Bill Beckner stories, Page 42
Penn-Trafford softball team hopes to follow in footsteps of 2019 state champs
Penn-Trafford senior catcher Mack Keenan remembers watching the team bus follow a fire truck escort back to Harrison City in 2019 after the Lady Warriors softball team won the PIAA championship. The town showed up to greet the state champs. Of course, Keenan was just an impressionable middle schooler then,...
Season turns out unforgettable for Bailey Snowberger, Norwin softball team
Leadoff hitter Bailey Snowberger doubled to open the WPIAL 6A softball championship Friday at Cal (Pa.). After she scored the game’s first run, a teammate said, “congratulations” as Snowberger returned to the dugout. “I’m like, what do you mean?” Snowberger said. “I didn’t know what she was talking about.” The...
Return to state playoffs a learning experience for Latrobe softball
There were a lot of empty seats on the Latrobe softball team bus Tuesday after the Wildcats lost to Penn-Trafford in the WPIAL Class 5A third-place game at Gateway. The reason was several players decided to drive home with family instead of going home with the team. But the Wildcats...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Southmoreland star picks Pitt-Greensburg
Ty Keffer has been a dynamic, three-sport athlete at Southmoreland. He has lit up the scoreboard in basketball, pulled in leaping catches in football and struck out numerous batters in baseball. But the athletic Keffer’s top sport is basketball, and he has decided to extend his playing career at a...
Westmoreland County high school athletes of the week: Penn-Trafford’s Cam Ponko, Hempfield’s Peyton Murray
Cam Ponko School: Penn-Trafford Class: Junior Sport: Softball Claim to fame: Ponko helped the Warriors clinch third place in WPIAL Class 5A as she went 2 for 3 with two RBIs in a 4-1 victory over Latrobe in the consolation game. A third baseman, Ponko is slashing .500/.549/.968 with nine...
Norwin notebook: Lacrosse players earn all-section honors
A number of Westmoreland County players were selected for the WPIAL all-section girls lacrosse teams. Norwin’s Karlie Johnson and Ray Mamas made the Class 3A Section 1 first team, and Ava Wilson and Ava Kessler of Norwin and Heather Harshman of Hempfield were second teamers. Sydney Valenta and Gia Fernandez...
Battery mates Cheyenne Piper, Sydnee Foust to lead Ligonier Valley into PIAA 3A playoffs
Softball pitchers get all of the credit when they throw no-hitters, while their catchers humbly remove their masks and pads and wander off into obscurity. But Ligonier Valley senior ace Cheyenne Piper said she couldn’t be her dominant self without junior Sydnee Foust behind the plate. Even though they bicker....
Seneca Valley fights off Norwin upset bid to win 4th WPIAL softball championship
CALIFORNIA — Caught in the throes of a surprising three-run deficit against the underdog of these playoffs, Seneca Valley sprang to life late and reprised its role as the top dog in WPIAL 6A softball. Senior right fielder Kylie Staudt capped a 4-for-4 day with a walk-off single in the...
10-time major winner Annika Sorenstam to play in U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Fox Chapel Golf Club
Women’s golf icon Annika Sorenstam has entered to play in the sixth U.S. Senior Women’s Open set for Aug. 1-4 at Fox Chapel Golf Club. Sorenstam, who has 96 career wins, including 10 major championships, has played in the Pittsburgh area before. She is familiar with nearby Oakmont Country Club,...
Norwin uses additional day to prepare for WPIAL Class 6A softball title game
As some dust kicked up from a light breeze, Norwin softball coach Brian Mesich sent a pop fly to shallow center field. He nearly fell backward, but it wasn’t from any dirt specks that sneaked behind his sunglasses. He was trying to put some serious English on the batted ball....
Former Jeannette defensive lineman Anthony Johnson transfers to Pitt
Pitt appears to be the final stop on Anthony Johnson’s twisting and turning tour of college football. Johnson, a burly pass rusher who has become a regular in the NCAA transfer portal, announced he is joining the Panthers after initially committing to Mississippi State and, before that, to Illinois. A...
Penn-Trafford regroups, defeats rival Latrobe in Class 5A 3rd-place game
While the pressure was far from what Penn-Trafford felt in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals, the desire to play well in the third-place game and build momentum for a state playoff run was high on the Warriors’ priority list. “This game is not as heart-attack as that one,” coach Denny...
Ligonier Valley bounces back with Cheyenne Piper shutout in 3rd-place game vs. Avonworth
With the state playoffs coming up, Mark Zimmerman had his Ligonier Valley softball team practice over the Memorial Day weekend. The cookouts could wait. “They weren’t too happy with me,” the coach said with a smile. “But we needed to work on some things.” The Rams’ extra work paid off...
