Don Rebel stories, Page 87

Three rounds are in the books with one golden game remaining in the 2022 district baseball and softball playoffs. With plenty of head-to-head battles in the WPIAL quarterfinals and semifinals, change was bound to happen in the Trib 10 power rankings. Four baseball and three softball teams saw their hopes...

Last spring, Mars became the most decorated boys lacrosse program in WPIAL history with a fifth consecutive Class 2A championship. On Thursday, the Fightin’ Planets hope to start a second hand of title rings. Top-seeded Mars faces Quaker Valley in the WPIAL 2A boys lacrosse championship at 8 p.m. at...

There was little movement in this week’s Trib HSSN state baseball rankings as the district playoffs move into the final week. Only three teams were knocked out, opening the door for three new teams, including a return to the state top 5 for both South Park in 3A and Halifax...

As we head to the holiday weekend, all is quiet on the elite state softball front. As the district playoffs continue across the commonwealth, byes and very few upsets have led to almost identical Trib HSSN state softball rankings. Only Abington Heights in Class 5A lost its footing and dropped...

The district gold starts to flow Wednesday with two WPIAL boys volleyball and three district lacrosse title matches. In boys volleyball, could there be a changing of the guard in Class 3A? North Allegheny has completely dominated the 3A landscape with 21 WPIAL boys volleyball championships, four straight crowns and...

Some of the best rivalries in sports were born from postseason clashes. Steelers vs. Raiders in the ’70s and 49ers vs. Cowboys in the ’90s are two examples. Perhaps a budding district rivalry is blooming in softball as Armstrong and North Hills prepare to face each other for the third...

Veteran high school teams that have a roster of players who have had a taste of the sweet and bitter of the postseason sometimes need to bring their emotions down a level to remain focused on the task at hand. The flip side of that is a young and inexperienced...

Welcome to Semifinals Monday in the 2022 WPIAL baseball playoffs. Unless your team is in classes 6A or 4A, then it’s Welcome to Quarterfinals Monday. Whether it’s the second or third round, the recurring theme is rematches. Of the 16 scheduled games, 11 are matchups between teams that faced each...

The funny thing about momentum in sports: It doesn’t always carry over from the regular season to the postseason. However, having it heading into the playoffs can’t hurt. The Thomas Jefferson baseball team concluded Section 4-5A play with two losses to Bethel Park. The Jaguars regrouped and picked up three...

If championships were determined on paper, rankings and all of the statistic and sabermetrics you could discover would determine which teams win the gold. Plus, we would miss three weeks of postseason action filled with great efforts, raw emotion and terrific teamwork. Plus the occasional stunner. Eyebrows were raised Wednesday...

It’s a big week of setting up diamond title games while crowning some district spring sports champions this week here on the TribLive High School Sports Network. We have exclusive video and audio action of the WPIAL baseball and softball quarterfinals and semifinals games. HSSN also has semifinals coverage and...

There are two things you can say about the Mohawk baseball team. First, it is a program on the rise, having improved from an 11-win one-and-done playoff team last season to a 15-win team that has reached the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals this spring. “We had a strong season last...

The district basketball world was stunned earlier this month when one of the most decorated coaches in WPIAL history decided to make a change and leave the school he had been at for nearly three decades. Tim McConnell resigned from his job as Chartiers Valley girls basketball coach to take...

For the second straight spring, the Chartiers Valley boys tennis team finished fourth in rugged Section 4-3A. “We had a pretty good season,” Colts coach Bobby Mack said. “We are in a tough section, and for us to make it in the playoffs is great.” The Colts lost to North...

With two weeks left before the start of the PIAA postseason, the days of losing and hoping to cling to a spot in the Trib HSSN state baseball rankings are done. Get bumped from the district postseason early enough and title hopes, along with a place among the state elite,...

If they haven’t already, the districts that make up the PIAA are holding their softball playoffs to determine district crowns and state softball qualifiers. Now, one misstep could cost teams the season. Five teams suffered losses that dropped them from this week’s Trib HSSN state softball rankings with time running...

The 2022 WPIAL baseball and softball playoffs are through the first round and in some classifications, the quarterfinals are in the books as well. Only three teams between the two power rankings were knocked out of the Trib 10, and two of them call Shaler High School home. Other than...

While there were very few upsets in the first round of the WPIAL 5A, 3A, 2A and Class A baseball playoffs, there was one quadrant in the 5A tournament that blew up big time. No. 4 Mars and No. 5 Latrobe both saw their seasons end early as they were...

While there aren’t as many district baseball and softball games schedule for Wednesday as there were on Super Tuesday, Mother Nature may have the final say on how many games are played as the first round concludes. In WPIAL baseball, the lone Class 6A opening-round game takes place at Plum...

Tuesday is loaded with spring sports postseason action with something for everyone on the playoff menu. The busiest day of the 2022 WPIAL baseball playoffs will be Tuesday as the district hosts 29 first-round ballgames. Three of those 29 games include Franklin Regional, Hopewell and Shenango opening up defense of...

After a 5-1 start to the season, including three games at the Ripken Experience in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., the Waynesburg softball team lost three of its next five games. However, the Raiders finished strong, winning their final five games of the regular season and ending up tied for second place...

On the brink of any postseason, it’s natural to look for trends that might help identify those teams that could make a long run in the playoffs and those that might be exiting quickly. By virtue of a strong finish to the regular season with seven wins in eight games,...

Welcome to opening day of the 2022 WPIAL baseball, softball and lacrosse playoffs. Of course for the diamond sports, it is weather permitting. Perhaps with an eye on the forecast, the WPIAL did schedule all four games for turf fields, including the lone district baseball preliminary round game. McKeesport faces...

The curtain is about to rise on the final district party of the school year. Let the games of the 2022 spring sports postseason begin this week here on the TribLive High School Sports Network. We have exclusive video and audio diamond action from the WPIAL baseball and softball first...

A year after key injuries helped keep the district’s preseason top-ranked team in Class 5A baseball from reaching its potential, most of those key players were returning for what looked like a potentially dominant spring for West Allegheny. However, it didn’t take long for injuries to mount and take a...