Doug Gulasy stories, Page 9

Mitch Keller, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ top pitching prospect, had a rough time on the mound in Sunday’s Grapefruit League game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa Bay struck Keller for four runs in the first inning of a 10-4 victory over the Pirates at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. Keller...

Cam Connor flashed what in most scenarios constitutes the peace sign to the crowd at Canon-McMillan, but the gesture held a different meaning for the Kiski Area senior. Connor finished his WPIAL wrestling career by winning his second consecutive title, beating Thomas Jefferson’s Alex Weber, 9-1, in the 152-pound final...

Terence Parham saw a different feeling in the Deer Lakes locker room after the Lancers’ loss to North Catholic in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals. Anger. “That’s the kind of feeling I want them to have after a game, is mad,” Parham said after North Catholic’s 74-65 win Feb. 21....

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ bats broke out with their best performance of spring training Saturday. Behind a spring-best 14 hits, including seven doubles, and a five-run fourth inning, the Pirates posted an 8-7 win over the New York Yankees in a Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. Corey...

Cam Connor critiqued his minimal mat time Friday. Then again, that proved a pretty optimal outcome for the Kiski Area senior. A pair of pins in less than three minutes total allowed Connor, a defending champion, to sail through to the 152-pound semifinals of the WPIAL Class AAA individual wrestling...

Seneca Valley and Hempfield shared a high five Friday on the opening day of the WPIAL Class AAA individual wrestling championships. Both the Raiders and Spartans left the first day of the two-day tournament at Canon-McMillan with five wrestlers in the semifinals, the most of any school. Kiski Area and...

Jung Ho Kang’s strong spring continued at the plate, but Steven Brault’s bid for the fifth spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation took a hit Thursday. Kang hit his third home run of spring training, but Brault struggled on the mound as the Pirates dropped an 8-6 decision to the...

Even as his team created what looked like an insurmountable lead, New Castle’s Ralph Blundo expected a Highlands run. It came, but that big early advantage indeed was the advantage for the Red Hurricanes. No. 1 New Castle withstood some shaky free-throw shooting and a huge Highlands fourth-quarter run to...

PIHL Penguins Cup playoff preview Class A First round No. 7 (North) Freeport (5-13) vs. No. 2 (South) Thomas Jefferson (15-3) 7:40 p.m. Thursday at Rostraver Ice Garden Winner plays: No. 3 (North) Meadville or No. 6 (South) Norwin on Monday in quarterfinals Coaches: Kelly Mason, Freeport; William Crousey, Thomas...

Darren Miller knows the challenges that await him at the WPIAL Class AAA wrestling championships. Little can surprise him after three prior trips to the tournament. More than that, the Kiski Area senior’s previous experiences taught him what to expect. “Sometimes WPIAL can be tougher than the state,” Miller said....

The top women’s college volleyball teams in the country are coming to Pittsburgh in December, and a few months before that, past and present members of the U.S. Olympic team will bring their charitable camp to the area as well. The annual Give It Back camp for girls volleyball players,...

Boys Class 4A No. 1 New Castle (19-4) vs. No. 5 Highlands (17-7) 8 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny Winner plays: No. 2 Ambridge (15-8) or No. 3 Quaker Valley at 1 p.m. Saturday in the WPIAL championship game Coaches: Ralph Blundo, New Castle; Tyler Stoczynski, Highlands Points scored/allowed: New...

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Freedom The Bulldogs had about as efficient a performance as possible at the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional tournament at IUP. Freedom sent five wrestlers to regionals, and all five earned top-six finishes and a berth at next month’s PIAA championships in Hershey. The five state...

WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: Dayton Pitzer, Mt. Pleasant, fr. The fantastic frosh continued his dominant season with a PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional title, one week after winning a WPIAL championship. Pitzer, who has just one loss all season, pinned his first three opponents in the 182-pound bracket — including...

Deer Lakes’ and Leechburg’s boys basketball teams are following the leader right into the PIAA tournament. The Lancers and Blue Devils qualified for the state playoffs Monday night thanks to WPIAL semifinal wins by the teams that beat them in the quarterfinals last week. The WPIAL’s follow-the-leader format for PIAA...

Ameriah Walters’ run of conference championships continued. The Seton Hill senior, a Valley graduate, defended her 200-meter dash championship at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference indoor championships, clocking a time of 25.18 seconds. Walters’ most recent conference championship gave her a combined five between indoor and outdoor. She won the...

The lobs don’t stop when Luke Cochran and Johnny Crise spend time together away from basketball. “We just know where each other is at,” Cochran said. “It’s as simple as I’m on the couch, and he throws me a pop.” It works differently on the court but can be just...

Jean Starr attended a track and field camp at Penn State last summer and knew she wanted to go there. And when the program’s coaches offered her an opportunity to join the team, that made it an even easier decision. Starr, a senior at Kiski Area, committed Sunday to Penn...

Monday Hockey: Knoch remains alive for a spot in the PIHL Division II playoffs, but the Knights need a victory over Connellsville in their regular-season finale. A Knoch win would lift the Knights into a tie for the final playoff spot with Trinity, and the teams then would play a...

A rubber match of sorts between Section 3-A rivals Leechburg and St. Joseph takes place in Monday’s WPIAL Class A boys basketball semifinals. One team will advance, the other will see its season end. Just one thing: The Blue Devils and Spartans have no say in the matter, no control...

Highlands goes into the WPIAL boys basketball semifinals Wednesday as an underdog against top-seeded New Castle, one of Western Pennsylvania’s perennial powers. Sound familiar? It’s the same scenario the Golden Rams faced in the 2016 WPIAL Class AAA semifinals, one of their most thrilling games in recent memory: a 79-76...

As dynamic as Luke Cochran and Johnny Crise are, Highlands operates at a higher level when it gets a group effort. The Golden Rams’ stars shone again on Saturday, but just as importantly, so did their role players. Four players scored in double figures, spurring Class 4A No. 5 Highlands...

Boys basketball Class 6A Quarterfinals No. 3 Mt. Lebanon (19-3) vs. No. 6 Fox Chapel (16-7) 3 p.m. Saturday at Canon-McMillan Winner plays: No. 2 Latrobe (18-2) or No. 7 Canon-McMillan (15-8) on Wednesday in the semifinals. Coaches: Joe David, Mt. Lebanon; Zach Skrinjar, Fox Chapel Points scored/allowed: Mt. Lebanon,...

Austin Mele briefly lost track of the score of his match Friday evening as he clung to a one-point lead late in the third period of his quarterfinal bout with Portage’s Cole Sossong. As the wrestlers tumbled on the mat, Mele looked seconds away from allowing a tying escape. No...

Freedom’s Bryson Miller and Bentworth’s John Vargo are halfway to defending their titles at the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional. Miller and Vargo advanced to the semifinals of the regional tournament during the first two rounds of action Friday at IUP’s Kovalchick Complex. The two defending champions led a pack...