Bill Beckner stories, Page 51
Despite squandering many chances, Greensburg Salem baseball holds on for win over Yough, clinches playoff spot
Greensburg Salem felt it could have done more with its 15 hits and slew of opportunities on the base paths. As it turned out, the Golden Lions did just enough to extend their season. Despite leaving 10 on base and getting mixed up in several baserunning miscues, Greensburg Salem clinched...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: PSAC West champion Seton Hill set to open playoffs
Seton Hill locked up its second straight PSAC West Division baseball championship with a two-game split against Gannon. Senior Andino Vecchiolla earned the 3-0 win in Game 2, the final game of the regular season, working five innings, while freshman Owen Henne, grad student Jack Oberdorf (Greensburg Salem), junior Max...
Franklin Regional alum Andrew Muraco commits to Old Dominion
Admitting he needed to get a better grip on his academics while continuing to improve his game, Andrew Muraco took a roundabout way back to Division I baseball. But here he is, back on the doorstep and raring to go again. The former Franklin Regional standout and WPIAL championship game...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Belle Vernon’s Sienna Steeber, Norwin’s Nicholas Puskar
Sienna Steeber Class: Senior School: Belle Vernon Sport: Track & field Claim to fame: Steeber soared to a school record, breaking her own mark, in the pole vault at the Mid Mon Valley championship, clearing 11 feet to win a title. Steeber, who is Belle Vernon’s first and only pole...
Norwin soccer standout Owen Christopher makes dream come true with Pitt commitment
Owen Christopher had college soccer interest from a number of schools at multiple levels. He only revealed one of them, though, and it’s a winner for the Norwin senior. Christopher, the 2023 TribLive Westmoreland Boys Soccer Player of the Year, will play at Pitt next fall. “I couldn’t have asked...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Belle Vernon runner picks Robert Morris
Tessa Rodriguez was over the Moon when she visited Robert Morris. The Belle Vernon senior signed to continue her track & field and cross country careers at RMU. “What made me choose RMU was how close the relationship was between the girls on the team,” she said. “I immediately felt...
Norwin notebook: Knights clean up at county meet
Two team titles. A three-time winner. Five individual champions. Norwin track and field had a blast at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Championships at Latrobe. The Knights cleaned up at the medal stand. Junior Melani Schmidt won the 200- and 400-meter dashes and ran the anchor leg of the 400-meter...
Makayla Etling’s hot bat powers Southmoreland past Yough
If teams continue to pitch inside to Makayla Etling, they are probably going to continue to pay the price. Etling’s bat is making a different sound right now. “I’m a little surprised to see (inside pitches),” said Etling, the Southmoreland junior catcher and leadoff hitter. “I feel like I am...
Hempfield wins sloppy game vs. Norwin with walk-off single
A cloud of dust settling around him after an exciting finish on his home baseball diamond, Adam Hess was preparing to rake the pitcher’s mound when he was called over for an interview. He set down the rake and jogged toward the dugout. Moments earlier, Hempfield walked off Norwin. Before...
Norwin baseball team rides up-and-down regular season into playoffs
A three-game losing streak — the product of a Section 2-6A sweep by Mt. Lebanon — stung in the short term, but it did not deter Norwin baseball from its long-range goals. After the Knights lost Game 3 at home, second-year coach Craig Spisak held his chin high and showed...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Mt. Pleasant vaults into 1st place
Mt. Pleasant lost its first three games of the season while playing at the Ripken Experience at Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Vikings left the beach, and the setbacks, in the rearview mirror. They only lost one of their next 12 games and vaulted into first place in Section 4-3A with...
Hempfield softball team dominates No. 1 Seneca Valley
Hempfield went from the wrong end of a no-hitter to the right end of a no-doubter. Nobody saw this coming. In quite the turn of events, the second-ranked Lady Spartans had their way with No. 1 Seneca Valley in their Class 6A softball section rematch Wednesday, spraying base hits all...
