Toppling top seed has Mt. Lebanon baseball team looking good
A win against the No. 1 seed has the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils looking like a legitimate title contender.
Hoping to reach the WPIAL championship for the first time since 2006, Mt. Lebanon takes on No. 5 North Allegheny in a Class AAAA semifinal game tonight at the Burkett Complex in Robinson Township at 7 p.m.
Mt. Lebanon (13-8) eliminated previously undefeated Norwin, 5-2, in a quarterfinal last Wednesday. The win against the Section 2 champion Knights came one day after the No. 9 Blue Devils defeated No. 8 and Section 4 winner Plum, 8-2.
North Allegheny (13-9) is coming off a 10-0 six-inning victory against Hempfield. A day earlier, the Tigers needed 10 innings to edge Gateway, 2-1.
Both Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny have outstanding pitching and defense, so expect this game to be low scoring.
North Allegheny has given up more than three runs just once in its last 13 games. Chris Helkowski allowed one unearned run in eight innings against Gateway, and teammate Mitch Machi pitched 5 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to defeat Hempfield.
For Mt. Lebanon, Zack Bahm pitched a complete game against Plum, and Mike Duffy allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings against Norwin.
Mt. Lebanon is making its first semifinal appearance since 2006, a game in which the Blue Devils defeated North Allegheny, 10-8. The Blue Devils went on to beat Norwin in the championship game. The Tigers last played in the semifinals in 2010. They won that game, but lost to Pine-Richland in the championship.
These schools have not met in the postseason since that semifinal in 2006. However, they play each other annually during the regular season. The Blue Devils ended a three-game losing streak against North Allegheny by defeating the Tigers, 9-6, on March 28.
Hoping to reach the WPIAL championship for the first time since 2006, Mt. Lebanon takes on No. 5 North Allegheny in a Class AAAA semifinal game tonight at the Burkett Complex in Robinson Township at 7 p.m.
Mt. Lebanon (13-8) eliminated previously undefeated Norwin, 5-2, in a quarterfinal last Wednesday. The win against the Section 2 champion Knights came one day after the No. 9 Blue Devils defeated No. 8 and Section 4 winner Plum, 8-2.
North Allegheny (13-9) is coming off a 10-0 six-inning victory against Hempfield. A day earlier, the Tigers needed 10 innings to edge Gateway, 2-1.
Both Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny have outstanding pitching and defense, so expect this game to be low scoring.
North Allegheny has given up more than three runs just once in its last 13 games. Chris Helkowski allowed one unearned run in eight innings against Gateway, and teammate Mitch Machi pitched 5 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to defeat Hempfield.
For Mt. Lebanon, Zack Bahm pitched a complete game against Plum, and Mike Duffy allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings against Norwin.
Mt. Lebanon is making its first semifinal appearance since 2006, a game in which the Blue Devils defeated North Allegheny, 10-8. The Blue Devils went on to beat Norwin in the championship game. The Tigers last played in the semifinals in 2010. They won that game, but lost to Pine-Richland in the championship.
These schools have not met in the postseason since that semifinal in 2006. However, they play each other annually during the regular season. The Blue Devils ended a three-game losing streak against North Allegheny by defeating the Tigers, 9-6, on March 28.
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