Bill Beckner stories, Page 4
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Greensburg CC transfers feel right at home at Mt. Pleasant
Leaving Greensburg Central Catholic wasn’t easy, but Ian Shipley and Bobby Smithnosky wanted to feel more at home. They have become key players in an already potent lineup at Mt. Pleasant. Their move has been a home run for the Vikings. Shipley is a shortstop, Smithnosky a left fielder and...
Westmoreland softball notebook: Members of West Point 12U team already making impact in high school
Remember the West Point 12U team that made it to the Little League Softball World Series in 2024? Well, many of those girls are making fast progress as freshmen in the WPIAL. The team, coached by Hempfield head coach Tina Madison, finished one game shy of the championship in North...
Latrobe faces challenge head on, earns split with Franklin RegionalVideo
Clinging to a one-run lead, Latrobe considered intentionally walking Luke Williams with a runner on second and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. A conference on the mound let the Wildcats turn the idea over in their minds. Ultimately, the risk outweighed the benefits, so reliever Aaryn...
Greensburg CC standout Erica Gribble switches college plans from Richmond to Virginia after coaching change
It has been a challenging start to April for state champion basketball player Erica Gribble. The four-star point guard from Greensburg Central Catholic committed to Richmond about a year and a half ago and signed with the Spiders. The ink was long dry, and she didn’t give her commitment a...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Saint Vincent bowling coach visits winner’s circle
Jeff Zidek is the track announcer at The Hollywood Casino at The Meadows race track in Washington. He knows which horse to bet on come the college bowling postseason. Zidek also is the head women’s bowling coach at Saint Vincent, and after a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament,...
Penn-Trafford hires new wrestling, field hockey coaches
Penn-Trafford on Monday night hired new head coaches in wrestling and field hockey. Nate Smith was promoted from assistant to head wrestling coach, replacing Travis McKillop, who resigned after four seasons. Karlee Rubright, meantime, was named head field hockey coach. She takes the reins from accomplished veteran coach Cindy Dutt,...
Ian Shipley helps Mt. Pleasant baseball snap Yough winning streak
Yough had the grill fired up under a tent that served as the concession stand for Monday’s baseball game. One of the more popular items on the menu was a smash burger, and their smell was thick in the air. Mt. Pleasant shortstop Ian Shipley didn’t have time to order...
Several Westmoreland County basketball players to take part in Roundball Classic
The annual Roundball Classic senior all-star basketball games will be played May 30-31 at North Allegheny. The schedule and rosters were announced last week. The schedule is as follows: May 30 — Class 4A vs. 5A, 2 p.m. (boys); Class 2A vs. District 10, 3:30 p.m. (boys); Class 3A vs....
Westmoreland high school notebook: Penn-Trafford baseball honors 2 former players
Penn-Trafford is honoring two baseball luminaries with mementos in the dugout and alongside its home field: “Mac” and “JJ.” The Warriors already have placed plaques at each end of their dugout to memorialize late player Maclean “Mac” Maund and former junior varsity coach Joseph “Jay” Juliane. A memorial bench on...
Norwin notebook: Karlie Johnson sets girls lacrosse scoring record
Norwin senior lacrosse player Karlie Johnson became the girls program’s all-time goals leader with her 160th score. The record-breaking goal came against Peters Township on March 30 at Yough, pushing Johnson past Ava Wilson, who had 159 goals before graduating in 2024. Johnson tied the mark March 27 at Penn-Trafford...
Norwin baseball keeping eye on the ball after sweeping Hempfield
Norwin has the look of a WPIAL contender again, but the Knights haven’t played their best baseball yet. Coaches and players will attest to that. “We haven’t won anything yet,” coach Craig Spisak said after the Knights swept rival Hempfield in a three-game Section 2-6A series. “It’s nice what we...
Williams throws no-hitter as Seton Hill coach Marizzaldi grabs 800th win
What an afternoon on “the Hill.” Sophomore pitcher Sean Williams was grooving strikes, his defense was sharp around him and the offense was efficient as 16th-ranked Seton Hill baseball flexed its muscles, all while giving its longtime leader another milestone victory. Williams tossed the second no-hitter in school history, and...
