Bethel Park Pitching Outduels USC Again, 4-2

Revenge is a dish best served cold. The temperatures did their part as they have all spring long, but the Upper St. Clair bats were once again dormant against Bethel Park in a tighly contested 4-2 defeat.

Last month Logan Corrigan pitched a complete game 2-1 victory over USC. It's the only game the Panthers have been held to under 5 runs in a game. That is, until Thursday afternoon.

Bethel Park's Aaron Lapaglia and Benjamin Nolan held USC to just 2 runs as the Hawks have figured out how to tame the Panthers. Timely double plays in pressure moments.

As they did last month Bethel Park got the early lead. The Hawks first two batters reached base and USC pitcher Mike Wilcox had control problems throughout the whole game. Walking two and hitting a batter in the first inning cost himself an early 2-0 deficit.

If Wilcox was unhappy with the way his day went on the mound, he couldn't be much happier the way things unfolded at the plate either. As USC tried to rally in their half of the first inning, his ground ball started a double play that kept the Panthers off the board in the first. Things got worse for Wilcox, stay tuned.

After Bethel Park's Grant Brown reached on an error to start the third inning, he later scored on a Jonathan Pauley two-out single.

Trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the third, USC made their push. Wilcox came to the plate with one-out and runners on first and second. He would try to push a bunt past the pitcher for a single, but was unsuccessful and after Erik Woistman grounded out hard to second, the Hawks had escaped the inning without any damage.

Moments later, Wilcox found himself in trouble again on the mound. He walked four batters in the fourth inning, but thanks to catcher Alex Bell throwing out a runner attempting to steal the bases were loaded with two outs and no runs in. Erik Yobbi was at the plate for Bethel Park. He hit a screaming sinking liner to left, but Troy Schoeppner would make the diving catch to end the inning.

It would remain 3-0 in the fifth when USC came to bat. Alex Bell started things off with a single off Lapaglia. Zack Tobias and Shane McMurtry would induce walks to load the bases. Bethel Park manager Steve Bucci left Lapaglia on the mound, but Troy Schoeppner also induced a walk leading to the Panthers first run of the game. It was 3-1 now with the bases loaded and nobody out.

That forced Bucci out to make a pitching change. It was a change that would decide the game. It wasn't Logan Corrigan who dominated USC last game, but Benjamin Nolan that would get the call.

Nolan was brilliant. A perfect marriage of off-speed pitches and heat kept USC batters on their heels.  Mike Wilcox was his first batter, a chance for Wilcox to redeem himself for previous bad luck at the late. However, Nolan got Wilcox to ground into a double play. USC scored on the play to cut the lead to 3-2, but the rally was almost over. The next batter Mike Browne would ground out to the pitcher to end the inning, and end the comeback.

Bethel Park would add another run and Nolan pitched the final two innings to get the save. Steve Krolczyk pitched the final three innings for USC giving up one run.

USC drops to 7-3 in the conference, but remains 1/2 game ahead of Mt. Lebanon for second place. Bethel Park is now 6-3 in the conference, also 1/2 game behind Upper St. Clair. Peters Township still leads the conference witha 9-0 record.

That's where the Panthers will be Friday night at 7 p.m. when they visit Peters Township.  The busy weekend continues on Saturday at noon when they play host to South Park.