Bill Beckner stories, Page 83
PIAA softball playoff capsule: Class 6A semifinal, Monday, June 12, 2023
PIAA softball playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Hempfield (20-3) vs. Cumberland Valley (19-5) 4 p.m. Monday at St. Francis (Pa.) University, Loretto District seeds: Hempfield 7-1; Cumberland Valley 3-1 Winner plays: Winner of 1-1 North Penn (26-0)/3-3 Chambersburg (13-1) in championship 4 p.m. June 15 at Beard Field, Nittany Lion Softball...
Hempfield softball team wins with stifling defense
In the PIAA softball playoffs, every team can hit. Short game or long, small ball or power shots. But pitching and defense, now that makes for a lethal combination. Take those two and blend them with just the right amount of offense, and the state championship can be well within...
Hempfield coach Madison hopes for return trip to alma mater
Making the state softball championship would carry special meaning for Hempfield coach Tina Madison, not just because she is a proud alum and former ace pitcher for the Spartans. Hempfield (20-3) can clinch a spot in the PIAA Class 6A title game with a win Monday over Cumberland Valley (19-5)....
Westmoreland County high school notebook: New Hempfield girls soccer coach up for a challenge
New Hempfield girls soccer coach Jim Jones has several goals. His team will settle for one. Jones is set to lead a struggling program into what he hopes are better times. He takes over for Aryn Askin, who is no longer with the team after two seasons. How tough has...
Norwin notebook: Ex-Knights standout Jack Whalen wraps up big freshman year at Seton Hill
Not many freshmen in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference had a better debut season than Seton Hill’s Jack Whalen, a Norwin alum. The outfielder broke a school record for stolen bases in a season and led the team in a couple of offensive categories, finding his place in the lineup...
Murrysville Star notebook: Franklin Regional standouts earn all-section honors
The Big 56 Conference, a website that recognizes accomplishments of teams and athletes in the WPIAL’s largest classifications, announced its all-section teams. Class 5A baseball’s Section 1 first team included junior Max Bernadowski (IF) of Franklin Regional and senior Dylan Grabowski (P), junior Brody Hoffman (DH) and Chuck Fontana (OF)...
Hempfield softball team learns PIAA semifinal playoff location
Hempfield will continue its march toward a fifth state softball championship with a semifinal matchup against Cumberland Valley at 4 p.m. Monday at St. Francis (Pa.) in Loretto. The WPIAL champion Spartans (20-3), in the PIAA semifinals for a 10th time, will look to defeat the District 3 champion Eagles...
Latrobe grad Jake Biss to play in Premier Basketball League
With his first year of professional basketball in the books, Jake Biss is making sure his game stays sharp in the offseason. The former Latrobe and Shippensburg standout guard, who played last season with the Dan Helder Suns in the Netherlands, signed to play this summer with the DuBois Dream,...
Elizabeth Forward avenges WPIAL playoff loss, stops Belle Vernon in PIAA quarters
Elizabeth Forward restored the balance of power in its softball rivalry with Belle Vernon, and catcher Alivia Grimm restored confidence in her swing as the Warriors moved on in the state playoffs. Grimm, a sophomore, came up clutch in the seventh inning with a game-changing hit and followed with a...
Westmoreland PIAA softball capsules: Games for Thursday, June 8, 2023
PIAA softball playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Hempfield (19-3) vs. Downingtown East (22-3) 4 p.m. Thursday at Cumberland Valley, Mechanicsburg District seeds: Hempfield 7-1; Downingtown East 1-3 Winner plays: Winner of 3-1 Cumberland Valley (18-5)/1-2 Haverford (21-5) Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Coaches: Tina Madison, Hempfield; Peggy O’Dwyer, Downingtown East...
Hempfield freshmen burst into starting lineup, play key roles in playoff run
When Tina Madison talked about her team’s prospects and potential strengths at the start of the season, she couldn’t help but mention the emerging talent coming down the pipeline. The Hempfield softball coach didn’t try to hide anyone, either. The future is now for a budding group of newcomers. “There...
