Kiski's Paul Henry runs down the ball in the WPIAL semi-finals vs. Pine-Richlands

Kiski Area played Pine Richlands in the WPIAL Baseball semi-finals on Monday. Even though the Cavaliers fell, they have earned a berth in the State tournament June 7th.

The Cavs, who lost their first few games of the season, were a surprise contender who popped up out of Section 3-AAA to appear in a post-season preliminary WPIAL playoff match-up with Norwin. But Kiski's baseball team, coached by Jack Jewart, was on a roll after wrapping up their regular season with a 9-6 record. They beat Norwin 11-3 in the prelim and advanced to the first round of WPIALs to play Upper St. Clair, the highly ranked number-one seed in the playoffs.

Kiski Cavaliers Varsity Baseball Team

Upper St. Clair had a 13-2 record entering the playoffs against Kiski. The Cavs, at the 10-6 mark after the Norwin thrashing, were definitely not the favorite. But Jewart's squad, most of whom have played together from an early age, didn't let the Upper St. Clair's rep get to them, and played a tough game. When the May 20th game was over, Kiski had the upper hand and downed Upper St. Clair, 5-1. The Cavs went to the WPIAL quarterfinals and the other team went home. May 22, against 14-5 West Allegheny in the quarterfinals Kiski hung on to win in a 4-3 nailbiter.

The win threw them into the WPIAL semi-finals, as well as qualifying them for the States. It also propelled them into a rematch with the Pine-Richlands Rams, the number one team in their section who beat Kiski twice in the regular season. The number-one-rated high school catcher in the nation leads the Rams, who carried a 17-4 record coming into the game. They dominated the Cavaliers most of the game as Kiski fell by a 9-1 margin. Pine-Richlands now faces 20-3 North Allegheny on Saturday. Kiski is now preparing for the State tournament that begins June 7th. See over 100 photos from the WPIAL semi-final game here: http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com/gallery/Sports/Baseball/2003%20-%202004%20Season/WPIAL%20Semi-finals:%20Kiski%20vs%20Pine%20Richland