Norwin not backing down against Lexie Hames, Seneca Valley in WPIAL 6A softball finals
Norwin did not fear Hempfield in the WPIAL Class 6A softball semifinals, and the Knights claim they will not back down from star pitcher Lexie Hames in the championship, either. Why? The answer is familiarity. Fifth-seeded Norwin (10-10) hasn’t seen anything, or anybody, in the postseason it hasn’t seen before....
WPIAL Class 5A baseball consolation game capsule: Franklin Regional vs. West Allegheny
WPIAL baseball playoffs Class 5A Third-place game Franklin Regional (19-2) vs. West Allegheny (18-6) 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Ross Memorial Park, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington Winner: Clinches third place in the WPIAL and a berth into the PIAA playoffs. The loser is eliminated. Players to watch: Darren DeRiggi, Franklin...
2024 WPIAL Class 6A softball championship preview: Norwin vs. Seneca Valley
2024 WPIAL Class 6A softball championship No. 5 Norwin (10-10) vs. No. 2 Seneca Valley (20-1) 1 p.m. Friday at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) How they got here: Norwin defeated Pine-Richland, 3-1, in the quarterfinals; and No. 1 Hempfield, 5-2, in the semifinals. Seneca Valley beat No. 6 Canon-McMillan, 7-1,...
WPIAL third-place game playoff capsules: Games for Tuesday, May 28, 2024
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 5A Third-place game Penn-Trafford (14-6) vs. Latrobe (11-11) 3 p.m. Tuesday at Gateway Winner: Takes third place in the WPIAL for the PIAA playoffs. The loser is fourth. Players to watch: Bella Rubbe, Penn-Trafford; Macie McHugh, Latrobe Extra bases: Penn-Trafford is looking for a repeat of...
Seniors on Norwin softball team vow not to back down from Seneca Valley in WPIAL final
Norwin has only three seniors, but they weren’t ready to turn in their softball uniforms before they donned their caps and gowns. The girls graduated Friday, but their allegiance to the Lady Knights program will carry on for at least another week or so. And a diploma could be accompanied...
Results, top scorers, MVPs from the Roundball Classic
Results and top scorers from the 20th Roundball Classic all-star basketball games held over the weekend at North Allegheny: Girls Class 3A/A 105, Class 2A/District 10 70 3A: *Avina Norman (Beaver Falls) 23, Julie Spinelli (St. Joseph) 17, Claire Noble (Ellwood City) 16 2A: *Mya Morgan (Greensburg Central Catholic) 15,...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield grad Jake Kramer earns All-American honors
It was closing time this season when Jake Kramer headed to the Cal (Pa.) bullpen. The sophomore out of Hempfield has risen to record status among the program’s relief pitchers, and his postseason honors are rolling in. Kramer was named as a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Second-Team All-American, the...
Westmoreland high school athlete of the week: Norwin’s Brookelyn Kotch and Penn-Trafford’s Brandon Roher
Brookelyn Kotch School: Norwin Class: Senior Sport: Softball Claim to fame: Kotch did something many pitchers have not done in recent years: She beat Hempfield. Kotch scattered six hits, did not issue a walk and struck our four while forcing 13 flyouts as Norwin upset top-seeded and defending WPIAL Hempfield,...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Softball all-star game in the works
An all-star game for the top senior softball players in the WPIAL is in the works. Plum coach Phil DiLonardo came up with the idea, and three other coaches are helping to make the game a reality: Tom Sorce of Shaler, Jim Armstrong of Franklin Regional and Jenna Muncie from...
After prolific career at Allegheny, former Norwin receiver moving up to Division I FCS level
Record-breaking wide receiver Declan O’Brien isn’t done catching passes yet. After a brilliant three-year run at Allegheny College, the Norwin product is planning to play a fifth season at a higher level. O’Brien, an All-Region 2 First Team player as a senior, is joining Delaware as a preferred walk-on. O’Brien...
Norwin notebook: Football standout earns ‘surprise’ track gold
Norwin senior Luke Denny was a threat in the Knights’ football offense not only because he could catch passes, but also for what he could do after he caught them. Coaches said Denny had “track speed,” and the standout showed it at the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships....
New coach plans to carry on ‘winning mentality’ with Franklin Regional hockey
Brian Bearley understands the assignment. A former assistant coach for Franklin Regional hockey under former head coach John Winebrenner, Bearley recently was hired to lead the Panthers. Familiarity with various levels of hockey at Franklin Regional should serve him well. His plan is to maintain a standard already in place...
