Bill Beckner stories, Page 23
Norwin baseball team blows past Mt. Lebanon for 9th straight win
With gusty winds whipping out to center all afternoon, any baseball hit deep had a chance of leaving the park Tuesday at Norwin. A harmless-looking fly ball suddenly had jets. Even Ben Geissler managed to get ahold of one. “Normally, I like singles,” the Norwin senior first baseman said. “I...
Westmoreland County high school baseball notebook: Ligonier Valley thriving in tight games
Jason Bush didn’t think it could get much better after he watched his Ligonier Valley baseball team score twice in the bottom of the seventh inning last week to walk off Burrell, 3-2. But that was only the beginning. The Rams (6-7) have shown a propensity for late-game thrills. They...
Senior’s return from elbow troubles gives major late-season boost to Franklin Regional rotation
NJ Ramchandran plans to pitch at Division I Fairfield (Conn.) next year. The Franklin Regional senior, however, has been limited on the mound this spring as he recovers from inflammation in the elbow of his throwing arm. To say the Panthers (10-7) are glad the right-hander is back would be...
Mt. Pleasant beats Yough, builds momentum with playoffs on horizon
Now, Mt. Pleasant can celebrate. Having already clinched the Section 1-3A softball title, the Vikings still had business to tend to in the section finale Monday at Yough. Momentum and positive mojo are important for a team headed to the WPIAL playoffs. A team that didn’t want to take a...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Poulich continues to add to homer total for RMU softball
Outfielders have been backing up this season when Courtney Poulich comes to the plate for Robert Morris. Poulich, a Mt. Pleasant alum, has been bashing softballs at a record rate for the Colonials. The outfielder smacked two solo home runs in Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Cleveland State to set a...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Longtime Derry golf coach Smeltzer stepping down
Tracey Smeltzer has done a lot for the Derry boys and girls golf programs, but she is ready to turn the keys over to someone else. Smeltzer is stepping down after 19 years, 12 as head coach. “It was a great ride,” Smeltzer said. “It was not an easy decision,...
Norwin notebook: Knights track and field athletes shine at Butler Invitational
School records fell, some from decades back, as the Norwin track and field teams continued their impressive season at the Butler Invitational, which featured more than 90 teams and 2,000-plus athletes. The girls won the team championship, while several individuals brought home medals. The Norwin boys’ 3,200-meter relay of Enzo...
Addison Ayres to stick with Franklin Regional soccer teammates for senior year
Goalkeeper Addison Ayres considered playing full-time soccer with her Internationals SC team in Akron, Ohio, which would have meant not playing her senior season at Franklin Regional. The Elite Clubs National League team plays higher-level programs, which helps players sharpen their skills for college. But Ayres ultimately opted to stay...
Derry softball team elevates its game to meet competition of higher classification
A jump to WPIAL Class 4A wasn’t something Derry softball could control, but the Trojans knew they had to make a quick adjustment to new opponents, better pitching and deeper lineups. Almost immediately, the girls began to list their goals. Coming up from 3A fit the team’s motif of upping...
Hempfield gets revenge against Norwin
Hempfield waited 11 months and two days for this opportunity. Nearly one year of stewing over a semifinal loss that, in the Spartans’ eyes, cost them another WPIAL softball championship. Norwin upset mighty Hempfield to advance to the final for the first time, sending the No. 1 seed home shocked...
Canon-McMillan rides ‘hit train’ to win over Hempfield
Between innings Wednesday, ace pitcher M.J. Maruschak soft-tossed with a teammate behind his team’s dugout to stay loose. It is a tradition he has adopted, along with throwing and catching a medicine ball. Down time is not an option for the right-hander. The entire Canon-McMillan baseball team looked loose in...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: New date set for Hempfield-Seneca Valley showdown
Hempfield and Seneca Valley, let’s try this again. The Class 6A softball rivals’ first section matchup at Hempfield has been postponed twice because of inclement weather, but the game has been rescheduled again for 4 p.m. May 6 at Robert D. Kalp Field. Hempfield (13-0, 9-0) is ranked No. 1,...