Howard sisters lead Hempfield softball past Mifflin County in PIAA opener
Sisters Maggie and Lauren Howard are a couple of years apart in age and class, but they look alike, talk alike and, to Hempfield’s delight, play alike. The Hempfield siblings had a key impact on Monday morning’s PIAA Class 6A playoff opener against visiting Mifflin County, combining to go 4...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad Tyler Horvat a 5-time All-American
More postseason honors have rolled in for Washington & Jefferson baseball standout Tyler Horvat. What hasn’t the Penn-Trafford graduate won? Horvat, a pitcher and outfielder, became the first player in the history of the W&J program to earn three All-America honors when he made D3Baseball.com First Team All-America, the second...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Coaches want more Class 6A state qualifiers
Talk about one and done. WPIAL Class 6A softball coaches think something needs to change. Only the champion, Hempfield (18-3), moved on to the PIAA playoffs, meaning the semifinal and title-game losers were done for the year. In other classifications, the top three or four finishers advanced to the state...
Westmoreland PIAA softball capsules: Games for Monday, June 5, 2023
PIAA softball playoffs Class 6A First round Mifflin County (12-8) at Hempfield (18-3) 11 a.m. Monday at Robert D. Kalp Field, Hempfield District seeds: Mifflin County 6-1; Hempfield 7-1 Winner plays: Winner of 3-2 Central Dauphin (20-2)/1-3 Downington East (21-3) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch:...
Dan Boring to resign as Southmoreland athletic director
Dan Boring believes the Southmoreland athletic department is in better shape than when he began overseeing Scotties sports in 2020. “Absolutely,” he said. “We have done some great things over the last three years. We put some new systems in place that have smoothed out some kinks.” Boring, however, will...
Southmoreland softball driven to succeed in state playoffs
As the only senior on the Southmoreland softball team, second baseman Brynn Charnesky has a voice on the field, in the dugout and on drab bus rides home from championship game losses. When she talks, the Scotties listen. After a 5-1 loss to playoff nemesis Avonworth in the WPIAL Class...
Latrobe looks to shake off WPIAL finals loss before state playoffs
Latrobe players tried to keep their heads up when the Pirate Parrot handed them their WPIAL Class 4A runner-up trophy last Tuesday at Wild Things Park. Even the Parrot seemed somber. The season wasn’t over, but it felt like it was to the Wildcats after a tough, 4-3 loss to...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: WCCA awards scholarships
The Westmoreland County Coaches Association gives out several scholarships each year with money raised through different means, including entry fees and 50/50 raffles at its events. This year, the association awarded a record seven scholarships to county athletes in the amount of $12,000. Three annual scholarships, each worth $2,000, went...
Hannah Shaw ends Norwin track career with state medal
Before a jump, Norwin senior Hannah Shaw tells herself, “You know you can do this.” She waited all season to compete for a state medal, and she came home from Shippensburg with one around her neck. Shaw finished tied for fourth at the PIAA track and field championships in the...
Softball team leads Norwin in strong spring sports season
Norwin brought contenders to the WPIAL spring sports season, along with plenty of highlights: home runs, goals, spikes and record times and distances. From the diamond to the jumping pits, the Knights made their mark. Softball With more than 30 home runs, the Knights used the long ball to build...
Hard-hitting lineup helps Franklin Regional have softball season to remember
The crack of the bat and the swell of crowd noise was a regular thing for the Franklin Regional softball team this season. The Panthers connected on 30 home runs, making them one of the most threatening long-bombing teams in WPIAL Class 5A. But they fell short in the playoffs,...
WPIAL champ Hempfield softball team rewarded with PIAA home game
There was more at stake than a WPIAL championship for the Hempfield softball team. When the Spartans topped Seneca Valley, 2-1, in extra inning to win their eighth district title Wednesday at Cal (Pa.) and become the league’s lone representative in the PIAA Class 6A playoffs, they also earned a...
Longtime men’s basketball coach D.P. Harris named Saint Vincent’s interim athletic director
Until there is a more permanent situation, Saint Vincent will use an all-hands-on-deck approach to oversee and operate its athletic department heading into the summer months and possibly beyond. The leadership of sports at the Unity college, at least temporarily, will be in the hands of several coaches, SVC president...
Jeannette star from 1930s chosen for new National High School Football Hall of Fame
A former Jeannette running back will be part of a new football hall of fame. He will represent the high school on a national level. The late John “ShowBoat” Crowell, a backfield standout for the Jayhawks in the 1930s, will be inducted into the National High School Football Hall of...
