Dave Mackall stories, Page 9
Greensburg Salem making playoff push with victory over Derry
Ty George’s second season as Greensburg Salem’s football coach is developing into a potential game-changer for the playoff-starved Golden Lions program. Despite a recent skid. Kai Brunot scored two touchdowns, and the Greensburg Salem defense limited Derry to 84 yards of total offense as the Golden Lions ended a three-game...
Duquesne men’s basketball picked 8th, women 6th in Atlantic 10 preseason poll
It took just two seasons for Duquesne forward David Dixon to feel the rush of winning consistently in college basketball games. Far from satisfied, even after being part of consecutive 20-win seasons at Duquesne for the first time since 1971 and ’72, Dixon dreams of yet another run at success....
Penn-Trafford rings Victory Bell in win vs. Gateway
If Penn-Trafford running back Tasso Whipple was playing as though it would be his last high school football game against archrival Gateway, that’s because it was. And Whipple left everything on the field Friday night, running every which way against the Gators. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior gained 249 yards and...
South Allegheny rebounds from 1st loss, holds off scrappy Ligonier Valley
After No. 4 South Allegheny’s hiccup last week against No. 3 South Park derailed the Gladiators’ early season momentum, they got back to their winning ways Friday night, surviving another Allegheny Conference challenge — this time from unheralded Ligonier Valley. Ryan Cortes threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns to...
Robert Morris AD, Edinboro football coach share hometown bond as teams square off
Jake Nulph has had Saturday circled on his calendar from the moment he took over as football coach at Edinboro in 2020. Chris King isn’t surprised one bit. After all, Robert Morris’ athletic director figures that when you get a chance to return to your alma mater, you’re bound to...
Western Pa. high school slow-pitch softball continues growing, has hopes of future PIAA membership
The sound of crickets in the cool evening air as dew was settling on the grass served as a reminder of the annual rite of fall ball. With it, high school sports teams were getting into the swing. At a recent practice in the Carbon section of Hempfield Township, coach...
Luis Ortiz stymies Guardians as Pirates end 4-game losing streak
Luis Ortiz is quietly building a scoreless streak during the Pittsburgh Pirates’ free fall in the second half of the season. Ortiz enjoyed his second strong start in a row and a rattled bullpen ended a string of disappointing performances as the Pirates beat the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians, 3-0,...
Pirates’ David Bednar discusses struggles, demotion
David Bednar’s struggles had reached epic proportions (the Pittsburgh Pirates ex-closer owned an ERA of 10.97 in 11 appearances in August). Since the All-Star break, the Bucs’ two-time all-star has been downright miserable after a first half that saw him convert 19 consecutive save opportunities during one stretch. But the...
Apollo-Ridge grad Nick Curci chooses to leave football, focus on track and field at Duquesne
For a time, football defined Nick Curci’s rule. Not much — if anything — exemplified it more than a tenacious approach to his senior year when he spearheaded a furious late-season rally that carried injury-stricken Apollo-Ridge to an improbable WPIAL playoff berth. He finished the year with 1,571 yards rushing...
Tre Cunningham Memorial Tournament brings communities together to honor former Jeannette 3-sport star
In Jeannette, the Tre Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament honors the memory of one of the many Jeannette High School standout athletes, and on the fourth anniversary of the annual event, the Cunningham family again was showered with unbridled compassion. How good does that feel? Just ask Steve Cunningham, the father...
Mars boys lacrosse falls to Marple Newtown in deja vu PIAA championship game
STATE COLLEGE — There were no smiles. Just some consoling handshakes and hugs. The Mars Fightin’ Planets didn’t come here Saturday to play second fiddle again. They came to win their second state title in boys lacrosse, and they almost pulled it off. But for the second time in a...
PIAA Class 3A final another step on Shaler boys volleyball’s long road to the top
Light clapping turned to loud chants as the match wore on. Shaler’s top-ranked boys volleyball team was mowing down yet another opponent, making the 100-mile drive east to Altoona High School well worth the time for a dedicated posse of mainly white shirt-clad Titans fans. This was not North Allegheny...
Shaler boys volleyball sweeps Warwick to earn return trip to Class 3A state finals
ALTOONA — Shaler seniors Logan Peterson and Dante Palombo, best friends since their elementary school years, walked briskly through a doorway leading from a locker room to the playing court at Altoona Fieldhouse. With a bounce in their step, Peterson, with Palombo a few steps behind, anxiously smoothed down his...
