High School category, Page 637
Deer Lakes softball holds off South Allegheny, reaches WPIAL Class 3A final
The Deer Lakes softball team is back where it has been several times over the past decade. The Lancers, the No. 3 seed in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, punched their tickets to their sixth WPIAL title game since 2012 with a 5-4 victory over No. 2 South Allegheny on...
After brilliant junior year for Leechburg football, Braylan Lovelace still has more in store
Junior running back Braylan Lovelace and the Leechburg football team never had a problem getting fired up for games as the team made its first playoff appearance in 32 years last season. The Blue Devils can thank Phil Collins and his 1981 hit, “In the Air Tonight,” for that. “When...
In days before multiple classes, A-K Valley’s Davids took down Goliaths for WPIAL baseball gold
The WPIAL baseball playoffs are underway for the 108th tournament, and it is amazing how things have evolved over the years. Before 1979, there was just one enrollment class. Now there are six. The David-vs.-Goliath analogy can be way overused in sports, but in the first 66 years of the...
Underdog Greensburg Central Catholic boys lacrosse team makes way into WPIAL playoffs
Who would have thought the boys lacrosse team at Greensburg Central Catholic, coming off an 0-8 record and led by a first-year coach with no experience in the sport, would qualify for the WPIAL playoffs, having inched close to the .500 mark going in? Well, seemingly with some help from...
Burrell track and field carries strong team bond into postseason
Every spring, track and field athletes don their school colors, lace up their sneakers and prepare to compete for their team. Track and field is a team sport in the sense that points from each event go toward a team total, and that all-for-one spirit has created bonds that will...
Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Franklin Regional’s Alisa Kane
Franklin Regional’s softball team has shown a ton of power this season, scoring runs at a high rate. It’s a big part of why they finished second in their section and earned a spot in the WPIAL playoffs. One thing that cannot be undervalued, though, is their defense. Senior third...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Leechburg’s Bella Vozar
The majority of softball players get out more than they get on base. Not Leechburg’s Bella Vozar, who is batting .545 in her senior season. Vozar hit safely in nine of 11 games at the tail end of the regular season and has helped the team significantly behind the plate...
A-K Valley WPIAL playoff softball capsule: Game for Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Class 4A Semifinals 2-Elizabeth Forward (15-2) vs. 3-Burrell (12-1) 3 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 1-Beaver Area (17-0) vs. 5-Montour (14-4) Players to Watch: Carlee Soukup, Elizabeth Forward; Pyper Ferres, Burrell Extra bases: The Warriors won their first WPIAL title in 2019 when they shut out Mt....
Westmoreland WPIAL playoff softball capsule: Games for Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Class 6A Semifinals 4-Seneca Valley (11-6) vs. 1-Hempfield (13-3) 4 p.m. Wednesday at Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 7-North Allegheny (12-9) vs. 3-Pine-Richland (12-4) on June 1 in championship (time TBD) at Cal (Pa.) Players to watch: Lexie Hames, Seneca Valley; Hannah Uhrinek, Hempfield On the air: Broadcast |...
Norwin’s Aaron Schmook commits to Kent State
Aaron Schmook did not set out to commit the week of the PIAA track and field championships. But in a sport that prides itself on timing and separation, his decision seems appropriate all the same. The senior from Norwin has accepted a partial scholarship to throw the javelin at Kent...
Burrell’s lone senior, Caroline Dynka helps lead Bucs to playoff win
Caroline Dynka didn’t want her varsity career to end Monday on the turf at Norwin High School. The lone senior on the Burrell softball team, a mainstay and leader for four years and three seasons, Dynka did whatever she could to help her team get a run or two on...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on May 24, 2022: Softball rivalry writes another chapter
Some of the best rivalries in sports were born from postseason clashes. Steelers vs. Raiders in the ’70s and 49ers vs. Cowboys in the ’90s are two examples. Perhaps a budding district rivalry is blooming in softball as Armstrong and North Hills prepare to face each other for the third...
Trib HSSN Softball Player of the Week for May 23, 2022
Veteran high school teams that have a roster of players who have had a taste of the sweet and bitter of the postseason sometimes need to bring their emotions down a level to remain focused on the task at hand. The flip side of that is a young and inexperienced...
