Don Rebel stories, Page 119
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on June 10, 2021: PIAA baseball, softball playoffs resume
Thursday is the second round of the 2021 PIAA baseball and softball playoffs, weather permitting. Nineteen WPIAL baseball and softball teams qualified for the state playoffs, and after one round, the district still has 12 teams left in the baseball postseason and 11 teams remaining in the softball playoffs. Softball...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on June 8, 2021: WPIAL lacrosse teams seek elusive spot in state finals
History could be made Tuesday in the PIAA lacrosse semifinals. In the 12-year history of the state lacrosse playoffs, no WPIAL has won a PIAA championship. In fact, no District 7 team has even reached the finals. The WPIAL sends one boys and one girls team to the final four...
West Greene softball fights off pesky Shade to advance in PIAA playoffs
In opening-round PIAA playoff games following its previous four WPIAL championships, the West Greene softball team has cruised into the state quarterfinals by a combined score of 40-5. So few people outside of District 5 runner-up Shade gave the Panthers much chance against the 2017 and 2018 Class A state...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for June 7, 2021: Baseball, softball teams start PIAA playoffs
A total of 38 WPIAL baseball and softball teams hit the ground running for state gold as the Path to Penn State begins Monday. Weather permitting, the first round of the PIAA baseball and softball playoffs begin throughout the state. The 12 newly crowned WPIAL champions will play somewhere inside...
Trib HSSN Softball Player of the Week: June 7, 2021
It was a championship performance for the ages. Bethel Park junior catcher Sandra Soltes had three hits, two home runs including a grand slam, three runs and eight RBIs in the Black Hawks’ 9-2 win over Canon-McMillan to win the WPIAL Class 6A softball crown. “My performance to me has...
Trib HSSN Softball Team of the Week: June 7, 2021
Every once in a while, the stars align and a special group of young athletes comes up through the program to make good teams great and great teams champions. The sign of a strong program is when that special group comes and goes, yet the titles keep coming. Take as...
This week on Trib HSSN: Week of June 7, 2021
The district gold rush has come to an end. Now, with two weeks left in the season, the focus turns to the chase for state gold on the TribLive High School Sports Network. We have coverage of the first round and quarterfinals of the PIAA baseball and softball playoffs as...
Trib HSSN Baseball Team of the Week: June 7, 2021
Shenango had a fantastic regular season, winning 16 of 18 games, including the final 14 while outdistancing the rest of a tough Section 2-2A by two games. They were the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs and beat Northgate, Neshannock and Carmichaels on the road to the...
Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week: June 7, 2021
Billy Cook was sitting in unfamiliar territory last week. He was calling the shots as New Castle head coach in a WPIAL baseball championship game. Turns out he had the best seat in the house to watch history play out at Wild Things Park in Washington. Senior pitcher Rocco Bernadina...
South Fayette girls lacrosse shakes ‘new team’ label
For five years, the South Fayette girls lacrosse team has been trying to break on through to the other side of consistently playing competitive matches. Mission accomplished. “I feel like this is finally the season that proved us as a competitor as opposed to being the new team,” coach Connie...
Trib HSSN Softball State Rankings for June 5, 2021
There were major changes this week in half of the softball classifications and minimal movement in the other three classes on the brink of the 2021 PIAA softball playoffs. In Class 6A, 5A and 3A, there were 10 teams that fell out of Trib HSSN state softball rankings from last...
Trib HSSN Baseball State Rankings for June 4, 2021
A historic shuffling of the deck in the Trib HSSN state baseball rankings as the district playoffs conclude and the state playoffs begin. Never before have the HSSN state rankings done an all-out line change with five new teams in one class turning over. In Class 4A, the five ranked...
Trib 10: WPIAL champs take top spots in baseball, softball power rankings
Twelve newly minted district champions have been crowned, and they are not only hoisting gold, they are also taking up the top six spots in the weekly Trib 10 power rankings. With great power comes the great responsibility of leading WPIAL teams into the state playoffs starting next week. Congrats...
First-round PIAA matchups set for many WPIAL softball teams
The 2021 WPIAL softball playoffs are history with four new champions crowned and two others continuing their title runs. With the WPIAL playoffs done, the final order of the district teams is set for the upcoming PIAA postseason. The state softball playoffs begin Monday with sites and times to be...
Sandra Soltes’ 2 home runs lead Bethel Park to 1st WPIAL softball title
The Bethel Park softball team remained undefeated in grand style. Junior catcher Sandra Soltes smacked two home runs, including a first-inning grand slam that put the Black Hawks up for good in a 9-2 win over Canon-McMillan in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game Thursday afternoon at Cal U’s Lilley...
WPIAL baseball teams set for PIAA playoffs
The 2021 WPIAL baseball playoffs are now in the books with six new champions crowned and the order of district teams set for the PIAA postseason. The state baseball playoffs begin Monday with sites and times to be determined. Here are the matchups that are set for the first round...
West Greene wins 5th straight WPIAL softball title in dominant performance
Not even a global pandemic can slow down the West Greene softball team. What many thought would be a fifth straight WPIAL softball championship in 2020 had to wait a year after last season was postponed due to the covid-19 outbreak. Now the Pioneers have their one for the thumb...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on June 1, 2021: Baseball title games galore
Three days, 12 championship games, one network. That is all the math needed for diamond championship week starting Tuesday and continuing through Thursday in WPIAL baseball and softball. The spotlight shines on Wild Things Park in Washington on Tuesday with the first three district baseball games. The Class A finals...
Trib HSSN Baseball Team of the Week for May 31, 2021
The Montour baseball team won the tough Section 2-4A title by two games. It was a blue collar team with white collar success. It won 13 of 18 games, but many were nail-biters that were a preview of the Spartans’ postseason. “We have been in so many close games this...
Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week for May 31, 2021
Most coaches are worried about team rust if they go 10 to 14 days between games. Union went nearly a month between baseball games. Practice and scrimmages must make perfect. The Scotties played what turned out to be their final regular-season game April 28, then opened the Class A playoffs...
This week on Trib HSSN: Week of May 31, 2021
The final district gold rush of the 2020-21 school year takes place at Wild Things Park in Washington for baseball and Lilly Field at Cal (Pa.) for softball this week, only here on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Post-holiday, we have exclusive video coverage of all twelve of the...
Trib HSSN Softball Team of the Week: May 31, 2021
While most teams were one or two games into the district postseason last week, Class 4A Beaver was just getting started. The Bobcats softball team had to wait 12 days from its final regular-season game to their quarterfinals contest thanks to a first-round bye as the No. 2-seed. “I was...
Trib HSSN Softball Player of the Week: May 31, 2021
All season, the talk in WPIAL Class 4A softball has been the pitching dominance of Kailey Larcinese of Elizabeth Forward and Payton List of Beaver. While they certainly deserve their share of the headlines, it might be time to add Highlands pitcher Jaycee Haidze to that list. “Jaycee works hard...
Playoff win caps season of growth for Bishop Canevin softball
The Bishop Canevin softball team started the season losing four of its first five games. The Crusaders then won four of the next five contests. It was that kind of spring for the Crusaders, one in which everything balanced out, including their final record of 7-7. “This season was a...
Trib HSSN state baseball rankings for May 28, 2021
It was not a good week for the favorites in district baseball playoff across the state. Top seeds fell left and right in the biggest turnover week in the Trib HSSN state baseball rankings this season. Ten of the top 30 teams across the Commonwealth lost out on the chance...
