Knoch beat Uniontown 2-1 on Monday in Round 1 of the WPIAL playoffs.  In a game where hits and baserunners were scarce for both teams, the Knights got a stellar performance from starting pitcher Angelo DeLeonardis, played great defense behind him, and took advantage of two defensive miscues by Uniontown.

DeLeonardis entered the game as one of the WPIAL’s top pitchers with a 4-1 record on the mound and a 1.20 ERA.  The senior right hander went the distance on 87 pitches and gave up just 2 hits, while walking 3 and hitting 1 batter.  The defense was excellent behind DeLeonardis and Uniontown scored just 1 unearned run.

In the bottom of the first, Brady Wozniak got the Knights on the board after he drew a one out walk, and stole 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs.  Isaac Roddy walked with 2 outs and stole 2nd on the first pitch to Luke DiSanti, and Wozniak raced home on a bad throw to second by Uniontown’s catcher.

Uniontown made some noise in the top of the 3rd as their first two batters of the inning hit singles.  The leadoff batter moved to third after tagging up on a deep fly ball out to right fielder Logan Cypher, and the Red Raiders had runners at the corners with just 1 out.  The Knights defense rose up and second baseman Luke Priester rolled a double play with shortstop Dathan Gillis and first baseman Jackson Pacek to end the threat.

In the top of the 4th, the Knights got 2 quick outs on grounders to Gillis and Wozniak, but DeLeonardis hit the Red Raiders’ third batter of the inning, who then stole second.  Uniontown evened the score at 1-1 on an infield throwing error, but that was all they would get in the 4th as DeLeonardis picked off the base runner at first.

In the bottom of the 4th, Eli Sutton led off with a single, which was the only hit of the game for Knoch.  Sutton moved into scoring position on a stolen base, and moved to third when Roddy reached on a ground ball error.  Sutton scored as the Uniontown first baseman dropped the ball on a pick-off attempt at first base to give the Knights the winning run.

Uniontown went down in order in the 5th but got another baserunner on in the 6th via a lead off walk, and he reached third after a sacrifice bunt and a groundout.  With 2 outs, DeLeonardis fanned the next batter but the Knights couldn’t get any insurance runs as they went down in order in the bottom of the 6th.

In the top of the 7th, DeLeonardis issued another lead off walk but erased that runner on the next pitch as he fielded a bunt back to the mound and rolled a double play with Gillis and Pacek.  DeLeonardis put Uniontown away for good as he rung up his second strikeout of the game against the last batter.

This was the first playoff win for the Knights since the 2016 season, who now prepare to face Section 1 foe North Catholic on Monday, May 23rd with the time and location TBD.