High school roundup for May 23, 2022: Madden Clement’s shutout sends Butler into semifinals
Madden Clement threw a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out 10, to lead Butler to a 5-0 victory over Pine-Richland in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball quarterfinals Monday. Clement, the son of longtime major league pitcher Matt Clement, the Butler boys basketball coach, also went 3 for 4 with a home...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for May 23, 2022
High schools Baseball WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Monday’s results Mt. Lebanon 5, Seneca Valley 4 Central Catholic 5, Norwin 2 Upper St. Clair 5, North Allegheny 1 Butler 5, Pine-Richland 0 Semifinals Tuesday’s schedule Mt. Lebanon (14-7) vs. Central Catholic (11-9) at West Mifflin, 2 p.m.; Upper St. Clair...
No. 1 Mt. Lebanon breaks ‘curse’ with quarterfinal win over Seneca Valley
A seventh-inning curveball glanced off Mt. Lebanon catcher Paul Connolly’s mitt and rolled away, causing a moment of panic since there was a runner on third and a one-run lead. Coach Patt McCloskey immediately wondered if West Mifflin’s baseball field was cursed, at least for his Blue Devils, who were...
Burrell softball advances with grueling 11-inning win vs. Belle Vernon
The Burrell and Belle Vernon softball teams went well beyond regulation to decide their WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal game Monday at Norwin. As dusk approached and the teams were locked in a scoreless battle with a trip to the semifinals on the line — Belle Vernon’s Talia Ross and Burrell’s...
North Allegheny surges past Penn-Trafford to make another trip to WPIAL volleyball finals
It’s back to the WPIAL Class 3A boys volleyball finals for North Allegheny. The second-seeded Tigers have won 21 titles, including 15 of the past 18 under coach Dan Schall. They will go after No. 22 Wednesday at Robert Morris after defeating No. 6 Penn-Trafford, 3-0, by scores of 25-14,...
Kelly sparks 5-run inning that carries Central Catholic over Norwin, into Class 6A semis
Central Catholic sophomore Gavin Kelly is glad there is a quick turnaround from the WPIAL Class 6A baseball quarterfinals to the semifinals. Quick as in, be ready to play again in less than 24 hours. “That’s good. We want to keep playing because we’re hot,” the West Virginia commit said....
Alle-Kiski Valley softball playoff capsules: Games of Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Class A semifinals 1-West Greene (13-3) vs. 4-Springdale (11-1) 6 p.m. at Boyce Mayview Park, Upper St. Clair Township Winner plays: Winner of 2-Union (18-3) vs. 3-Greensburg Central Catholic (12-5) in championship game June 1 at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) Players to watch: Alexis Hrivnak, Springdale; London Whipkey, West Greene...
Penn-Trafford’s Piconi gets her mojo back at plate in time for WPIAL softball playoffs
There is a marked difference in Kylee Piconi’s confidence — and her batting average — lately. As it turns out, the two things are not mutually exclusive. The Penn-Trafford junior shortstop has sparked the Warriors softball team through two rounds of the WPIAL playoffs, all the while ending a hitting...
List’s 5-inning no-hitter leads Beaver past Freeport, into WPIAL Class 4A semifinals
Chalk up another victory for Beaver Area and senior Payton List. The Virginia Tech-bound List gave up no hits and allowed just one Freeport baserunner as the Bobcats blanked the Yellowjackets, 10-0, on Monday in a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal at Mars Centennial Field. List struck out 10 in five...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for May 23, 2022: Rematches set for baseball playoffs
Welcome to Semifinals Monday in the 2022 WPIAL baseball playoffs. Unless your team is in classes 6A or 4A, then it’s Welcome to Quarterfinals Monday. Whether it’s the second or third round, the recurring theme is rematches. Of the 16 scheduled games, 11 are matchups between teams that faced each...
Trib HSSN Baseball Team of the Week: May 22, 2022
The funny thing about momentum in sports: It doesn’t always carry over from the regular season to the postseason. However, having it heading into the playoffs can’t hurt. The Thomas Jefferson baseball team concluded Section 4-5A play with two losses to Bethel Park. The Jaguars regrouped and picked up three...
Trib HSSN Softball Team of the Week: May 22, 2022
If championships were determined on paper, rankings and all of the statistic and sabermetrics you could discover would determine which teams win the gold. Plus, we would miss three weeks of postseason action filled with great efforts, raw emotion and terrific teamwork. Plus the occasional stunner. Eyebrows were raised Wednesday...
