Jerin Steele stories, Page 31

Troy LaNeve doesn’t like to put much weight into an at-bat that’s good or bad, but after his first collegiate home run for Vanderbilt in late March at Oklahoma State, he soaked in the moment. “After the game was over and I was able to check my phone and read...

As Pine-Richland softball geared up for the stretch run in the regular season coach Gary Shepard was looking for was consistency at the plate. The Rams (6-6, 4-3 Section 2-6A) had a stretch of games in mid-April where they scored double digit runs three times, but they mustered only one...

For two periods Indiana kept West Chester East’s powerful offense at bay and had the lead with 17 minutes to play. But two goals less than 30 seconds apart early in the third opened the door for the Vikings to earn another state hockey championship. West Chester East scored four...

The Pine-Richland track and field coaches had a premonition that senior Ella Rottinghaus was going to set a new school record in the 400-meter run prior to the Rams’ April 14 meet with Seneca Valley, but she didn’t share the same belief. After all it was her debut in the...

A few years ago Chase Lavezoli taught himself how to do a front flip by using a trampoline. The curiosity that came from that experience sparked a fast track to becoming one of the top young male gymnasts in the region. Lavezoli, an eighth grader at Pine-Richland, won the all-around...

Gabriella Aughton showed up to Pine-Richland’s game at Hempfield on April 9 with a secret weapon. She debuted a drop ball pitch, and with the new addition to an already strong repertoire, she proved difficult to hit. Aughton struck out 12 batters and the Rams got a two-run homer from...

When the 2020 spring sports season was canceled because of the covid-19 pandemic, it brought a sudden end to the careers of a dozen Pine-Richland boys volleyball players. It was a season the Rams were building up to, and losing it impacted the program several ways. Normally Rams coach Shawn...

Jacob McGuire walked off the mound after the final out of Pine-Richland’s 11-0 win in five innings in the season opener against North Catholic happy with his performance. He had no idea, though, that he had thrown a no-hitter in his first varsity start. “I found out at the end...

Gateway boys volleyball coach Phil Randolph has plenty of fresh faces on his team this season who bring athleticism from playing other sports. That’s a positive considering the Gators only had a few players return after losing a large senior class that had its 2020 season canceled due to the...

After the 2020 playoffs were suspended and eventually canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the PIHL is ready to crown Penguins Cup champions once again. The 2021 version of the playoffs are set to get underway with quarterfinal games in each classification scheduled for Monday. There’s intrigue in each class....

The Pine-Richland boys and girls track teams are looking to go the distance this spring. The finish line many of the Rams hope to cross is at the state championship. That includes the endurance runners, who are part of a deep and talented group of athletes on both the boys...

A glance at the PIHL Class AAA standings shows the field is wide open with the top five teams separated by four points. A closer look at Pine-Richland’s season really highlights the parity. The Rams, who were third in the final standings, split with the other top-five teams: Peters Township,...

On paper, the Pine-Richland boys lacrosse team is still the defending WPIAL Class AAA champion, but there’s been plenty of change in the two-year span since they last took the field. “We have two combined starts. Not starters, but starts on the team from that 2019 unit,” Pine-Richland coach Kevin...

Every year Pine-Richland girls lacrosse coach Brittany Adams asks the team’s seniors to come up with a motto for the season. For 2021, they chose “bounce back.” Those two words are fitting on a couple of levels. They signal a return to play after the 2020 season was canceled because...

Latrobe softball coach Bob Kovalcin has seven seniors on his roster, and during the preseason, he told each of them they had first crack at their position. Whether they keep it will be performance-based. “I told the seniors it’s their job to lose, but there’s somebody right there behind them...

A big part of Latrobe coach Matt Basciano’s message every year is playing team baseball. Doing the little things like hitting behind a runner to move them up a base or hitting a cutoff man to prevent a single from becoming a double are essential for success all the time,...

Jake DiMichele can still remember the exact day OLSH was eliminated the last time they made the state semifinals. “It was March 19, 2019,” he said. “I remember seeing everyone in the locker room after the game and seeing my brother (Daren). It was his last high school game, and...

In the first week of practice, Greensburg Salem baseball coach Bill Wisniewski told his players to unwind, be kids and have fun in a return to normalcy after last season was wiped out because of the covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, he has asked them to work toward their...

Alyssa Bates has waited nearly 16 months to fill out her first lineup card as the head coach of the Greensburg Salem softball team, so she’s more than ready to get the season going. Bates took over the program in September of 2019, but the cancellation of the 2020 spring...

Pine-Richland softball coach Gary Shepard feels he has the right mix of returning players and newcomers to field a competitive team this spring. And he will have some time to see how the lineup will shake out. Because of a smaller-than-usual section of only six teams, the Rams will have...

When Pine-Richland takes the field this spring, it will be without a few key players at the start, but that isn’t slowing the Rams’ hunger to defend their WPIAL Class 6A title. Standout pitchers Tommy Beam, a West Virginia recruit, and West Virginia Wesleyan recruit Gabe Mustovic, along with infielder...

Jace Miner stole the ball on an inbounds play and scored on a layup with 10 seconds remaining, and in the blink of an eye Ellwood City’s magical run came to an end. Miner’s steal and score proved to be the game-winner as District 9 champion Brookville edged the Wolverines,...

Moments after coming out of the locker room after Friday night’s game, Neshannock girls basketball coach Luann Grybowski breathed a sigh of relief. “We got lucky to get this one,” she said. After watching a 14-point lead slowly evaporate, led by Addi Watts and Aaralyn Nogay the Lancers made enough...

Joe Roth described his feelings succinctly. “It’s awesome to make history for Ellwood City,” he said. Not only did he and his Wolverines teammates win the first WPIAL boys basketball championship in school history Monday, but how they did it will be talked about for a long time in their...

A trio of young Pine-Richland swimmers traveled to Upper St. Clair on March 7 to test themselves against the best in the WPIAL and came home with some solid results to cap off a year in which six new school records were set. Sophomore Delaney Allen placed fourth in the...