Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 51

Two hours before the start of a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Monday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates received a significant boost to their lineup when Bryan Reynolds was activated from the injured list and inserted into center field. He will bat second in the order against the Cubs...

Pitt offensive line coach Dave Borbely typically doesn’t feel comfortable until he finds enough big bodies to completely fill out his two-deep depth chart. With all five starters moving on next year after their upcoming redshirt senior seasons, Borbely must be pleased with how the 2023 recruiting class is developing....

With camp starting on the first day of August, it’s a good time for Pat Narduzzi to clarify how he wants Pitt’s offensive identity to evolve this season. “I want to score touchdowns. I like touchdowns,” he said Thursday during his appearance on the ACC Network. “I don’t care how...

The most discussed coach Thursday at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., was, of course, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi. After all, he might have been the only man wearing signature-embroidered cuffs on his dress shirt at the Westin Charlotte. But the real reason for Narduzzi’s celebrity was that his Panthers...

The hype machine for the renewal of the Backyard Brawl hit another gear Thursday when ESPN announced it will bring its popular “College GameDay” show to Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 1 for the West Virginia/Pitt game. The special, one-hour show goes on the air at 6 p.m. and will include...

The retooling of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive line continued Tuesday with the signing of veteran tackle Doug Costin to a one-year contract. Costin (6-foot-2, 295 pounds) spent the past two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals. He played in 13 games, starting nine, recording 33 tackles (13 solos),...

Pitt junior catcher Tatem Levins was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round of the MLB Draft on Monday, earning the distinction of the Panthers’ highest draft choice since 2018. In the process, Pitt coach Mike Bell can add another name to his resume. Levins is the 94th...

Right-handed pitcher Trey Braithwaite, a fifth-year senior at West Virginia, was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 16th round of the MLB Draft on Tuesday. Braithwaite, a transfer from Navy, was named to the All-Big 12 first team and was a third-team National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-American. He...

The Milwaukee Brewers selected former Pine-Richland and Penn State catcher Matt Wood in the fourth round of the MLB Draft on Monday, perhaps impressed by the take-charge attitude he has cultivated throughout his baseball career. “You’re the commander on the field,” he said from his home in Gibsonia. “You get...

Mindful that the Pittsburgh Pirates are off until Friday, Derek Shelton called on nearly half of the strong arms in the clubhouse on the way to an 8-3 victory Sunday against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Bryse Wilson was brought up from Triple-A Indianapolis to start the game and...

In need of a starter for the final game before the All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday recalled right-hander Bryse Wilson from Triple-A Indianapolis. Wilson was the starting pitcher in the final game of the three-game series against the Colorado Rockies and worked the first 3 1/3 innings, allowing...

Derek Shelton wanted to give his bullpen a break Friday night after he called on a relief pitcher 14 times during the four-game series in Miami that included two that went into extra innings. The plan didn’t work out the way Shelton hoped. Starting pitcher Jose Quintana was a good...

The Jack Suwinski story that includes more home runs than anyone on the Pittsburgh Pirates active roster is on pause. The Pirates optioned Suwinski to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday while he’s in the midst of an 0-for-29 slump that began with his last at-bat against the New York Yankees on...

Luke Williams didn’t hit the baseball exceptionally hard. It came off the bat of the Miami Marlins left fielder at only 73.7 mph, according to Statcast, and rolled across the loanDepot Park infield and into shortstop Oneil Cruz’s glove Thursday night. Effortlessly, Cruz bent over to field the ball (no...

Zach Thompson watched in awe Thursday at Miami’s loanDepot Park when Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz rifled a throw across the infield at 97.8 mph. Faster than any of the 100 pitches Thompson threw in the Pirates’ 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Marlins. Faster than any throw — by any...

The Pittsburgh Pirates had little success with their bats Thursday in a 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Marlins pitchers allowed only six hits and recorded 16 strikeouts, nearly half of their 33 outs. Worse, pinch hitter Daniel Vogelbach and designated hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo struck out...

Before Pitt center John Hugley IV makes his final preparations for the 2022-2023 season, he will join Butler High School graduate and Purdue junior guard Ethan Morton on a trip to Spain. Hugley and Morton are among 14 collegiate players who were named to the East Coast All-Stars that will...

Penn State coach James Franklin received a verbal commitment Monday from running back London Montgomery, who rushed for 2,356 yards and 36 touchdowns in only 10 games last season for Scranton Prep. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Penn State Nittany Lions (@psudylan) Montgomery’s pledge gives the...

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi continued reaching into the fertile Florida recruiting territory Monday when he landed a verbal commitment from Miami Northwestern High School senior wide receiver Lamar Seymore. Committed to the University of Miami for more than two years, Seymore visited Pitt last month and decided to choose the...

Baseballs coming off Pittsburgh Pirates bats and finding grass in the outfield were exceedingly rare Friday night at American Family Field. Odd as it may seem, the sixth and final hit actually resulted in the last out of the game and Milwaukee Brewers’ 4-3 victory. Down 4-2, the Pirates confronted...

Kevin Newman is returning to the Pittsburgh Pirates active roster for the first time since April 26. What’s more, he was in the starting lineup at second base for Friday’s game against the Brewers. Newman played in only 14 games this season, driving in eight runs with a .250 batting...

Keeping up with a growing trend in college basketball, Robert Morris will have 11 newcomers on its 16-man roster at the start of the 2022-23 season. Nonetheless, coach Andy Toole will lean heavily on four returning starters. One of them, graduate student Kahliel Spear, started all 32 games last season....

Kenny Pickett signed his Pittsburgh Steelers rookie contract more than two weeks ago, but one more honor from his remarkable Pitt career rolled in Friday. Pickett was named the 2022 ACC Male Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced. He is Pitt’s first ACC Athlete of the Year since...

The basketball version of the Backyard Brawl headlines Pitt’s 11-game nonconference schedule for the 2022-2023 season, released Thursday by the university and coach Jeff Capel. Pitt will play West Virginia on Nov. 11 at Petersen Events Center, the 189th all-time meeting between the Panthers and Mountaineers. West Virginia won 100...