WEXFORD — By the latter stages of its WPIAL Class A first-round baseball playoff against Sewickley Academy, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic remained alive thanks to its pitching.

In the end, even that reassurance was turned against the Trojans.

Sewickley Academy’s John DelVecchio slapped a single through a drawn-in infield in the top of the seventh inning, scoring Joey Straka with the eventual winning run in the Panthers’ 4-3 victory at North Allegheny High School Tuesday afternoon.

The run was charged to senior Erick Taylor, CWNC’s ace who did not start the game but was brought in during the fourth inning to relieve Joe Alampi.

Taylor shouldered the loss after striking out six, walking three and allowing the one run on just two hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.

“He’s normally a starter,” said Trojans’ coach John Haggerty. “For him to come in during the fourth inning without being fully warmed up, he battled, but it’s tough.”

After taking over for Alampi, Taylor got the last two outs of the fourth inning, at which point the game was tied at 3. He worked scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth, stranding three runners in the process.

But the Panthers managed to get their first two batters on base in the seventh. Straka reached on a throwing error and Stephen Klemash walked. With one out, both runners advanced on a wild pitch to put runners at second and third. That prompted Haggerty to bring his infield in as DelVecchio walked to the plate.

“We did a great job there to get guys on base,” said Sewickley Academy coach Andy Heck. “He (DelVecchio) has put great at-bats together all year and he’s only a freshman.”

Taylor kept the Trojan deficit at just one run by striking out Adam Snyder and Martin Tancer to end the inning, but Straka rendered that a moot point by quickly setting CWNC down in order in the bottom of the inning, ending the Trojans’ season.

Straka got off to a shaky start, allowing three runs on four hits over the first two innings. Calin Gribbin had a two-run single in the first and Tyler Elwood scored on a wild pitch in the second.

From that point, Straka pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits in that span. He squeezed out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fifth when he got Luc Madonna to pop out and struck out Elwood.

“No doubt, he got stronger as the game went on,” Heck said of Straka. “There was no way I was going to pull him. This game was his to win or lose.”

“I think we got tight and felt some pressure,” Haggerty said of his team’s offense. “We weren’t swinging at our pitches, but their pitches.”

The Panthers’ first three runs were charged to Alampi. He surrendered an RBI-single to Derek Littlefield in the top of the second. In the fourth, the Panthers (10-5) loaded the bases with none out before Tommy Lasorda scored on a sacrifice fly from Tancer. Moments later, Alampi walked Littlefield to load the bases again and Haggerty called on Taylor.

The first batter Taylor faced was John Nagel, who drove in Sewickley’s third run — charged to Alampi — with a groundout that scored DelVecchio.

CWNC (13-7) shared the Section 4 title with Vincentian Academy this season, which ended far too soon for Haggerty.

“It’s disappointing. We wanted to compete, we wanted to go further,” he said, “but the players did a great job this year.”

Sewickley Acad. 010 200 1 — 4 7 1

CWNC 210 000 0 — 3 7 1

W: Joey Straka 7 IP (3K, 4BB). L: Erick Taylor 3.2 IP (6K, 3BB).

Sewickley Academy (10-5): Martin Tancer RBI, Derek Littlefield 1B RBI, John Nagel 2-1B RBI, Joey Straka R, Tommy Lasorda 1B 2R, John DelVecchio 1B 2B R RBI, Adam Snyder 1B

CW North Catholic (13-7): Danny Lynch 1B R, Robert Schad 1B R, Calin Gribbin 1B 2RBI, Erick Taylor 1B, Tyler Elwood 1B R, Austin Sieminski 1B, Brandon Notaro 1B