Don Rebel stories, Page 114

The third time’s a charm. In this case, the third time will decide the WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship participants. The 6A semifinals are section rematches. It will be the third meeting of the season between Butler and North Allegheny on one side of the bracket and Nowin against Hempfield...

The Three Musketeers was a 19th century French historical adventure novel about three swordsmen who fought for justice. The South Fayette version of the nearly 180-year old tale is made up of three swashbuckling sophomores who use bats and gloves to fight for first place and hopefully, treasures of gold...

After sweeping Aliquippa in a doubleheader in early May, the Carlynton softball team was 4-3 in Section 1-2A and 6-3 overall. The Cougars looked to be in good shape for a playoff chase in a tough Section 1-2A. However, the team struggled down the stretch and missed out on the...

Just call them the Cardiac Cats. Two weeks after scoring a run in the seventh inning to tie the game and another in the eighth to upset then top-ranked Norwin to clinch a WPIAL Class 6A playoff berth, Upper St. Clair worked its late magic again Friday to come back...

Then there was one. After three days of WPIAL baseball first-round and even quarterfinal games throughout five of the classifications, the Class 6A district baseball tournament begins Friday. With only nine playoff teams, there is only one first-round game as Section 2-6A rivals Canon-McMillan and Upper St. Clair square off...

The district playoffs are upon us with the first two rounds being played this week. It’s a time of year when losses end the season. Losses can also bump teams from the weekly power ratings, with no hope of returning to the overall top 10. The postseason climb thus far...

Call it Black Tuesday around the WPIAL Class 5A softball playoffs. Half of the first-round games in 5A produced upsets as the bracket was turned upside down. No. 2 Latrobe, No. 3 Plum, No. 4 Shaler and No. 6 West Allegheny were all ousted in the opening round. With the...

There was only one change to the latest edition of the 2021 Trib HSSN state baseball rankings in the bottom three classifications, but five teams were out in the top three classifications as the district playoffs begin. Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Cathedral Prep, Red Land, Warren and Bellefonte were all bounced from the...

The longest WPIAL softball championship streak has ended. Hempfield no longer has that sixth sense. Canon-McMillan scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning and held on to beat Hempfield, 2-1, in a Class 6A quarterfinals softball game Wednesday at West Mifflin. “I haven’t had a whole lot...

This hump day happens to be the busiest day of the WPIAL spring postseason with lots of action in softball, lacrosse and boys volleyball. It also is opening day of the 2021 WPIAL baseball postseason with first-round games in Class 5A, 4A, 2A and A. Class 5A defending champion Shaler...

Only two teams dropped out of the Trib HSSN state softball rankings from last week as we closed out the regular season and geared up for the district playoffs. Central Columbia in 3A and Mount Union in 2A were bumped from the Top 5 in their respective classifications, replaced by...

The WPIAL softball playoffs get underway in three classifications Tuesday. There are eight Class 5A first-round games and four opening-round games in 3A and Class A. The busiest site will be North Allegheny, which will host a tripleheader. The first game at 2 p.m. features the only champion Class 5A...

The top teams in WPIAL Class A baseball this season have a shiny history coming into the postseason. No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic won gold in 2015, No. 3 Rochester was a runner-up in 2008, No. 4 Union lost in the finals in 2018 and 2019, and No. 5 OLSH...

Most utility baseball players are good at a little bit of everything, and their versatility is a blessing to all coaches. Sophomore Steven Budash has become a big-time blessing for Indiana coach Bill Thompson. In his first varsity season, Budash has contributed as a catcher, a third baseman, a first...

Let the games begin! What will be a gusher by midweek begins with a trickle as the 2021 WPIAL softball playoffs start with one preliminary-round game Monday. Even though Bentworth finished a half-game in front of California in the battle for fourth place in the Section 3-2A softball standings, neither...

The curtain rises on the WPIAL spring sports playoffs with plenty of postseason action on the baseball and softball diamonds, the lacrosse fields and the volleyball courts starting this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. We have exclusive video and audio coverage of the WPIAL baseball, softball, boys...

The WPIAL boys volleyball regular season is over, and the 15-team playoff field in both Class AAA and AA is set. With the WPIAL expanding the playoff field, the top five teams in each section qualified for the district postseason. Once again, Trib HSSN will unveil the brackets with the...

Here are the final WPIAL girls lacrosse standings for the 2021 regular season. The top six teams in each section qualified for the district postseason. Only section records are shown. #-Clinched section championship *-Clinched playoff berth x-Eliminated from playoff chase Class AAA Section 1 #-Bethel Park, 9-1 #-Mt. Lebanon, 9-1...

Here are the final WPIAL boys lacrosse standings for the 2021 season. The top six teams in each section qualified for the district postseason. Only section records are shown. #-Clinched section championship *-Clinched playoff berth x-Eliminated from playoff chase Class AAA Section 1 #-Mt. Lebanon, 8-0 *-Upper St. Clair, 7-1...

After the merger of the Kittanning and Ford City school districts to form Armstrong before the 2015-16 school year, the softball program went 18-54 over four years. However, the River Hawks finished 12-4 this season and are headed to the WPIAL softball playoffs for the first time. “The girls and...

You know you are having a special year when you throw a no-hitter, and it’s treated like just another day at the office. So it goes for the top pitcher on the top team in Class 2A. Make that the top player on the No. 1-seed in Class 2A. Junior...

Western Pennsylvania is roughly near the midway point between Berkeley, Calif., and London, England. After Kip Kinchington played rugby in England and his wife Edwina swam at Cal-Berkeley, they settled and started a family in Collier Township. They produced two kids in the early part of the century that are...

It’s hard not to talk Bishop Canevin volleyball without talking about the late Kevin Walters. While he is known more for the six championships he won as a coach in girls volleyball, he was also a big part of starting the Crusaders boys volleyball program seven years ago. “He was...

For the first time in two years, it is time to discuss baseball bracketology in the WPIAL. You can watch when Trib HSSN unveils the brackets first on the WPIAL Baseball Playoff Pairings Show at 3 p.m. The field is set with nine teams in the Class 6A brackets, 16...