No. 2 Franklin Regional softball overcomes sluggish start, finishes sweep of Latrobe
Chloe Lancaster threw 27 pitches in the first inning Tuesday and gave up two runs in the second. It had the makings of a long afternoon. The situation even prompted movement in the Franklin Regional bullpen, which caught Lancaster’s attention. But the Panthers ace didn’t panic or get flustered. “I...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Penn-Trafford bolsters resume with nonsection slate
Penn-Trafford is in the thick of the Section 1-5A race, but its nonsection baseball schedule has been beneficial. The Warriors (7-5, 4-2) own three wins over Class 6A teams in Norwin, Hempfield and North Allegheny. The third win is the most impressive because North Allegheny was ranked No. 1 when...
Jeannette grad Marcus Barnes confident his name will be called in NFL Draft
He was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in February, but all that did was give him more mental leverage, more fuel to prove the doubters wrong. Jeannette’s Marcus Barnes could have a life-changing week, have his dreams come true, but he won’t hide the giant chip on his...
Seneca Valley’s Lexie Hames nearly untouchable in shutout vs. Norwin
After losing to Pine-Richland twice in a five-day span, Seneca Valley went into its next softball game with some pent-up frustrations. Ace pitcher Lexie Hames and the third-ranked Lady Raiders took it out on Norwin. Hames was on her game in a big way, striking out 19, including the final...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Hempfield’s Sowers sets Bloomsburg record
Bloomsburg has a new strikeout queen. Senior pitcher Callie Sowers (Hempfield) became the program’s career leader in strikeouts with 804. In her previous appearance, Sowers tied the mark of 803 set by Cait Paine from 2010-13. A career 69-game winner, Sowers earned the record in relief in a 12-9 victory...
Powerful offenses lead Hempfield, Penn-Trafford softball teams to top of their classes
Hempfield and Penn-Trafford played each other in the softball season opener. Who knew it was a preview of two of the best — maybe the best — hitting teams in the WPIAL? Both have been putting the business end of the bat on the ball with crushing regularity, a couple...
Central Catholic grad Neal Shipley earns first win as professional
Pittsburgh’s Neal Shipley was introduced to the golf world at large last year when he earned low amateur honors at the Masters and U.S. Open. Now he has his first professional win. Shipley, a 24-year-old Central Catholic graduate, outlasted Seungtaek Lee of South Korea in a five-hole playoff to win...
Westmoreland high school notebook: More Division I offers for Hempfield’s Heisler
The recruiting process is coming in waves for Brock Heisler. The junior from Hempfield is lining up a Division I college football career and has plenty of options when it comes to his future destination. But he is handling the endeavor with poise. “I always knew I wanted to play...
Fox Chapel, Seton Hill product Patrick Monteverde promoted to Marlins
Pitcher Patrick Monteverde is on his way to the big leagues. The 27-year-old left-hander out of Fox Chapel received a call-up Saturday to the Miami Marlins. He had been with the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp of the International League. Monteverde, who played at Seton Hill and is the first Griffins...
Franklin Regional grad Jake Williams shines in final season at Yale
You could say Jake Williams is a gap hitter. But it doesn’t take a spray chart to figure that out. No, the former Franklin Regional baseball standout made the most of a gap year — a year off between high school and college — to get his game right for...
Franklin Regional notebook: Panthers standouts make college decisions
Franklin Regional soccer player Addison Ayres committed to play at Division III Allegheny College. Ayres is a junior goalkeeper. She was an all-section pick last season when she made 107 saves and posted seven shutouts in 17 games. She made 22 saves in a 3-2 loss to Montour in the...
Norwin notebook: Track and field teams sweep at Tri-State Coaches meet
Norwin made it a clean sweep at the Tri-State Track and Field Coaches Association Championships at West Mifflin, cruising to boys and girls team titles. Ryan Schiller won the 110- and 300-meter hurdles and helped the 1,600-meter relay to victory. His time of 38.85 seconds in the 300 hurdles is...
Penn-Trafford baseball uses extra-base hits to sink Hempfield in nonsection matchup
Oftentimes, Penn-Trafford’s approach is to move baserunners over, create opportunities and scrape runs together, one at a time. The small-ball formula can look clinical when this baseball team does it. It worked out well last spring when the Warriors won a WPIAL championship. The Warriors, though, were in the mood...
