Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 149
Pitt hires women’s lacrosse coach for new program that starts in 2021-22
Pitt has taken the next — and perhaps most important — step toward starting its women lacrosse program: naming a coach. Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke announced Friday the hiring of Emily Boissonneault, who has been with the James Madison lacrosse program since 2015, serving as associate head coach for...
Pirates Triple-A first baseman Will Craig named to All-Star Futures Game
Will Craig, who has created an interesting depth situation at first base for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was named to the National League roster for the All-Star Futures Game. The game will be July 7 — two days before the All-Star Game — at Progressive Field in Cleveland. One of 24...
Pirates’ Josh Bell loses NL All-Star election to Braves’ Freddie Freeman
Josh Bell will not be a part of the National League starting lineup in the All-Star Game after the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman lost to the Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman by 1.1% of the fan vote. Bell was in line to become the first Pirates player in four years named...
Pirates plan to extend protective netting at PNC Park to foul poles
The Pittsburgh Pirates, who two years ago became one of the first teams to extend protecting netting to the ends of the dugouts, won’t wait for Major League Baseball to demand further safety for its fans. President Frank Coonelly said Thursday the team plans to extend the netting at PNC...
Penn State beats out Pitt, Michigan, Kentucky to land nation’s No. 9 cornerback
Penn State coach James Franklin secured the eighth four-star recruit in its 2020 class Thursday when cornerback Enzo Jennings tweeted his intentions to enroll next year. COMMITTED??? #WeAre pic.twitter.com/fVJUk4bmC5— Enzo Jennings (@_enzoj) June 27, 2019 Jennings, 6-foot-1, 184 pounds, is a rising senior at Oak Park, Mich., High School. He...
Pirates’ Josh Bell homers, doubles, trims deficit in All-Star Game voting to 1.2 percent
If the returns are an indication, Pittsburgh Pirates fans’ bid to get Josh Bell elected as the starting first baseman in the All-Star Game may go down to the wire. Bell, Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves and Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs are the first base finalists in...
Pitt freshman Karim Coulibaly takes game back to the international stage
Pitt incoming freshman Karim Coulibaly will prep for the season while representing Mali at the FIBA U19 World Cup beginning Saturday in Greece. Mali will play Latvia on Saturday, Canada on Sunday and Australia on Tuesday. It will be Coulibaly’s second venture into international basketball after helping lead Mali to...
President Frank Coonelly calls Freese’s 2018 criticism of Pirates ‘legitimate’
While stumping for Josh Bell’s candidacy to become a starter for the National League in the All-Star Game, Pittsburgh Pirates president Frank Coonelly praised the team’s ability to crawl out from under adversity. While doing so, he suggested that former Pirates infielder David Freese’s critical comments last year about attitudes...
Pitt’s stable of running backs gives Narduzzi hope, options
So much has been said, written and projected of Pitt’s loaded stable of running backs that you wonder if Pat Narduzzi ought to just go to the single wing. That’s a poor attempt at humor, of course, but Pitt’s coach and his staff have shown a remarkable ability to find...
President Frank Coonelly reflects on how Josh Bell became a Pirate
Frank Coonelly looks back eight years to the 2011 MLB Draft and remembers “a lot of internal discussion and debate” about Josh Bell and his stated commitment to play collegiately at Texas. Bell, a high school senior at Dallas Jesuit at the time, had written letters to every major league...
Pirates’ Nick Burdi has season-ending surgery
Nick Burdi, who hasn’t pitched for the past two months but started the season as an important member of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen, had season-ending surgery Tuesday to relieve symptoms of arm pain diagnosed as neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. The surgery was performed by vascular surgeon Dr. Robert Thompson. Nick...
North Schuylkill linebacker Tyler Elsdon commits to Penn State
Penn State received its 13th verbal commitment from the class of 2020 Tuesday when three-star linebacker Tyler Elsdon of North Schuylkill High School announced on Twitter his plans to enroll next year. There's no place like HOME! #WeAre @CoachPry_LBU @coachjfranklin @coachhall_ pic.twitter.com/jMitEPMWKX— Tyler Elsdon (@Tyler_Elsdon40) June 25, 2019 Elsdon, 6-foot-2,...
