Bill Beckner stories, Page 117

Morgan Ryan has one more year of college softball left. She will play it in her backyard. The recent Notre Dame grad who was a supreme talent at Hempfield will chase a master’s degree at Seton Hill. While she’s at it, she will play a fifth year as a member...

A pair of Westmoreland County girls basketball programs will have new coaches next season. Franklin Regional recently hired former Plum coach Bernie Pucka, and Greensburg Central Catholic promoted assistant Chris Skatell to head coach. Both will replace men who coached for three seasons before resigning in the spring. Pucka replaces...

Sam Hartman had so much fun winning a national track championship that he decided to do it twice. The headband-clad junior from Seton Hill doubled down at the NCAA Division II outdoor track & field championships by winning titles in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles Saturday in Allendale, Mich. He...

Owen Sabol got a taste of college baseball right away when he arrived at Seton Hill. He played in 10 games and started nine of them. But then the pandemic kicked in and the season was sawed off 13 games in. That’s when the waiting game began for 2021. It...

It has been eight years since the Mercyhurst baseball team saw a relief pitcher earn all-region honors. But then Michael Krauza came along and had a season to place on the mantel. Krauza was named to the NCBWA Atlantic All-Region First Team after making 19 regular season appearances and leading...

The WPIAL softball championships will return to renovated Cal U for the first time since 2017. There will be four games Wednesday and two more Thursday at Lilley Field. The schedule is as follows: Wednesday, June 2 Class A: West Greene vs. Union, noon Class 3A: Mt. Pleasant vs. Ellwood...

About a month ago, Taylor Eckles wasn’t sure if she would be able to join her teammates in the WPIAL playoffs. A torn tendon in her knee forced her to the sidelines, and she sat softball dormant for six weeks. The Canon-McMillan junior made her return to game action in...

Thursday’s game Class 3A Third-place game Southmoreland (11-5) vs. Avonworth (12-6) 2 p.m. Wednesday at Gateway Coaches: Todd Bunner, Southmoreland; Jenna Muncie, Avonworth What’s at stake: The winner qualifies for the PIAA playoffs, and the loser is done for the season. Players to watch: Amarah McCutcheon, Fr., SS, Southmoreland; Abigail...

The Kaitlyn “Moe” Rosensteel Scholarship Foundation planned to award one scholarship to a deserving WPIAL girls soccer player in the name of the late Ringgold and travel soccer standout and West Virginia Wesleyan recruit who was killed in June of 2019 by a lightning strike at Mammoth Park in Mt....

Ellwood City coach Gary Rozanski has seen his teams win WPIAL championships before but never has judged them on aesthetics. It’s not about how it looks. It’s about finding ways to advance. “It’s about playing your best ball and getting hot at the right time,” Rozanski said. “Who takes better...

Wednesday’s games Class 6A Semifinals 2-Norwin (14-2) vs. 6-Canon-McMillan (8-9) 2 p.m. at West Mifflin Coaches: Brian Mesich, Norwin; Michele Moeller, Canon-McMillan Winner plays: Winner of 1-Bethel Park (16-0)/5-Pine-Richland (9-8) on June 2 or 3 in WPIAL championship at Cal (Pa.) Players to watch: Sydney Lokay, Sr., P, Norwin; Olivia...

Charlotte women’s basketball promoted former standout guard and Jeannette alum Ciara Gregory to a full-time assistant coach. The promotion comes after Gregory served as a graduate manager for two seasons. Gregory, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an American studies minor in 2017, completed a master’s degree this...

Class A semifinals 7-Riverview (10-6) vs. 6-Jefferson-Morgan (13-5) 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Plum Coaches: Bill Gras, Riverview; John Curtis, Jefferson-Morgan Winner plays: Winner of 1-Eden Christian (16-4)/4-Union (9-5) on June 1 or 2 in championship at Wild Things Park, Washington Players to watch: Taylor Zellefrow, Jr., IF, Riverview; Bryce Bedilion,...

The volume seemed to get louder from the Riverview dugout as the game progressed. Wire-to-wire chants and shouts echoed across the field and didn’t stop until the Raiders’ crescendo — the waving of a skull-and-crossbones flag that punctuated a brow-raising upset in the WPIAL Class A baseball playoffs. The message...

Sister combinations are nothing new to high school softball, but having multiple combos is a little less common. Mt. Pleasant, set to play Avonworth on Tuesday in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals at Penn-Trafford, has two sets of sisters, and they all contribute. Both consist of a senior and sophomore....

WPIAL softball playoff preview Tuesday’s games Class 4A Semifinals 7-Southmoreland (11-4) vs. 11-Ellwood City (13-4) 2 p.m. at Penn-Trafford Coaches: Todd Bunner, Southmoreland; Gary Rozanski, Ellwood City Winner plays: Winner of 1-Mt. Pleasant (15-3) vs. 4-Avonworth (12-5) on June 2 or 3 (time TBD) in the championship at Cal (Pa.)...

Mark Goetz already had made school history by qualifying for the NCAA Regional round. But the senior golfer from West Virginia nearly took it a step further. Goetz, a Greensburg native who attended The Kiski School, played his way into the lead on the final day of the regional and...

With lower participation numbers than usual at Jeannette, rumors have been swirling around the football program. Coach Roy Hall has heard them all. The season might be in jeopardy. The Jayhawks might not be able to field a team this year. A co-op with a neighboring district is imminent. Hall...

With high school football training camps set to open in less than three months, Cade Yacamelli of Penn-Trafford has a lot on his mind. The soon-to-be senior is drawing college offers at a rapid pace. He added three this month, from New Hampshire, Yale and Maine. The 6-foot, 200-pound running...

WPIAL softball playoff previews Monday’s games Class 4A Quarterfinals 7-Yough (11-5) vs. 2-Beaver (14-0) 3 p.m. at Peterswood Park, McMurray Coaches: Dutch Harvey, Yough; Amy Haggart, Beaver Winner plays: Winner of 3-West Mifflin (15-4)/6-Burrell (8-6) on Wednesday in semifinals (time, site to TBD) Players to watch: Savannah Manns, Sr., OF,...

No matter how far this playoff runs goes, Hempfield will remember that nerve-racking yet fun-filled fifth inning from the quarterfinals when the Spartans turned a negative into a positive. The third-seeded Spartans went from an unsavory performance in the top of the frame to reversing course and taking control in...

Norwin had made a habit out of eking one-run baseball games, which is fine with the coaching staff, as long as the Knights are winning. Some expected another tight finish when the Class 6A No. 3 Knights hosted Franklin Regional, the state’s top-ranked team in Class 5A, in a late-season...

For Franklin Regional baseball coach Bobby Saddler and his players, it must have been like having the theme from “Psycho” pierce their ears. Ree, ree, ree. The Panthers’ first loss of the season hit hard, like a stabbing pain. Norwin, the third-ranked team in Class 6A at the time, roughed...