lead for good. Shenango collected six of its 12 hits in the inning, and it added five more hits in a five-run fourth inning to blow open a 7-3 game.

“We had a couple of games where we ran into some really good pitchers, but today we seemed to put it all together,” Shenango coach Mike Othites said. “After one time through the order, we saw (Mohawk pitcher Aaron DeSantis) a little better.”

Gecina (2-1) also earned the win as he allowed three runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts in four innings. Brayden Davies earned the save by pitching three innings and not allowing a hit or a walk.

“I was really pleased with how Brayden threw the ball,” Othites said. “He hasn’t pitched much this year, but he came in and it was one pitch, ground ball, one pitch, ground ball. He did a nice job.”





Softball

Neshannock 7,

Mohawk 6

Neshannock High softball pitcher Amanda Furst found a way to work out of trouble yesterday against Mohawk.

Furst stranded the potential tying run at third base to lift the Lady Lancers to a 7-6 WPIAL Section 5-AA home victory over the Lady Warriors.

Furst (7-0) pitched the first 51⁄3 innings, giving up five runs and two walks with three strikeouts. Madison Shaffer relieved and hurled 11⁄3 innings before Furst returned to record the final out.

Mohawk had two runners on with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Furst snared a weak flare back to her to end the game.

“It was a team win,” Lady Lancers coach Tracy Kimmel said. “Madison (Shaffer) is a freshman, and she’s not used to situations like this because high school is about pressure.”

Marissa DeMatteo had two hits, including a triple, for Neshannock.

Rachelle Miller (4-1) started and suffered the loss. Miller gave up seven hits and seven runs with two walks and five strikeouts. She had two hits as well.

Merran Nottingham recorded two hits and a pair of RBIs for the Lady Warriors, while Haley Sainato added two hits. Lucia Fee knocked in two runs.

Neshannock posted two runs in the third, four in the fourth and one more in the sixth.

Mohawk tallied a marker in the third, four more in the fourth and one in the seventh.

“We kept battling back,” Beatty said. “We had some timely mistakes.

“We hit the ball offensively, but a lot of times it was right at them.

The win moves Neshannock (4-0 section, 7-0 overall) just a half-game back of section-leading Riverside (5-0, 7-0). The teams meet at 11 a.m. today on the Lady Lancers’ home field.

“This was an important game,” Kimmel said of his team’s win over Mohawk. “We’re in a stretch of three big games in a row. We’ve got two down, but we still have one more to go.

“It’s going to be tough. Mohawk has a good team. They’ve given us fits over the years.”

Mohawk drops to 4-1, 6-3, one game behind the Lady Panthers.

“Neshannock is a very good team,” Beatty said. “I think our section is one of the more difficult sections to play in.”



Beaver 7,

Laurel 6

Beaver scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to rally for a Section 5-AA home win over Laurel.

The Lady Spartans (2-4, 5-4), who had 13 hits, failed to capitalize on scoring chances in the loss.

“This is a tough loss for us,” second-year Laurel coach Lori Krol said. “We just made a few really bad baserunning errors that really cost us two or three runs. It took us out of some innings.”

Brittany Grannis, Kristan Fedrizzi, Aislinn Deinert, Alyssa Vanasco and Ellen Shaffer all posted two hits for the Lady Spartans. Vanasco knocked in two runs as well.

Fedrizzi (4-1) suffered the loss in relief, tossing 11⁄3 innings. She allowed two hits and two runs — both unearned — with two walks and no strikeouts.

Laurel, trailing by a run in the top of the seventh, was retired 1-2-3. The Lady Bobcats are 1-4, 2-5.



Track and Field

Hood sisters shine for New Castle

It was time for the Hood sisters of New Castle High to break out.

Sure, they’ve done well this year, but with the biggest event to date, the Union Track and Field Invitational, staring them in the face, the duo dominated. Jordyn Hood won the 100-meter dash, the 200 and was third in the long jump. Sister Kyrstin won the 110 hurdles, just a tenth of a second in front of Shenango’s Adrian DePorzio, placed third in the long jump and fourth in the 300 hurdles and the triple jump.

New Castle girls coach Joe Cowart said he saw this one coming.

“This is their first big competition of the year, and the big stars shine brightest on the big stage, and they certainly did that,” he said. “They’re seniors this year, and this was their first opportunity on the big stage, so it was nice to see them succeed.”

New Castle finished fifth as a team with 59 points. West Middlesex won the event with 118 points. Wilmington was second (109), Shenango third (79) and Mohawk fourth (73).

Neshannock took sixth with 42 points.

Shenango’s Michelle Watson was the field event MVP. She placed first in the shot put with a throw of 38-2, third in the discus and fourth in the javelin. Watson, who set a personal best in the shot put, is splitting time between softball and track and field, and she’s thriving in both.

“She puts in a lot of extra hours,” Shenango girls coach Brian Cooper said. “She’s a hard worker. She asks me for workouts when they have away (softball) games and she can’t make practice. She’ll do them on her own. There’s times where I drive by the school and she’s out there throwing and I’ll stop and help her. She has the work ethic.”

Lizzie Manickas of Neshannock set a meet record in the 3200 as she finished at 12:06.97, which was 45 seconds faster than second place. She broke her own meet record of 12:26.80, which was set last year.

Mohawk’s Ashley Bender tied a meet record as she leaped an even 5-0 in the high jump. The Lady Warriors’ relay team set a record in the 400 relay with a time of 51.30, eclipsing the mark of 51.80 set by New Castle in 2010 and Wilmington in 2006.

Boys teams from around the area will compete today in the invitational.