West Mifflin rising junior Nahki Johnson gives Pitt verbal pledge
Pitt still has a little room for recruits in its 2020 class, but Pat Narduzzi already has started on 2021. The first rising junior to commit to Pitt’s coach is outside linebacker Nahki Johnson, a recent transfer from Steel Valley to West Mifflin. Momma I’m staying home???#committed #H2P #2ManyLights0n pic.twitter.com/WPzyYNOsfb—...
Charlie Partridge’s south Florida ties connect Pitt to fertile recruiting territory
When Charlie Partridge puts Pitt’s defensive linemen through their paces in practice, it’s easy to see he’s a coach who does not tolerate nonsense and makes sure his players stay engaged throughout each drill. The results show up on game day. Rising junior Rashad Weaver has a chance to be...
Pitt lands Brooklyn, N.Y., running back Israel Abanikanda
Pitt added a second running back to its class of 2020 on Monday when Israel Abanikanda tweeted his intention to enroll next year. Abanikanda (5-foot-11, 196 pounds) is entering his senior season at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Officially Committed To... @oc_lincoln pic.twitter.com/BRqrjElwns— Israel Abanikanda (@IAbanikanda) June 24,...
Pirates face 26-game stretch of reckoning
The time of reckoning has arrived for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but it doesn’t have to be an unpleasant situation. Optimists might argue you should label the next 26 games as an opportunity. The stretch that begins Tuesday at Minute Maid Park in Houston and concludes July 25 against the St....
Pirates rally four times, beat Padres in wild, 11-inning gameVideo
When he’s resting at home long past his retirement and someone asks Clint Hurdle if his Pittsburgh Pirates really rallied from two three-run deficits in late innings to win a game, maybe no one will believe him. But he said with certainty Sunday: “I was there. I got to see...
Pirates notebook: Still no starter named for Wednesday’s game
The Pittsburgh Pirates have not named a starter for Wednesday’s game in Houston, although general manager Neal Huntington suggested minor-leaguer Dario Agrazal is a candidate. Joe Musgrove will pitch Thursday, the sixth day after his most recent start. “As we look at the bigger picture, we’re looking at the rest...
Pirates’ Jameson Taillon hopes to throw on flat ground during road trip
Jameson Taillon, who hasn’t pitched in a game or even picked up a baseball to throw it since May 1, said Sunday he plans to start an off-to-the-side throwing program, maybe as soon as the upcoming road trip. The Pittsburgh Pirates will be in Houston and Milwaukee, starting Tuesday through...
Pitt, Penn Hills product Aaron Donald unfazed by NFL’s bright lightsVideo
Maybe Greg Gattuso stepped out of line on the night 11 years ago when he went to a Penn Hills game on a scouting mission. He was there to watch a linebacker and ended up offering a scholarship — through silent channels — to a junior defensive lineman no one...
Pitt gets verbal commitments from 6 players, including 2 4-stars
Coach Pat Narduzzi sent out his customized Pat Signal tweet for the Class of 2020 six times Saturday, indicating Pitt football received verbal, nonbinding commitments from six prospects, including its first two four-star recruits this year, wide receiver Aydin Hemmingham of Deerfield Beach, Fla., and safety Jahvante Royal of St....
Penn State football gets verbal pledges from two more prospects; class now numbers 11
Penn State coach James Franklin received verbal commitments from two prospects Friday when four-star wide receiver Jaden Dottin and junior college defensive back Ji’Ayir Brown pledged to enroll next year and announced their intentions on Twitter. #WeAre...HOME! ??? pic.twitter.com/HXJkm8NUay— Jaden Dottin (@jadendottin) June 22, 2019 View this post on Instagram...
In Bryan Reynolds’ case, injuries likely opened door leading to Pirates
Here are two questions that do not make sense on the surface but are worthy of consideration: Where would the Pittsburgh Pirates be if outfielders Corey Dickerson, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte were not injured at various points this season? What if Marte and shortstop Erik Gonzalez had not collided...
Duquesne will play Marshall in basketball doubleheader in Cleveland
Duquesne will play Marshall as part of a college basketball doubleheader Dec. 29 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The game will be the second of the doubleheader after West Virginia plays Ohio State at noon. The Dukes (19-13 last season) return eight players who played in 19 or...
Pitt unveils Aaron Donald Football Performance Center
What Aaron Donald wanted everyone to know Wednesday night had nothing to do with his muscular arms and quick feet, his two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards or his Super Bowl appearance earlier this year. No, the night was all about how sincerely humbled he was to have...