Ligonier Valley softball edged in PIAA 1st round by Forest Hills
SIDMAN — Ligonier Valley’s players and coaches retreated to their dugout after quietly being retired in order in the seventh inning Monday by Forest Hills right-hander Avery Smiach. There was little to say. The Rams’ season was finished following a 3-2 loss to the District 6 champion Rangers in a...
Neshannock shuts out Bentworth to claim 3rd straight WPIAL Class 2A softball title
It’s a threepeat. Top-seeded and unbeaten Neshannock extended its run of consecutive WPIAL softball championships Thursday to three, and the Lancers again did it with stellar pitching and defense. Addy Frye tossed a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts, Gabby Perod drove in a pair of runs, and Neshannock blanked No. 2...
IUP baseball advances to Division II World Series
Steve Kline has been around baseball for a long, long time. The former relief pitcher’s elbow bone spurs are a testament to his longevity on the baseball diamond during 11 seasons with five major league clubs, and before that a lot of years in various loops from Little League to...
IUP evens Super Regional series with Seton Hill to force decisive Game 3 Sunday
Let’s play three. IUP’s Davin Landers stroked a three-run homer in the eighth inning Saturday, and the Crimson Hawks edged Seton Hill, 9-8, to even the best-of-three NCAA Division II Atlantic Super Regional series at a game apiece and send the teams to a third, deciding game Sunday. “Nothing better...
Mandler’s homer helps Seton Hill beat IUP in super regional opener
Max Mandler was happy to contribute in such a big way, but the Seton Hill outfielder certainly wasn’t about to accept all the credit. Mandler hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, and Seton Hill’s bullpen made it stand Friday in a 5-4 victory over IUP in the...
IUP baseball coach Steve Kline guides team to 1st Super Regional
For three seasons, from 1999-2001, left-hander Steve Kline led the National League in appearances, averaging 85 per year with Montreal and St. Louis during that time. In all, Kline pitched in 796 games during an 11-year major-league career. All but once he worked in relief — his lone start came...
Thomas Jefferson wins battle of double-digit seeds against Latrobe, earns spot in 5A final
A pair of double-digit softball seeds waited overtime Wednesday night for a chance to meet No. 1 Armstrong in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game next week. After a delayed start of 1 hour and 20 minutes, No. 10 Thomas Jefferson earned a shot at the River Hawks with a...
Seneca Valley seizes momentum after dropping 1st set to zoom past Norwin in boys volleyball quarterfinals
Seneca Valley overcame a slow start Thursday night at Norwin to advance to the semifinals of the WPIAL Class 3A boys volleyball playoffs. The fifth-seeded Raiders, who used a balanced offense in the quarterfinals to eliminate No. 4 Norwin, 3-1, by scores of 22-25, 25-17, 25-20 and 25-17, will face...
Norwin plays mistake-free softball in win over Pine-Richland
Brookelyn Kotch has a message for her Norwin teammates. “Thank you.” Kotch, who managed just two strikeouts, scattered six hits and didn’t walk anyone, and the Knights’ defense played flawlessly as No. 5 seed Norwin advanced in the WPIAL Class 6A softball playoffs with a 3-1 quarterfinal-round victory over No....
Norwin boys capture Section 3-3A volleyball title with narrow win over Penn-Trafford
It took every bit of energy and drive Thursday night for Norwin to hold off Penn-Trafford’s relentless energy and drive in the final regular-season boys volleyball match and escape with a marathon 3-2 victory that clinched the WPIAL Section 3-3A championship. “It’s good to be able to win the section...
Franklin Regional gets gem from Max Bernadowski, edges Penn-Trafford to share section crown
The WPIAL baseball playoffs are a week away, but a postseason atmosphere Tuesday enveloped Haymaker Park in Murrysville, where two senior right-handers dominated on the mound. It was almost a dead-even match between host Franklin Regional and top-ranked Penn-Trafford. “It was like a playoff game,” Penn- Trafford coach Lou Cortazzo said....
Franklin Regional tops Penn-Trafford as section race goes down to final day
Just as Franklin Regional’s defense was turning a sharp grounder into a game-ending double play Monday, the Panthers were spilling onto the field at Penn-Trafford, pumping their fists in unison to celebrate a 6-2 Section 1-5A victory over the top-ranked Warriors. One down, one to go. The teams were scheduled...
