Westmoreland County high school baseball recaps from Thursday, May 4th 2023:

Norwin 5 Hempfield Area 4

Justin Weaver delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead lift Norwin to a 5-4 victory over Hempfield Area in a Section 2-6A contest. The Spartans raced out to a 4-0 lead scoring a pair of runs in the first and second innings but the Knights answered with a four-spot in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 4-4. The score remained until the eighth as Weaver, with two outs, lined a 1-0 pitch into left-center field to drive in Nolan Ryan and end the game. Weaver finished with two hits and three RBIs for Norwin (7-10, 7-6) while Keegan Carr collected two hits. Gage Wheaton finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for the Spartans (9-8, 7-6) who lost their fifth straight game. Carson Shuglie added a two-run homer for Hempfield Area. Mike Sincak tossed three scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory.

Plum 7 Franklin Regional 5

Franklin Regional squandered an early lead to Plum and fell 7-5 in Section 1-5A action. The Panthers collected three runs in the first inning and two more in the second to go in front 5-0. But the Mustangs answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second plus five more in the third to build their lead to 7-5. Anthony Alesi had a two-run double and drew a bases loaded walk for Franklin Regional (11-4, 6-3). Blake Bertucci finished with two hits and drove in a run. Carson Svidron went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored for Plum (10-6, 7-2).

Penn-Trafford 10 Gateway 2 (Game 1)

In game one of a doubleheader at Gateway, Penn-Trafford used a big fifth inning to down Gateway 10-2 in a Section 1-5A match up. The score was 2-2 before the Warriors exploded for the six-run fifth and added two more runs in the sixth inning. Chuck Fontana finished 3-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored for Penn-Trafford which had six extra base hits. Brady Hoffman and Peyton Bigler each had two hits. Dylan Grabowski went six strong innings to earn the victory. Grabowski allowed two runs on four hits and struck out nine.

Penn-Trafford 9 Gateway 1 (Game 2)

Penn-Trafford finished the doubleheader sweep of Gateway taking game two 9-1. The Warriors scored a single run in the second inning then plated four runs in the third and four more in the fourth inning. As the designated hitter, Dylan Grabowski had two hits and scored twice for Penn-Trafford (11-4-1, 7-3). Carmen Metcalf knocked in two runs while Brady Lane scored a pair of runs. Nolan Marasti came in and pitched four scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win. He struck out seven. Jayden Lewis registered two hits for the Gators (4-12, 1-9).

Greater Latrobe 5 Belle Vernon 4

Despite going down three runs early, Greater Latrobe roared back to defeat Belle Vernon 5-4 in a Section 2-4A game. The Leopards tallied three runs in the top of the first inning and the score remained 3-0 until the Wildcats went ahead 4-3 by scoring four runs in the fifth inning. They added an insurance run in the sixth to make it 5-3. Belle Vernon cut the deficit to 5-4 in the seventh but a flyout ended the contest. Riley Smith finished with three hits to pace first place Greater Latrobe (11-6, 8-1). Anthony Masasri and Louie Amatucci each had two hits a piece. Adam LaCarte went 2-for-3 with a home run, double and three RBIs to power Belle Vernon (7-8, 4-5). Smith was the winning pitcher as he went all seven innings.

Yough 9 McGuffey 4

Zander Aird went 3-for-4 to help lift Yough to a 9-4 Section 4-3A triumph at McGuffey. In addition to Aird, Matt Sanner and Jack Simpson added doubles for the Cougars (12-4, 9-0). Yough currently leads Greensburg Salem by one game for first place in the section.

Greensburg Salem 6 Brownsville 1

It took a big sixth inning but Greensburg Salem earned a 6-1 Section 4-3A victory over Brownsville in a game played at Seton Hill University. The Golden Lions had scored a run in the first inning and the Falcons tied the game at 1-1 with a tally in the top of the sixth. But in the bottom of the inning, Greensburg Salem brought in five runs on five hits to go in front 6-1. Owen Tutich and Noah Outly each had two hits, including a double for second place Greensburg Salem (12-3, 8-1). Tutich got the complete game victory on the mound allowing just one run on two hits while striking out seven. Brownsville's record drops to 3-11, 2-9.

Valley 7 Derry Area 6

A late rally attempt by Derry Area fell just short as the Trojans dropped a 7-6 decision to Valley in Section 3-3A play. The Vikings were head 7-1 heading into the final inning but a bases loaded double by Cason Long followed by a RBI single from Ashton Beighley pulled DA to within one. A groundout would end the game, however. Dante Taliani finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored for Valley (6-10, 2-7). Demetrius Green and Mason Simmons also each had two hits. In addition to Long and Beighley, Brady Angus scored twice and drove in a run for Derry Area (5-8, 4-5). Conrad Hoover was the winning pitcher for Valley which used six hurlers in the match up.

Serra Catholic 6 Greensburg Central Catholic 5

Freshman Max Black's walk-off single in the seventh inning gave Serra Catholic a dramatic 6-5 victory over visiting Greensburg Central Catholic in Section 3-2A. The Centurions led 5-0 after scoring five runs in the top of the fifth. But the Eagles answered with four runs in the bottom of the fifth and scored the two winning runs in the seventh. Max Kallock and Anthony Grippo each had two run doubles for GCC (7-4, 6-3). First place Serra Catholic improves to 14-2, 8-1.