Don Rebel stories, Page 66

The Chartiers Valley softball team is loaded with talented upperclassmen, including seniors Zoe and Callie Mangan, Madison Crump, Rylee Prosperi and Mackenzie Manga, along with juniors Marta Gualazzi and Kylie DeSalle. The Colts have also relied on sophomore Annabelle Helt and freshman Lily Dufill. However, the future is now for...

If you are a high school baseball fan that shows up right at game time, then you miss the pregame performance every team at nearly every level goes through. Pregame warm-ups are a well-choreographed chance for players to get their bodies prepared for the game while getting used to the...

Two classifications went unchanged; however, the other four had plenty of movement in this week edition of the Trib HSSN state softball rankings. There may have been some shuffling, but the same five teams remain in both 4A and A. That wasn’t the case in 6A and 2A, where two...

It’s been a tough week for the elite across the state as nine teams ranked in last week’s Trib HSSN baseball state rankings have been bounced this week. The top three classifications had one change each while the bottom three classes had two teams each exit, and two new teams...

It has been a rough spring for the defending WPIAL Class 6A baseball champions. Mt. Lebanon lost its first eight games this season, including a 0-4 start in Section 2-6A. The Blue Devils had turned it around a bit of late, winning the last two games of last week’s Central...

The teams ranked in the latest Trib 10 have proven they can win in the warmth of last week and the chill of this week. Three teams slipped out of the Trib 10 with Franklin Regional baseball replaced by fellow 5A power South Fayette. On the softball side, Montour is...

Wednesday begins the second half of section play in WPIAL Class 6A softball. The top four teams — Norwin (7-1), Seneca Valley (6-1), Hempfield (6-2) and North Allegheny (5-2) — have opened up a gap over the other five teams in the one and only 6A section. The top six...

The winningest baseball coach in WPIAL history is Dan Oliastro with 679 victories. The 79-year old, now in his 54th season at Riverside, has the Panthers at 8-0 this season and in first place in Section 1-3A. The next man on the active WPIAL baseball coach’s victory list picked up...

While pitching in high school softball might not be a dominant as it once was before the rubber was moved back, it’s still an integral part of success on the diamond. Which brings us to Trinity senior pitcher Taylor Dunn, who along with her Hillers teammates is having a standout...

Not all home runs can be measured the same way, and we’re not talking about distance here. While all long balls are thoroughly enjoyed by the batter and their teammates, their weight on the outcome of a game may differ. Clubbing one in a blowout victory is nice but lacks...

There was no sun, no blue skies, no comfortable temperatures in the area Monday. The weather was wet, windy and raw with the mercury barely cracking 40 degrees. But for the Hempfield baseball team, it was a beautiful day. The Spartans held off Canon-McMillan, 7-6 at Wild Things Park in...

For the first time in over a week, weather is a concern for outdoor spring sports Monday. Gone for now are the above average temperatures and sunny skies, replaced at the beginning of the week by much colder temps and a threat of rain. That said, there are plenty of...

Always a bridesmaid, now finally a bride. After years as an assistant baseball, football and wrestling coach at Canon-McMillan, Brendon Steele finally got a chance to be a head coach when he took over for Tim Bruzdewicz this offseason. The Big Macs baseball team has responded, winning 7 of their...

While most rivalries are built on geography, some are born from multiple postseason clashes. The latter is true of one budding rivalry in WPIAL Class 3A. Playoff meetings and a slew of coaches changing from Eagles blue to Antelopes red has stoked the fire between Avonworth and South Park. The...

As the calendar heads into the second half of April, WPIAL baseball and softball hit the midway point of section play on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN continues our coverage of WPIAL softball and baseball with a busy week of section action. We also have some WPIAL...

Friday was West Mifflin softball coach Erik Hilligsberg’s birthday. “We’ve played two or three times (on his birthday) and they’ve responded and we’ve won,” Hilligsberg said. “Maybe every game should be on my birthday.” The birthday boy got his wish as his Titans played a complete game in shutting out...

There are seven undefeated teams in WPIAL softball, and all but one are alone in first place in their section. The lone exception is Montour. The Spartans have won all six games they have played this season and are a perfect 4-0 in Section 3-4A. They enter Friday’s game technically...

The winds of change were blowing in Class 4A this past week as three teams from the inaugural Trib HSSN state softball rankings last week dropped out of the Top 5. Only two other teams were bumped in the other five classifications combined. In 4A, Clearfield, Villa Joseph Marie and...

Much like the weather this past week, it was smooth sailing for most of the teams in the first edition of the Trib HSSN baseball state rankings from last week. Only three teams lost their spot in the Top 5, including Cumberland Valley in 6A, Donegal in 5A and Montoursville...

In its first two years playing Class 5A softball, Western Beaver, which co-ops with Lincoln Park, had a combined record of 0-19 in section play and 2-22 overall. However, third year has been a charm for the Golden Beavers. Western Beaver has been a great story thus far this season...

There was some shuffling of the deck this past week, but not a lot of turnover in the latest baseball and softball weekly Trib 10. Three teams total lost their grips on a power-ranking spot, with Mars and South Park baseball and Latrobe softball slipping out of the top 10...

The top four teams in WPIAL Class 6A softball square off Wednesday. Defending champion and undefeated Seneca Valley visits a Hempfield team that knows something about gold. The Spartans won the last two Quad-A championships before expansion, then won the first three 6A crowns between 2015-2019. While the Raiders are...

The last shall be first. Senior Tyler Zallenick, the designated hitter batting in the No. 9 spot in the order, delivered a two-out RBI single in the top of the seventh inning to break a scoreless tie and spark a big inning in a big win for Chartiers Valley over...

Call it the even-steven section. WPIAL baseball section series continue Tuesday with three matchups slated for Tuesday and Wednesday in Section 4-4A. If history means anything, don’t be surprised if all six teams split their home-and-home games these next two days. That is because all six split in their first...

In Trey Tilghman’s first year as head coach of the Charleroi softball team in 2014, the Cougars captured a section championship. Then over the next five seasons, Charleroi missed the playoffs. But during that time, Tilghman saw a storm brewing in the youth softball leagues in the Charleroi school district....