Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 92
Tennessee buddies Wil Crowe, Will Craig reunite in Pirates’ loss to Giants
On another night, perhaps in a game with a different outcome, the confluence of Wil and Will would have been a story worth retelling for years. But at PNC Park on Thursday night, Wil Crowe’s mostly effective five-inning start and Will Craig’s first major-league home run weren’t enough to prevent...
Pirates notebook: Phil Evans goes on IL, replaced by Will Craig
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost another first baseman Thursday when Phil Evans was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Evans, who is hitting .216, replaced Colin Moran (left groin strain) at first base and batted third Wednesday before leaving the 4-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds....
When Scott Barnes heard Jay Vidovich was available, he stopped looking for Pitt’s next soccer coach
They come from the pitches of Nis, Serbia and Greensburg; Nirot, France and Brooklyn, N.Y. Connellsville, Sewickley and Rabat, Morocco, too. Somehow, Jay Vidovich has blended a roster with roots in 11 countries into one of the finest college soccer teams in the U.S. Fans across the country will get...
After tough year, Heather Lyke said it’s time for Pitt athletics ‘to stand back up’Video
Heather Lyke tells the story of basketball coach Jeff Capel purposely buying a house in Shadyside — mere blocks from Pitt’s campus — with the intent of having his players close enough to visit. Then, covid-19 happened. Not only were dinners with the coach discouraged for the next year, but...
Pitt’s Jay Vidovich carries Hoosier ties into College Cup match with Indiana
Jay Vidovich readily admits the truth about his one-year stay as a player at Indiana under legendary soccer coach Jerry Yeagley. “I wasn’t good enough for the program,” Pitt’s coach said. “I was coach Yeagley’s East Coast experiment.” So, after that 1978 season, Vidovich, a graduate of New Canaan (Conn.)...
Robert Morris’ Andy Toole doesn’t fret over transfers
Holding tight to reality, Andy Toole isn’t afraid to share what he believes to be the truth about college basketball. “Some fan bases might not want to get overly attached to a roster every year,” Robert Morris’ 11-year coach said. No one knows better than Toole — and his colleagues...
Aliquippa’s Will Gipson decides to transfer from Pitt
Wide receiver Will Gipson, an Aliquippa graduate who spent two years at Pitt without getting on the field, has announced his decision to transfer. 4 years of eligibility left!! Respect my decision. pic.twitter.com/mCj6rfexdd— Will Gipson (@TrxllWill3) May 11, 2021 Gipson plans to join former Pitt teammate Carson Van Lynn, an...
Pitt lands verbal commitment from junior college forward Chris Payton
There’s no denying Pitt will not easily replace Justin Champagnie. But coach Jeff Capel is continuing to replenish the roster, getting a verbal commitment Monday — the same day Champagnie declared for the NBA Draft — from junior college forward Chris Payton. #COMMITTED ‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/c0V9H72S63— Chris Payton (@chris_payton_) May 10,...
Pitt blanks Washington, 3-0, earns trip to college soccer’s Final Four
The soccer players who wrote a new chapter to Pitt athletics history don’t have far to go to find out how to handle what’s next. All they have to do is turn to the sideline, and there he is: coach Jay Vidovich, who has rebuilt the Pitt men’s soccer program...
Justin Champagnie decides to leave Pitt, declare for the NBA Draft
Jeff Capel received some additional bad news in his quest to reconstruct the Pitt basketball roster when All-ACC forward Justin Champagnie decided to enter the 2021 NBA Draft and hire an agent, ending his two-year college career. The announcement comes the day after five-star center Efton Reid, who Pitt had...
Report: Pirates offered managerial job to John Wooden in 1964
Clint Hurdle likes to quote and read as much as he can about John Wooden, the basketball coach who lived four months short of his 100th birthday and led UCLA to 10 national championships in 12 years. But who knew Wooden and Hurdle almost ended up on the same list...
Restructured Pirates lineup finds a way to defeat Cubs
Colin Moran was on the injured list with a groin injury. Bryan Reynolds was in the dugout, nursing some lower-body soreness. Wilmer Difo was in centerfield for only the second time this season, and Ka’ai Tom was batting third. Most unfortunately, Troy and Lawanya Stokes were in a taxi cab...
