Bill Beckner stories, Page 50

New athletic programs usually need an adjustment period — give or take five years — before they start thinking postseason wins. But the Saint Vincent men’s volleyball program, which began playing competitive games just four years ago, is ahead of the curve. The Bearcats posted their first playoff win, taking...

Sandy Felice will tell you she does not have to do much to get her swimmers ready at Mt. Pleasant. The coach is well aware the team has assembled some of the top talent in the state. But sometimes the accolades go to the person in charge. Felice was honored...

Tamara Girardi writes fictional sports stories that are based on her observations of the sometimes polarizing, always changing landscape of female sports. Things she has seen, heard about and even experienced are woven into the fabric of seven books the Lower Burrell author has published in the last year. The...

After a slow start, the Norwin baseball team is regaining its footing. The Knights opened the season with four straight losses but rebounded by winning two out of three games against Baldwin in a three-game Section 2-6A series. Chris Slatt went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs,...

Norwin missed out on the WPIAL Class 3A boys lacrosse playoffs last year, but there is optimism around the team that a postseason return could be imminent. A young team is growing into its uniform. “We believe we have a great group with quality leaders, young talent and solid veterans,”...

Yough had plans to bring in sophomore Adoria Waldier as a relief pitcher as its Section 3-3A softball game against Mt. Pleasant stretched into the later innings. Neither team was giving an inch. Groundouts and popouts became routine as Yough freshman Sydney Bergman and senior Sophia Smithnosky of Mt. Pleasant...

Brawny and powerful, Andrew Kocan is an intimidating presence at the plate. The Canon-McMillan senior first baseman — all 6-foot-4, 285 pounds of him — is headed to Virginia Military Institute to play football. An offensive lineman and defensive end, Kocan did the lead-blocking for the baseball team Thursday, launching...

Let’s play … three? The WPIAL went to three-game series this season in Class 6A baseball, and the change has been met with warmth from local coaches who must develop pitching depth to stay sharp and earn sweeps or series wins. Baseball long has been a chess match, and the...

Only one Westmoreland County baseball team is situated among the top teams in the Trib top-5 rankings. Franklin Regional remains third in this week’s Class 5A rankings. The Panthers (7-2, 3-1 Section 1) have only one section loss, a 3-1 setback against Gateway. They return to section play Monday against...

Early miscues, a nagging struggle to bunt runners over and a pile of strikeouts were an unsavory combination for Hempfield. Seneca Valley pitcher Lexie Hames and the top-ranked Raiders seemed to be in command and had the No. 3 Spartans right where they wanted them — with a two-run lead....

Southmoreland picked Easter week to rise into the rankings. The Scotties (3-1, 2-0) jumped into the Trib top five in Class 3A after a pair of 2-0 section wins over Ligonier Valley (9 innings) and Mt. Pleasant. They had three straight shutouts heading into Wednesday’s game at Yough. They opened...

Cheyenne Piper understands the assignment because she has prepared for it. She has longed to fulfill it. The top pitching role at Ligonier Valley now belongs to her, and the steely junior behind the glasses could not be more focused. “It motivated me to keep working,” Piper said of taking...

Tasked with what he considered the toughest decision of his life — even tougher than giving up high school football when he blew out his knee as a freshman — Bryce Butler decided where he will play his final year of college basketball. More than 60 schools showed interest in...

Hempfield did not have classes Monday as Easter break wound to a close, so some baseball players arrived early for their home game against Baldwin. Carson Shuglie was among that group. The junior put the extra swings to use as the Spartans opened a three-game series against the Highlanders. Shuglie...

Senior Kiley Myers was known for her aggressiveness and speed from the pitching circle when she played at Latrobe. Those traits followed her to college softball at Marist. Myers recently earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week after winning three straight starts. She pitched a three-hit shutout...

Amarah McCutcheon School: Southmoreland Sport: Softball Class: Junior Claim to fame: The standout shortstop came through in the clutch for the Scotties in a pitchers’ duel against Ligonier Valley. She hit a two-run, walk-off home run to beat the Rams, 2-0, for what she said was the most thrilling moment...

Of the 200-plus players selected for the annual Roundball Classic senior all-star basketball games, 36 hail from Westmoreland County schools. Rosters were revealed last week for the games set for May 18-20 at Geneva College in Beaver Falls. Lilly Palladino of Penn-Trafford, Norwin’s Tori Sydeski and Sarah Penrod and Brooke...

Norwin is one of the top boys volleyball teams in the WPIAL this season. Just ask the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association. The well-regarded outfit had Norwin ranked No. 2 in Class 3A two weeks into the season. The Knights hope to live up to the raised expectations. Coach Mike...

In the last five years, the Norwin track and field teams have a combined record of 47-3 with nine section titles between them. The girls have won five straight section championships. Another spring season is here, and Norwin again expects to compete with the top teams — with a caveat....

The Norwin softball team continued its hot start with a 12-4 victory over Butler. Emma Novotnak homered and drove in three runs, Holy Cross commit Bailey Snowberger also homered, and Alyssa McCormick had three hits and three RBIs on March 29. The Lady Knights, who sat at 4-1, hit eight...

About three weeks ago, one match at the NCAA Championships knocked the college wrestling world off its axis. The nation watched as Iowa sensation Spencer Lee writhed under Purdue’s Matt Ramos, bending and trying to peel his opponent off and turn him as time ticked away, finally submitting for a...

Dan Palm said he was surprised but supportive when Craig Spisak resigned last year as Yough’s baseball coach to take the same position at Norwin. An assistant to Spisak since 2016, Palm saw the forest through the trees, and an opportunity with it. He decided to raise his game. Palm...

Freshman baseball players usually need an adjustment period. Time to get used to older teammates, harsher critiques and varsity pitching. But Franklin Regional freshman Luke Williams seems like he has been here before. The shortstop is having a remarkable debut season for the WPIAL Class 5A No. 3-ranked Panthers (7-1)....

Todd Bunner didn’t want to let dad down. Or his team. Divine intervention was something Bunner had always believed in, but was never in a situation where he had to call on it. The Southmoreland softball coach glanced to the sky with his top hitter up with an 0-2 count...

With his team’s fourth straight win freshly in the books — a 2-0 shutout of rival Mt. Pleasant in Section 3-3A —Southmoreland softball coach Todd Bunner gathered with his players in front of their dugout Wednesday and offered praise to his player of the game. “Maddie Brown,” Bunner said, “we’re...