Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 83

Pitt hit several milestones while scoring 30 runs in its three-game sweep of No. 15 Miami at Charles L. Cost Field. The series concluded Sunday with No. 17 Pitt’s 12-5 victory. The Panthers also won, 12-6 and 6-4, Friday and Saturday. Pitt (17-10, 12-9) set a school record for ACC...

After Central Valley defensive tackle Sean Fitzsimmons verbally committed to Pitt on Friday, the last topic coach Mark Lyons wanted to discuss five months before football season was the possibility of repeating as PIAA Class 3A champion. But he did allow himself one tiny glimpse into the future. “With Sean...

Gregory Polanco smiles easily, and appears to enjoy engaging in conversations about hitting, his teammates and the good fortune he sees ahead for everyone. That’s the case even now, when the Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder’s batting average sits at .150 after seven games, with no home runs or RBIs. Yet,...

Some people run from change. John Petrishen embraces it like he’s making a new friend, constantly seeking ways to redefine himself as a student and athlete. The oldest player on the Pitt football team (42 days older than wide receiver Tre Tipton with whom he played AAU basketball in the...

After several minutes of postgame handshakes, hugs and enough posing for pictures to fill several photo albums, it was time. David Bednar had to walk away from the crowd gathered along the left-field foul line at PNC Park. It wasn’t easy for Bednar, a Mars graduate, to leave his parents,...

They will be socially distanced and wearing masks, but football fans will be permitted inside Heinz Field when Pitt holds its Blue-Gold Spring Game at 1 p.m. April 24. Pitt officials announced Thursday that, with expanded gathering limits in Pennsylvania, a maximum of 5,000 people will be seated in pods...

Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot continued to use the NCAA transfer portal in an attempt to restock his roster, getting a verbal commitment Wednesday from former Mercer (Ga.) University player Leon Ayers III Blessed to have been given the opportunity to play college basketball at the highest level this has no...

James Franklin won’t insist his Penn State football players get vaccinated against the coronavirus. “I don’t think you can ever mandate,” he said Wednesday on a conference call with reporters. “We’ve learned that in our country. You’re going to have a difficult time doing that.” But he will encourage, and...

Xavier Johnson, who started 81 games in nearly three seasons at Pitt before leaving this year with two weeks left in the regular season, announced Wednesday on Instagram that he will transfer to Indiana and play for new Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson. He chose Indiana over national champion Baylor, Final...

Russell Battistoni likes everything about Nate Santos’ ability on the basketball court. “He’s always been able to shoot the ball. He’s always been able to handle the ball and be really skilled and defend and has a lot of toughness,” said Battistoni, the coach at Loomis Chaffee School, a boarding...

Pitt’s Chris Gomez and two relief pitchers kept West Virginia bats in check, and No. 17 Pitt unleashed a 12-hit attack Tuesday in a 5-1 victory in the baseball version of the Backyard Brawl at Charles L. Cost Field. West Virginia (11-12) managed only seven hits while Gomez and Pitt...

Pitt vs. Temple? Pitt vs. Duquesne? Do we dare? Pitt vs. Penn State? Those are matchups you’re not soon to see in the fall, but Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi would have no problem with practice games against nearby schools in lieu of instrasquad games in the spring. It’s a notion...

The seemingly basic procedure of conducting spring football drills has turned out to be more difficult than usual this year. Not that Pat Narduzzi is surprised. “It’s still around,” Pitt’s coach said of the coronavirus that forced him to postpone a week’s worth of drills last month. But everyone is...

After postponing a week of practice sessions last month for covid-related protocols, Pitt officials decided to move the date of the Blue-Gold Spring Game to April 24. The game had been scheduled for April 17. Start time (1 p.m.) and admission cost (free) at Heinz Field remain the same. Coach...

The three home runs the Pittsburgh Pirates hit Monday night at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati were encouraging. Until you understand reality: There was nobody on base for all three, and that was the situation for most of night. The Pirates had two hits in the first inning, two in...

The Pittsburgh Pirates exchanged right-handed pitchers Monday, acquiring Kyle Keller from the Los Angeles Angels for undisclosed cash considerations and designating Edgar Santana for assignment. Keller, 27, was added to the 40-man roster and assigned to the Pirates’ alternate training site. He made his major league debut with the Miami...

Pitt’s volleyball team, ranked No. 18 in the nation, earned its fifth consecutive NCAA postseason appearance — and 16th overall — garnering an at-large selection Sunday. The tournament will be April 14-24 in Omaha, Neb. The Panthers (16-4, 14-4 ACC) will confront LIU (8-5, 8-4 Northeast Conference) in the first...

The Pittsburgh Pirates are counting on Mitch Keller to prop up a starting rotation that has been retooled seriously after the trades of Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon and an injury to Steven Brault. But the first look at Keller in a game that mattered was a brief one Sunday....

Ke’Bryan Hayes’ strained left wrist is worse than it first appeared, and the Pittsburgh Pirates placed him on the 10-day injured list. When manager Derek Shelton met with reporters on a video conference call early Sunday afternoon, he listed Hayes as “day-to-day” after X-rays of the wrist were negative and...

Abdoul Karim Coulibaly, one of five Pitt players who entered the NCAA transfer portal since the latter days of the season, said Friday he has decided to transfer to St. Bonaventure. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (@abdoul_k12) Coulibaly, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward, started...

Pitt’s Jordan Addison and Wendell Davis will enter the 2021 football season thinking they can do better after significantly different outcomes a year ago. Addison was Pitt’s most impactful first-year wide receiver since Tyler Boyd in 2013. Davis won the starting middle linebacker job in training camp and played in...

Au’Diese Toney, who was one of Pitt’s most prolific rebounders over the past three seasons, will transfer to Arkansas. Toney announced the commitment on his Twitter account, with the words, “Last Stop.” Last stop? 256✈️479 #committed #WPS pic.twitter.com/5dFuCVaoeL— A.M.T (@thefuturetoney) April 1, 2021 After appearing in 79 games and starting...

Penn State has scheduled three nonconference football games for the 2024 and ’26 seasons, all at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions will play Kent State on Sept. 21, 2024, face Marshall on Sept. 5, 2026, and meet San Jose State on Sept 19, 2026. The Kent State game is rescheduled...

The University of Pittsburgh, already under shelter in place and elevated risk mandates, will restrict attendance at on-campus spring athletic events for the remainder of the season. An update on spring athletic event capacity. #H2P pic.twitter.com/VHM7yE7xk1— Pitt Athletics (@Pitt_ATHLETICS) April 1, 2021 Only families of student-athletes and staff members and...

After a disappointing 9-9 finish to the season, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot has been busy restocking his roster with transfers. Dambrot received his third verbal commitment from a transfer (the fourth overall) Wednesday when 6-foot-6 guard Pedro Castro said he will transfer from Houston Baptist of the Southland Conference, according...