Blackhawk High pitcher Nick McCowin came within one out of throwing a no-hitter in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.

McCowin, a senior, settled for a one-hitter as Blackhawk rolled past Derry Area, 7-2, yesterday afternoon at the Burkett Complex in Robinson Township.

Derry's lone hit came with two outs in the seventh inning. Derry (11-9) also scored its two runs in the seventh. McCowin finished with seven strikeouts and three walks and lifted his season record to 7-1.

Blackhawk (13-4) held a 3-0 lead after three innings and broke the game open with four runs in the fourth. Blackhawk had only six hits.

• Peters Township 16, Latrobe 1: The Indians (15-6) had 12 hits in a first-round game at North Allegheny that was stopped after four innings because of the 15-run rule. Freshman Will McClure was 3 for 3 with three RBIs and James Stratico hit two home runs. Pitcher Nick Merich limited Latrobe (14-6) to three hits.

"We're capable of putting up some big numbers offensively," Peters Township coach Joe Maize said. "Over the last seven games before this, we've scored 60-some runs. So our kids have really been swinging the bat well lately."

The win sets up a quarterfinal showdown of defending champions between Peters Township and Seneca Valley. Peters Township won the WPIAL title last year, Seneca Valley the PIAA crown.

"I think what you're going to see is two of the best pitchers in the WPIAL going head to head and probably six or seven of the best players overall in the WPIAL," Maize said.

• North Allegheny 14, Hempfield 2: Senior third baseman David Duffett had a big game and led North Allegheny (14-6) to the easy first-round win at Shaler. The game was stopped after five innings because of the 10-run rule. Hempfield (14-5) was the No. 5 seed in Class AAAA. Duffett was 4 for 4 with three doubles, six RBIs and two runs scored.

• Laurel Highlands 9, Steel Valley 1: Laurel Highlands (17-4) jumped to a 9-0 lead after four innings and cruised to the first-round win at the Burkett Complex. Laurel Highlands scored five runs in the first inning as John Boskovich had a two-run single and Kevin Gmiter a two-run double.

• Greensburg Salem 9, New Castle 6: Greensburg Salem (15-5) came back from a 5-2 deficit to post the win at North Allegheny. New Castle (9-12) held a three-run lead after four innings before Greensburg Salem had a seven-run fifth, with all the runs scoring with two outs. Steve Zerbini had a run-scoring single and Ross Mularsky an RBI double. Greensburg Salem also scored on a hit batsman and a bases-loaded walk. Then, with a 3-2 count and the runners going, Joe Hixson hit a bloop single that scored three runs.

• Geibel 5, Cornell 2: Geibel (13-5) had an efficient offense as the Gators finished with only five hits in the first-round game at Shaler. Brendan Costantino, Mick Betler and Anthony Speeney all had RBI singles for Geibel.

• In the Class AAA final at the Hershey Racquet Club, Upper St. Clair finally broke through. After losing in the final the past four years, the Panthers defeated Lower Merion, 3-2, to claim the title. Jay Jones, Ethan Kallick and Scott Yanek each won their singles matches for Upper St. Clair.

In the Class AA final, Sewickley Academy lost to Lower Moreland, 3-2. Sewickley Academy had won quarterfinal and semifinal matches by 3-2 scores. In the championship, Sewickley Academy's Matt Hoch won a singles match and Alex Miller and Kendall Weir won in doubles.