High school roundup: Zach Rozman, Kyle Krause lead Mars baseball’s stunning upset win
Zach Rozman roped a double to right field, and Vincent Gottschalk came around to score.
It was just one run, but in the end, it was all Mars baseball needed. The No. 15 Planets pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the WPIAL spring playoffs Wednesday evening, stunning No. 2 Plum 1-0 in the first round of the Class 5A tournament at Fox Chapel High School.
Mars managed just one hit the rest of the game, a Grady Spiegle single, as Plum pitcher Braden Kemmerer was nearly lights out in a tough-luck loss. But Kyle Krause was equally dominant. The Planets’ ace fired 107 pitches, 70 for strikes, and struck out five while allowing seven hits and a walk in a shutout victory.
The upset victory sends Mars to Tuesday’s quarterfinals against the winner of No. 10 Baldwin vs. No. 7 Peters Township at a site and time to be determined. That game was suspended in the second inning because of thunderstorms and will be resumed at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Emersyn Jones, Kaila Purcell and Carissa Tekely each had multi-hit performances, but third-seeded Knoch fell to No. 6 Beaver 8-5 in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals.
The Knights’ season ends with a 17-4 record.
Union/A-C Valley baseball 10, Keystone 3 — The Falcon Knights stole 12 bases, led by Trent Fleming’s 3 and two apiece from Carter McGarvey and Connor Langdon.
Fleming (1-for-2) scored twice, McGarvey (2-for-4) drove in a run and scored two more, and Landgon (2-for-3) reached home once. Sebastian Link went 5.2 innings for the win, striking out six.
Karns City softball 20, Keystone 18 — The Gremlins won a shootout, but an 11-run second inning provided cushion. Lyrik Reed (1-for-3) and Aubrey Taylor (1-for-3) doubled and scored three runs from the top of a lineup that recorded just seven hits, but Karns City drew 20 walks to fuel its production.
DuBois Central Catholic softball 2, Moniteau 0 — The Warriors well held to just one Alex Stewart hit as Rylee Kulbatsky struck out 17 Moniteau batters.
Slippery Rock baseball 13, Titusville 6 — Parker Dalcamo had a huge day, bashing a pair of home runs, including a fifth-inning grand slam, for the Rockets as they wrapped up region play. Isaac McCandless also hit a homer, and Austan Runtas tossed a complete game, allowing five earned runs and striking out four.
DuBois Central Catholic baseball 5, Moniteau 1 — James Gillen drove in Moniteau’s only run in the defeat. The Warriors had five hits in total.
