High School category, Page 1194
Volleyball semifinals roundup: Ambridge edges Derry to earn spot in WPIAL Class AA final
Ambridge’s boys volleyball team is ready to defend its title. The Bridgers downed Derry, 3-2, on Tuesday night in WPIAL Class AA semifinal at North Allegheny. “It’s awesome,” Ambridge’s Liam Buck said. “It’s nice going back to WPIALs for the second year in a row.” Fourth-seeded Ambridge advances to Thursday’s...
Shoemaker’s single in 10th lifts No. 3 Bethel Park past Seneca Valley in WPIAL quarterfinals
Brandon Cole had four hits, including a solo homer, and Cooper Shoemaker knocked home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as Bethel Park edged Seneca Valley, 3-2, in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball quarterfinals Tuesday at Boyce-Mayview Park. The victory propelled the No. 3-seeded Black Hawks...
Westmoreland baseball preview capsules: Games of Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Wednesday’s games Baseball Class 6A 1-Penn-Trafford (17-3) vs. 4-North Allegheny (16-5) 3:30 p.m. at Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of No. 2 Pine-Richland (16-4) and No. 3 Bethel Park (15-3) in the championship May 29 at Wild Things Park Coaches: Dan Miller, Penn-Trafford; Andrew Heck, North Allegheny Players to watch:...
Penn-Trafford baseball ousts Upper St. Clair, moves to semifinals
Penn-Trafford didn’t panic when Upper St. Clair took an early lead in Tuesday’s WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal at West Mifflin. The No. 1-seeded Warriors stayed patient and took advantage of No. 8 Upper St. Clair’s mistakes in a 7-3 victory. Penn-Trafford used a pair of three-run innings to chase USC...
Maley’s walk-off single lifts No. 2 Pine-Richland past Norwin in WPIAL quarterfinals
Jake Maley hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the sixth inning to propel No. 2 Pine-Richland to a 2-1 victory over No. 7 Norwin in a WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal baseball game Tuesday night at Upper St. Clair’s Boyce-Mayview Park. Norwin starter Billy Kerston allowed one hit through...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Hempfield’s Jared Bannon, Franklin Regional’s Jo-Michelle Huczko
Jared Bannon School: Hempfield Sport: Track and field Year: Senior Claim to fame: Bannon captured the 110-meter hurdles title in 14.11 seconds at the WPIAL Class AAA championships at Slippery Rock on May 16. Bannon qualified for the this week’s PIAA meet in the 200 by finishing fourth and will...
WPIAL baseball playoffs roundup for May 21, 2019: Shaler takes down No. 4 Gateway
Shaler’s Justin DeSabato scored on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh inning and the No. 5-seeded Titans held off No. 4 Gateway in the bottom of the inning to secure a 2-1 victory in the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Fox Chapel. Hunter Boyan threw a...
Franklin Regional baseball advances to WPIAL semifinals for 1st time since 2001
Andrew Muraco changed gloves, then helped Franklin Regional change momentum in the sixth inning. The sophomore pitched five-plus innings before moving to right field, but he had an immediate impact at his new position. Muraco made one of two key defensive plays that not only eliminated baserunners for which he...
New Castle edges No. 1 Greensburg Salem in 11th inning of WPIAL quarterfinal game
It took two days and two different venues. Finally, New Castle pushed across a run in the top of the 11th inning and held on to defeat top-seeded Greensburg Salem, 1-0, in a WPIAL Class 4A baseball quarterfinal Tuesday at North Allegheny High School. Vince Soukovich scored on a wild...
A-K Valley high school athletes of the week: Logan Parker and Kelli Galbraith
Logan Parker School: Plum Class: Sophomore Sport: Track and field Report card: Parker (5-foot-9, 220 pounds) will make his first appearance in the PIAA Class AAA championships this weekend after finishing third in the WPIAL in shot put with a throw of 51 feet, 4 3/4 inches. Parker finished sixth...
PIAA board to consider reducing number of weight classes for wrestling
Could the PIAA be reducing the number of weight classes in wrestling? The PIAA Board of Directors will consider the proposal at their meeting Wednesday in Chambersburg. On the agenda is reducing the number of weight classes from 14 to 12 on the high school level and from 18 to...
Leechburg softball hopes to overcome semifinal hurdle against Union
Leechburg scored runs seemingly at will as it tore through the regular season and won a third consecutive Section 3-A championship, but the Blue Devils saw quickly the difference the playoffs can bring. Although the final numbers still looked strong — five extra-base hits in an 8-1 WPIAL quarterfinal victory...
George Guido: The 1989 baseball, softball playoffs were wettest on record
Last year was the wettest in the Pittsburgh region’s history. But for anyone who was involved in scholastic sports in these parts during the spring of 1989, you would have a hard time convincing them that year wasn’t a record-setter. It was punctuated by rain, rain and more rain. The...