Hempfield grad Callie Sowers tosses no-hitter to lead Bloomsburg to PSAC Tournament win
Callie Sowers always has had a flair for pitching in big games. The larger the stage, the harder she throws. And when the Bloomsburg junior ace is locked in, good luck hitting her. Slippery Rock was fortunate to get a foul tip Wednesday morning during the opening round of the...
Westmoreland County high school softball notebook: Hempfield has pair of aces
Hempfield softball has a number of talented hitters. In fact, 1 though 9 in the batting order can connect at any time. There are days when coach Tina Madison has an embarrassment of riches on her lineup card. But the Spartans also have pitching depth. Junior Riley Miller is tremendous,...
Checking in on Westmoreland County players in minor league baseball
Where are they now? Checking in on some local minor league baseball players: • JJ Matijevic, who made a brief appearance in the majors with the Houston Astros two years ago, recently signed with Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican Baseball League. Matijevic, a 28-year-old Norwin alum, played all of...
Franklin Regional softball gets locked in late in season
As he watched the WPIAL softball regular season wind into its final two weeks, Jim Armstrong saw a change in his team. The Franklin Regional coach noticed a more positive vibe in the dugout. Players were showing more emotion during big innings, more enthusiasm for fellow hitters and even more...
Frazier outlasts Jeannette in extra innings in battle of softball section unbeatens
Emilia Bednar wasn’t sure what to expect when she stepped to the plate in the top of the eighth inning Monday in a battle of unbeaten softball teams at Jeannette. Maybe a walk. Maybe a hit. Whatever the case, the junior catcher from Frazier was ready to do anything to...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield grad Jacob Boord returns from injury at PAC championships
He didn’t defend his conference title, but the fact that Jacob Boord was able to compete at all came with a sizable measure of gratification. A senior at Allegheny College and a Hempfield graduate, Boord was medically cleared from a foot injury to compete around 8:15 a.m. Thursday. With less...
Jeannette’s Robert Kennedy signs with Chargers
Robert Kennedy is on the doorstep of making his dream come true. The Jeannette alum continued his ascent to pro football, signing as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night. The defensive back vaults into the NFL after he played a graduate season at N.C....
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Norwin’s Melani Schmidt, Latrobe’s Dom Cararini
Melani Schmidt School: Norwin Class: Junior Sport: Track & field Claim to fame: Schmidt was named the track MVP at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Championships at Latrobe, collecting four medals, including gold in the 200- and 400-meter dashes (in 25.11 and 58.88 seconds). She also anchored the winning 400...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Franklin Regional star picks Washington & Jefferson
After a season to remember, Franklin Regional senior basketball player Cam Rowell made his college decision. The 6-foot-5 guard announced he will play at Washington & Jefferson. Rowell recently was named to the Pennsylvania Sports Writers Class 5A All-State Second Team. The TribLive Westmoreland player of the year showed his...
Norwin notebook: Trainer honored for life-saving efforts
While he sees it as “just doing his job,” others saw what Dave Snowberger did as a superhuman act. Snowberger helped to save a man’s life earlier this year, and his rush to action earned him a lofty honor in sports training circles. Snowberger received the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers Society...
Norwin completes much-needed sweep of Central Catholic
In an 8-4 victory over Central Catholic that gave Norwin its first three-game Section 2-6A sweep of the WPIAL baseball season, Nate Silberman may have epitomized the Knights’ push for a playoff spot, maybe even their identity, with one swing of the bat and a mad dash around the bases....
Everything clicking for Penn-Trafford baseball on 9-game winning streak
When Lou Cortazzo decided he wanted the interim tag removed from his name and officially became the coach of the Penn-Trafford baseball team, everything started to click. The move felt right. Of course, Cortazzo had to act fast. He had been in rain delays longer than the time it took...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Belle Vernon ace has been ‘lights out’
When senior Colton Lee pitches, Belle Vernon baseball fans show up to watch. Lee is having an impressive spring on the mound for the Leopards (10-2, 7-1), who are in contention for the Section 2-4A title. They trail Latrobe (11-2, 8-0) by one game. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound left-hander is 4-0...
