Paul Schofield stories, Page 24

It wouldn’t be a Sunnehanna Amateur if weather didn’t interrupt play during the 72-hole event. That’s what happened Friday at the 82nd edition at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown: Thunderstorms delayed play for the second time in three rounds. Second-round leader Jackson VanParis, who shot a 9-under par 61 during...

UNIVERSITY PARK — She’s cool. She’s calm. She’s collected. Hempfield sophomore pitcher Riley Miller has been in a lot of tough situations, going against a lot of outstanding pitchers during her two-year career, and has stood tall. Even though Hempfield lost to North Penn, 1-0, in the PIAA Class 6A...

UNIVERSITY PARK — Montour could taste its first PIAA softball title. The Spartans were four outs away from celebrating, but Blue Mountain had other ideas. The District 11 champions scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, all with two outs, and rallied to defeat the WPIAL runner-up...

Because of rain Wednesday morning, Round 1 of the 82nd Sunnehanna Amateur was delayed by three hours and was completed Thursday morning. Herman Sekne of Oslo, Norway holds a 1-shot lead after shooting a 6-under par 64 at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown. Three Texans, Johnny Keffer of San Antonio,...

HOMER CITY – Hopewell’s magical baseball season came to an end Monday in the PIAA Class 4A playoffs, one game shy of a trip to State College for the championship game. District 6 champion Bellefonte rallied with a five-run fifth inning to spoil Hopewell’s run, 6-5, at First Commonwealth Bank...

The Bushy Run American Legion season was supposed to begin June 5, but the success of Penn-Trafford’s varsity baseball team has delayed the start. Penn-Trafford not only reached the WPIAL semifinals and qualified for the PIAA Class 5A playoffs, the team defeated the No. 1-ranked team in the state —...

When Tim Tray was in high school at Norwin, the school didn’t have an indoor facility to practice the pole vault. Tray, who cleared 15 feet and was a WPIAL champion in high school in 2003 and was in the mid 16s while winning a conference title at Slippery Rock...

The 27th Arnold Palmer Cup came home this year, and it might be back again. The Ryder Cup-style competition that features some of the top men’s and women’s collegiate golfers from the United States versus an international team is being played at one of the late Arnold Palmer’s favorite courses:...

MECHANICSBURG — Hempfield rode the hot bat of freshman Lauren Howard and the spinning pitches of sophomore Riley Miller to a win Thursday in the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals. Howard hit a solo home run in the third inning and doubled and scored in the sixth inning to help the...

Penn-Trafford coach Lou Cortazzo was a second baseman for the Warriors in 1981 when his team upset Greensburg Salem in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. In that game, Greensburg Salem coach Dale Hassinger decided to rest his ace left-hander, the late Curt Zucco, to face powerful Connellsville in...

When Finn Solomon was at Franklin Regional, he never considered wrestling for Pitt. But after spending one season at North Carolina State, where he competed in open tournaments and posted an 18-3 record, Solomon decided to put his name in the transfer portal. The first school of many to contact...

Mt. Pleasant is looking for a new wrestling coach after Zach Snyder resigned last week to spend more time with his family. Snyder coached the Vikings the past four years and leaves a team returning 10 seniors and two PIAA qualifiers — Jamison Poklembo and Dylan Pitzer. His record with...

PIAA baseball playoffs Class 5A First round Penn-Trafford (16-6) vs. Shaler (20-4) 2 p.m. Tuesday at Gateway District seeds: Penn-Trafford 7-3; Shaler 7-1 Winner plays: Winner of 7-2 Bethel Park (18-5) vs. 12-1 Monsignor Bonner (16-7) on Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Coaches: Lou Cortazzo, Penn-Trafford; Brian Junker, Shaler...

Rick Stimmel admitted he started thinking about last year’s Tri-State Open during the final few holes of this year’s tournament Tuesday at Southpointe Golf Club. And while he let his three-shot lead trickle away in 2022, the 55-year-old did enough to hold on and win this year’s title in a...

BELLEFONTE — Oh so close. The Latrobe baseball team came a few feet short of pulling off a dramatic comeback in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs Monday at Governor’s Park. The Wildcats’ rally came up one run short as they lost to District 6 champion Bellefonte,...

Greensburg Central Catholic softball coach Mike Gaffney has been coaching the Centurions for 12 seasons. He doesn’t allow things to bother him that he can’t control. His focus is on his team and how it is performing. So, after the Centurions (14-3) were beaten by No. 1 Neshannock, 15-0, in...

When Lou Cortazzo was named interim baseball coach at Penn-Trafford two weeks before the season began, people around the district were stunned at the timing. Cortazzo replaced Dan Miller as coach, and despite the sudden change the goals stayed the same: make the WPIAL playoffs, win the section, qualify for...

PIAA baseball playoffs Class 5A First round Penn-Trafford (15-6) vs. Central Mountain (20-1) 4 p.m. Monday at Lock Haven District seeds: Penn-Trafford 7-3; Central Mountain 6-1 Winner plays: Winner of the 7-1 Shaler (19-4)/3-5 Muhlenberg (15-8) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Ryan Grabowski, Penn-Trafford; Brady...

It doesn’t happen often, but two of the top discus throwers in Pennsylvania reside in Westmoreland County and live less than 10 miles apart. So when the 2024 track season begins, Hempfield junior Peyton Murray and Penn-Trafford junior Matt Sarnowski, who finished first and third, respectively, at the 2023 PIAA...

Bob Bozzuto loves baseball. He’ll talk all day about the game he loves. He also loves to teach. The WPIAL baseball committee chairman wants to see players develop into stars and enjoy the game. Why else would the Hempfield Township native and North Allegheny athletic director return to coaching American...

Belle Vernon senior Alexa Daniels had quite an eventful WPIAL Class 4A softball championship game Wednesday. It began with a fastball to the foot and ended by jumping into teammate Ava Zubovic’s pool with her uniform on. In between, she took a glove to the face, a fastball to the...

Trinity found the right formula to defeat one of the best hitting teams in the WPIAL: outhit them. That’s what the Hillers did Thursday in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game at Cal (Pa.)’s Lilley Field. Trinity (19-2) won its first softball title by outhitting and outscoring No. 1 Armstrong,...

It might have been the wildest finish to a WPIAL softball championship game in years. No. 4 Belle Vernon won its fifth WPIAL title by holding off No. 2 Montour, 8-7, in the Class 4A championship game that featured some shaky baserunning and a chaotic finish Wednesday at PennWest University...

Seton LaSalle pitcher Brian Reed was asked if he knew his record was this season. He didn’t know, and neither did his coach Brad Besti. “I guess five or six (wins),” Besti said. The senior right-hander sure looked like Cy Young to the Serra Catholic batters, no matter what he...

Before the season, Penn-Trafford coach Charlie Hach and his players set goals of making the playoffs, winning a playoff game and reaching the Final Four. Mission accomplished. The Warriors (15-6) completed their finest season, finishing 9-1 in the section, won their first home playoff game and reached the semifinals in...