A-K Valley notebook: Freeport’s Heilman nears perfect game
Jarrett Heilman strung together plenty of dominant pitching performances during the regular season, but the junior reached another level in his first postseason start. Heilman came within four outs of a perfect game in No. 1 Freeport’s 1-0 victory over Waynesburg in a Class 3A quarterfinal game Monday at Latrobe....
Freeport baseball set to face Steel Valley in semifinals
BASEBALL Class 3A 1-Freeport (14-5) vs. 4-Steel Valley (11-8) 1:30 p.m. at Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 2-Hopewell (14-5) and 3-Keystone Oaks (14-4) on May 28 or 29 at Wild Things Park Coaches: Ed Carr, Freeport; Pat Loughran, Steel Valley Players to watch: Matt Mitchell, Jr., 1B, Freeport; Andre...
Alle-Kiski Valley softball preview capsules for games of Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Wednesday’s games Softball Class 4A 3-Knoch (17-1) vs. 2-Elizabeth Forward (15-3) 3 p.m. at Gateway Winner plays: Winner of 1-Mt. Pleasant (16-0) and 4-Thomas Jefferson (15-3) on May 29 or 30 at Peterswood Park Coaches: Gary Coe, Knoch; Harry Rutherford, Elizabeth Forward Players to watch: Amanda Fischer, Jr., P, Knoch;...
WPIAL releases baseball semifinal sites
Greensburg Salem and New Castle still need to decide their WPIAL baseball quarterfinal, but the victor already knows its destination. The WPIAL on Tuesday released the sites and times for Wednesday’s baseball semifinal games in all classifications. That includes a Class 4A semifinal matchup between the winner of No. 1...
Serra Catholic tops Avonworth, reaches WPIAL semifinals for 5th straight season
Serra Catholic used a combination of small ball and long ball to beat Avonworth, 7-2, in a WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal baseball game Monday at Upper St. Clair. The win lifted the Eagles into the WPIAL semifinals for a fifth straight season. Sophomore Jayden Mertz hit a one-out triple for...
High school scores, schedules for May 20, 2019
High Schools Baseball WPIAL Playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Tuesday’s schedule Penn-Trafford (16-3) vs. Upper St. Clair (13-6) at West Mifflin, 4 p.m.; North Allegheny (15-5) vs. Shaler (7-13) at Fox Chapel, 4 p.m.; Pine-Richland (15-4) vs. Norwin (14-6) at Boyce Mayview Park in Upper St. Clair, 6:30 p.m.; Bethel Park...
WPIAL baseball playoffs roundup for May 20, 2019: Blackhawk edges Mt. Pleasant in 8th
Ray Knallay’s infield single, his fourth hit of the game, scored Hunter Woodward from third base with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning to propel No. 4 Blackhawk to a thrilling, 7-6 victory against Mt. Pleasant in a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal baseball game Monday at Fox...
WPIAL softball playoffs roundup for May 20, 2019: South Park wins on walk-off
Julie Shinavski’s walk-off single scored Chelsea Carozza in the bottom of the seventh inning as No. 3 South Park defeated No. 5 Beaver, 5-4, in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal softball game Monday evening at Montour. Shinavski was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and also earned the win in...
Greensburg Salem, New Castle to continue quarterfinal game Tuesday
Greensburg Salem baseball coach Bill Wisniewski knew being seeded No. 1 in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs wouldn’t be easy. He just looked back to last season when his Golden Lions knocked off top-seeded Blackhawk to reach the semifinals. If Greensburg Salem wants to reach the semifinals this season, it...
Bach sharp as Yough takes down South Park in Class 4A quarterfinals
Jarett Bach’s first-round start didn’t meet his high standards, but Monday’s was surely one of his best. The Yough left-hander struck out 10, walked only one and kept South Park off balance to win 3-1 in a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal at West Mifflin. With an MLB scout watching from...
Breegle’s clutch single lifts Ligonier Valley past Central in District 5/6 playoffs
It took 10 innings for Ligonier Valley to pass its first test in the District 5/6 softball playoffs after it was looking like the Rams didn’t have a prayer. Junior Myrna Breegle said a divine intervention Monday likely enabled No. 4 seed Ligonier Valley to come away with an improbable...
Leechburg softball tops Jeannette for 3rd time, moves to semifinals
Leechburg expected a tougher game from Jeannette in the WPIAL playoffs than what the Blue Devils saw from their section rival during the regular season. The push came, but so did some mistakes, and Leechburg gladly took advantage. A costly two-out error spurred Leechburg’s four-run second inning, and the No....