Pirates move Ke’Bryan Hayes to 60-day injured list; he can’t return until early June
The Pittsburgh Pirates, already losers of eight of their past nine games, reached a new level of misfortune on the injury front Sunday. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who hasn’t played since the second game of the season with a strained left wrist, was moved from the 10-day to the 60-day...
Pitt splits doubleheader with Boston College after landing berth in ACC Tournament
Pitt needed only one victory to nail down its second ACC Tournament berth since joining the league in 2014, but ended up with two in its weekend series against Boston College at Charles L. Cost Field. After securing the berth with a 4-1 victory Friday, the Panthers (22-13, 16-11) split...
Pirates’ bats stay mostly silent in loss to Cubs
The Pittsburgh Pirates fielded a lineup Friday at Wrigley Field with six batters hitting less than .237. They had scored four runs in the previous four games and hit one homer in the past six. Recent history turned out to be a good indicator. The Pirates were shut out through...
Derek Shelton turned into baseball ‘nerd’ when he watched Albert Pujols in batting cage
Derek Shelton wasn’t ashamed to admit Friday that a close encounter he had with Albert Pujols brought out the nerd in him. The Pirates manager was asked about Pujols, who was designated for assignment Thursday by the Los Angeles Angels after 21 seasons in the majors. Shelton was the hitting...
Pitt eliminates UCF, eases into NCAA soccer quarterfinals
Over much of the past two decades, Jay Vidovich has coached, analyzed and competed against some of the best men’s soccer teams in the NCAA. He won a championship at Wake Forest in 2007 and 271 other games, plus five ACC championships, while leading his team into 13 NCAA Tournaments....
Part of rebuilt roster, ex-TCU forward Kevin Easley verbally commits to Duquesne
After losing guards Tavian Dunn-Martin and Jett Roesing to the NCAA transfer portal this week, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot received a verbal commitment from 6-foot-7 forward Kevin Easley Jr., who played last season at TCU after transferring from Chattanooga. During his redshirt sophomore season at TCU, he averaged 4.5 points...
Mike LaValliere, Bob Walk remember former Pirates pitching coach Ray Miller’s fun side
Ray Miller taught Bob Walk and Mike LaValliere much about pitching, relationships and how to deal with umpires. But Miller, the former Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching coach, also knew about something else that those two teammates remembered Wednesday when they heard their mentor had died. “Ray certainly appreciated a good prank...
Duquesne’s Tavian Dunn-Martin changes mind, decides to enter transfer portral
Duquesne guard Tavian Dunn-Martin, who earlier this offseason said he was returning to Duquesne for his final season of eligibility, has changed his mind and will enter the NCAA transfer portal. Dunn-Martin played three seasons at Duquesne, first as a shooting guard and then as a point guard this season...
Former Pirates pitching coach Ray Miller dies at 76
Ray Miller, who was the Baltimore Orioles’ pitching coach when they lost the 1979 World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates and later held the same job for the Pirates for 10 seasons, has died, his family told the Baltimore Sun. He was 76. “One of the top pitching coaches in...
Pitt baseball escapes shadow of covid-19 pause
Mike Bell knew it was coming. Football couldn’t escape it. Men’s basketball found its routine disrupted, too. How could baseball, the most successful of those three Pitt sports this academic year, hide from the scourge of covid-19? After winning eight of 11 games in April, No. 14 Pitt (20-12, 14-10...
Duquesne basketball hires Jordon Rooney to help players advance their brands
Reacting to the changing face of college athletics, Duquesne has named Jordon Rooney as a Personal Brand Coach for the men’s basketball team. Rooney called the move a “positive institutional disruption” Rooney, who is helping former Pitt safety Damar Hamlin launch his own digital trading cards, will work with Duquesne...
Pitt men’s soccer rolls over Monmouth, reaches NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Jay Vidovich didn’t set any goals or deadlines for his team when he was hired in 2015 to restore pride and competitiveness to Pitt’s men’s soccer. “I just felt that within several years we could be conducting ourselves as a championship program,” he said. “We’re getting closer to doing that.”...
From Clairton to PSU to the Steelers, Lamont Wade signs as undrafted free agent
When he played at Clairton, Lamont Wade had 26 scholarship offers before he chose Penn State and went on to play in 47 games, with 22 starts. But it took only one phone call to give him, perhaps, the greatest thrill of all. Wade, a four-time letterman and three-time WPIAL...
