Bill Beckner stories, Page 48

After going 3 for 3 with four RBIs, first baseman Chuck Fontana III had one more hit lined up Tuesday. As his teammates gathered in left field to celebrate a nerve-racking victory, the Penn-Trafford junior ducked into the dugout and swiped the water cooler. He carried it quietly to the...

Belle Vernon alum Mark Diethorn has joined the football coaching staff at Michigan State. Diethorn, 37, was hired as the program’s executive director of player personnel and recruiting. It won’t be his first go-round at the Power 5 level. Diethorn worked similar jobs at Virginia Tech (2018-21), Pitt (2012-17) and...

When inclement weather hits Western Pennsylvania during spring sports season, baseball, softball and tennis teams often go into hiding under an umbrella of postponements. But not lacrosse teams. Come rain or shine, warm or cold, they are playing, often at night under the lights. For Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse and junior...

Recent matchups between the Norwin and Hempfield softball teams turned into home run derbys. The latest one, though, was a pitchers’ duel. And it had a postseason vibe between two playoff-bound teams. Sophomore Riley Miller went the distance for Hempfield, striking out nine with no walks, and the No. 2...

A Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division title that came with a 12-0 record earned the Seton Hill women’s lacrosse team a number of awards. The accolades start with senior Makayla Kintner, who was named the division’s defensive player of the year. Mila Udovicic, meantime, was picked for the rookie...

Five players from Westmoreland County were named to the all-state boys basketball teams. They were represented in four classifications, and all of them made the third team. The players are: Zion Moore, a sophomore at Belle Vernon (Class 4A), junior Terek Crosby of Yough (3A), juniors Tyree Turner and Franco...

They were supposed to be two of the top girls basketball players in the WPIAL last season — locks for top-10 all-star picks and clear-cut player of the year candidates in Westmoreland County. But ACL injuries forced Latrobe’s Emma Blair and Southmoreland’s Olivia Cernuto to the sidelines and cost them...

Jeannette’s boys soccer team is under new leadership. Steve Pons was named coach of the Jayhawks. He replaces Art Cicero, who was not retained after four seasons. An Imperial resident, Pons inherits a talented team that includes All-WPIAL player Jordan Taylor as well as standouts Austin Emery and Jorel Taylor....

Norwin sent a message to the rest of the WPIAL at the 100th Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association track and field championships April 27, at Latrobe. That message? The Knights are for real — and they are WPIAL title contenders. The boys and girls teams won titles at the county meet,...

Ethen Culbertson threw Hempfield a curve. The host Spartans were hoping to hit Norwin’s unassuming sophomore left-hander Friday and bounce back from a loss against the Knights. But Culberson wasn’t having it. With his curveball doing its job and a defense settling in behind him, Culberton tossed an 85-pitch complete...

Justin Weaver wanted to win for several reasons Thursday. The Norwin senior baseball player had his own, personal list of motivating factors in the back of his mind. • There was a playoff spot up for grabs. • It was senior day. • It was his 18th birthday. • Coach...

Won at a time. Like four bases form a diamond, those four words form the motto of the Latrobe baseball team, which has thrust itself into a another postseason conversation after winning back-to-back section titles. The playoff seeds and matchups will come out in a week, and Latrobe will try...

With a week to play in the regular season, the Westmoreland County baseball playoff field is just about set. The WPIAL will announce seedings and opening-round pairings next Friday, and games could start the following Monday. All games will be played at neutral sites. The championships will be May 30-31...

Southmoreland has been a playoff regular in recent seasons, and the Scotties won a WPIAL championship in 2018. But, strangely, something has eluded the Scotties softball team for the past two decades: a section title. That changed this season as the team secured at least a tie for the Section...

It’s funny how a regular-season schedule can sometimes balance itself out. Greensburg Central Catholic softball went from winning games that barely lasted four innings to winning some that could have gone to extra innings. It has brought a sense of equilibrium to the third-ranked team in WPIAL Class 2A. A...

While JJ Matijevic is waiting for his next call-up to the Houston Astros, the former Norwin star is giving Sugar Land Space Cowboys fans their money’s worth. Matijevic, back in Triple-A after seeing action in 32 games last season and earning a World Series ring with Houston as a member...

Seton Hill baseball has a 26-game winning streak in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, a .979 team fielding percentage, a 3.20 team ERA and a No. 16 ranking in the country. While impressive on a national scale, it is unlikely any of it happens without a local pool of recruits....

Because IUP was on the threshold of surpassing the 50-game limit for the regular season, the Crimson Hawks’ baseball program is facing sanctions from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The PSAC announced Tuesday that IUP, which “failed to monitor its permissible NCAA contest limitations,” will forfeit a game and face...

Seton Hill celebrated under the lights in Ohio. Now its postseason future looks bright. The men’s lacrosse team clinched the Great Midwest Conference regular season title with a 13-5 victory Wednesday night at Walsh. Senior Peyton Gensler led the offense with a hat trick and an assist, while senior midfielder...

Three NCAA Division I college offers and only one year of high school basketball. So goes life for Erica Gribble, the standout freshman at Greensburg Central Catholic who added a third offer over the weekend in the United States Naval Academy. The backcourt standout’s previous offers, which came before she...

His trademark cowboy hat perched atop his head, Allegheny junior Jacob Boord stood proudly at the top of the medal stand. The Hempfield product won his third conference javelin title at the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships. Boord’s clinching throw sailed 207 feet, 7 inches and set a facility record. 2023...

Grace Stein School: Jeannette Class: Freshman Sport: Softball Claim to fame: Stein has burst onto the scene in her first year of varsity softball, leading upstart Jeannette back to playoff contention. She was dominant in three recent run-ruled outings, in the pitching circle and at the plate. She tossed a...

Jeannette athletic director Adrian Batts thought the softball field behind the high school needed more than bleachers and well-manicured grass for an up-and-coming program. It needed a name, too. Jeannette this week will name the field after a longtime and well-regarded district employee, Dana Hall, who died in 2020 from...

Hannah Shaw collected the only victory for Norwin at the 58th Butler Invitational April 21 at Bernardi Stadium in Butler. Shaw, a Northeastern commit, soared 11 feet, 7 inches to win the pole vault title, one of many top-10 finishes for the Knights. Trey Huha finished third in the 200-meter...

If he strikes out or has a rough inning pitching, Ryan Orosz can reset quickly with the press of a button. When the announcer calls out his name for his next at-bat and hits play to start his walk-up song, the good times can begin again. “Whenever I hear my...