Franklin Regional notebook: 1st-year softball coach earns 1st win
New softball coach Maddie Uschock has her first win at Franklin Regional. Franklin Regional snapped a five-game losing streak to open the season by blanking McKeesport, 10-0, in six innings. It was the maiden victory for Uschock, the former Hempfield ace pitcher. Another win followed as the Panthers roughed up...
Told to keep quiet in dugout, Knoch makes noise with bats in win over Derry
The home plate umpire told Knoch softball players to stop banging on the roof and walls of the dugout late in Friday’s game at Derry. The sudden stoppage of play caused some eye rolls and shoulder shrugs from the visiting Knights. “We can be so loud sometimes,” Knoch junior Kaila...
Latrobe’s Ella Bulava, Annalyse Bauer return to play for Pittsburgh Riveters
Latrobe soccer standouts Ella Bulava and Annalyse Bauer are running it back with the Pittsburgh Riveters. Both players have come through the Riverhounds Development Academy’s ECNL teams. The hard-nosed Bulava, who is a sophomore defender at Maryland, played in three games as a reserve last season, including the final regular-season...
Norwin grad back for more in Washington Wild Things bullpen
Players in Frontier League baseball work on one-year contracts. If they do well, they are asked back. Year 2 can be the springboard season. After a strong initial go-round with the Washington Wild Things, relief pitcher Chad Coles picked up a team option from 2025 and will return to the...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Franklin Regional’s Luke Williams among top MLB draft prospects
Franklin Regional shortstop Luke Williams can fire a baseball over 90 mph across the diamond. The senior has skills that college scouts have coveted for a few years. He is primed to play in the SEC at Vanderbilt, but those plans could change if a major league team drafts him...
Norwin grad Jack Whalen a record-setting base-stealer, cornerstone player for Seton Hill baseball
He wears No. 1, so he is already at the top of the Seton Hill baseball roster. And he also leads off the batting order. But senior outfielder Jack Whalen isn’t just No. 1 in your program. He now holds a top spot in the conference record book. Whalen, a...
3rd-ranked Plum baseball no-hits Penn-Trafford, remains unbeaten on season
Home runs, efficiency on the basepaths, crisp defense and dialed-in pitching. Undefeated Plum had all that and more, and that was just in the first two innings. The third-ranked Mustangs are starting to assert their dominance in Section 1-5A baseball, and a near-perfect effort Wednesday in a 10-0, run-ruled win...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Mt. Pleasant breaks out bats in strong start to season
From the late 2010s into the early 2020s, Mt. Pleasant softball had a reputation for being one of the most dangerous hitting programs in the state. The Vikings have a long way to go, but they are showing flashes at the plate that would make those big-swinging teams proud. “We’re...
Roundball Classic all-star schedule, rosters revealed
The annual Roundball Classic senior all-star basketball games will be played May 30-31 at North Allegheny. The schedule and rosters were announced Tuesday. There are four boys games May 30 and three girls games May 31. The schedule is as follows: May 30 — Class 4A vs. 5A, 2 p.m....
3 WPIAL girls basketball standouts named state players of the year; 2 coaches also honored
Three WPIAL standouts earned player of the year honors, and the district also produced a pair of state coaches of the year when the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Girls Basketball teams were announced Tuesday. South Fayette senior Juliette Leroux, who helped lead the Lions to back-to-back PIAA championships, was named...
Mt. Pleasant softball nearly squanders all of big lead before holding off Yough
Mt. Pleasant was resolute, not shaken, when Yough chopped a nine-run lead to three with a sixth-inning rally. The Lady Vikings didn’t tremble, either, when they made five errors. A potential run-ruled finish might have turned into a game, but the visitors didn’t relent. No. 3 Mt. Pleasant answered the...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Seton Hill wrestlers earn PSAC honors
The three Seton Hill wrestlers who made the NCAA Division II Championships earned all-conference honors. Redshirt senior Mike Zacur was named to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference first team at 157 pounds, while senior Ty Linsenbigler (Hempfield) and senior Kane Kettering made the third team at 149 and 174. Kettering...
Girls flag football ‘taking off’ in 1st year as PIAA-sanctioned sport
Latrobe is often recognized as the birthplace of professional football. Mackenzie Livingston would love for it to be known as the motherland of girls high school flag football, too. The new WPIAL sport has caught on fast at Latrobe, whose team has the look of a title contender with a...
