Michael Love stories, Page 87

The first three WPIAL softball championship games played at Cal (Pa.) on Wednesday ended by way of the mercy rule, with the winning teams scoring 17, 15 and 12 runs. The nightcap between Highlands and Beaver Area for the Class 4A title was much closer. In a pitchers’ duel between...

Zoe Skirboll was among the spectators at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha, Neb., and she watched the best in the nation compete for spots on the team that competed a month later in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “It was breathtaking,” said Skirboll, an Aspinwall resident. “I had...

The 2021 James Madison softball team has made history with its first-ever trip to the NCAA Women’s College World Series, and two South Fayette graduates, Sara Jubas and Lauren Bernett, have helped the Dukes in their journey to Oklahoma City. JMU took two of three games in a best-of-three Columbia...

2-Beaver (16-0) vs. 5-Highlands (16-4-1) 6:45 p.m. today at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) Road to the finals • Beaver — After receiving a bye into the quarterfinals, the Bobcats began their postseason journey with a 7-3 victory over No. 7 Yough behind a pair of RBIs from Anna Blum and...

Softball Class 5A 7-Armstrong (15-4) vs. 8-North Hills (15-5) 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) Road to the finals • Armstrong — The River Hawks came out strong in the first round, scoring 16 runs in a 16-3 rout of No. 10 South Fayette. They continued to roll...

Dylan Urban made the most of his senior season with the La Roche baseball team. The Gateway graduate and Redhawks center fielder was selected the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference all-star first team after a season in which he finished third on the team in batting with a .366 average. In...

The Gateway boys volleyball team was the underdog as the No. 14 seed when it traveled to Ambridge on May 18 to take on the No. 3 Bridgers, WPIAL champions in 2018 and ’19, in the first round of this year’s Class AA tournament. Gators coach Phil Randolph said the...

Maera Williams arrived to school Thursday and soon was greeted with a plethora of well-wishes and congratulations for her and her Highlands softball teammates. Roughly 12 hours earlier, the Golden Rams rallied past top-seeded Elizabeth Forward, 6-4, in eight innings in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals and earned the program’s...

The Plum baseball team had different designs on the 2021 WPIAL postseason than what played out May 19 against Latrobe in a WPIAL first-round game at Norwin. The Wildcats stunned the fifth-seeded Mustangs by jumping out to a 7-1 lead after two innings. Plum coach Carl Vollmer appreciated the fight...

The Kiski Area girls 3,200-meter relay knocked nearly 15 seconds off its seed time at last week’s WPIAL Class AAA track and field championships at Slippery Rock. Their time of 9:31.92 put the quartet of seniors Jordan Fairman and Emily Schrag, junior Payton Sullivan and freshman Eliza Miller in fourth...

Deer Lakes’ Carson McCoy knows the feeling of running at the PIAA Class AA track and field championships. As a freshman in 2019, he took part in the 800 meters at Shippensburg and placed 21st. Now, McCoy is one of the hunted at states as the No. 2 seed for...

Thursday’s games Class A Third-place consolation 2-Leechburg (12-5) vs. 4-South Side (12-4) 4 p.m. at Mars Coaches: Debbie Fleming, Leechburg; Amy Pieto, South Side What’s at stake: The winner qualifies for the PIAA playoffs, and the loser is done for the season. Players to watch: Madison Hanan, Sr., INF, Leechburg;...

The Union softball team has another crack at unseating West Greene from its WPIAL Class A throne. The Scotties advanced to next week’s championship game at Cal U. with Tuesday’s 7-2 semifinal victory over Leechburg at Mars. “This is fantastic,” Union coach Doug Fisher said of his team’s run to...

The Armstrong softball team hit eight home runs and scored 27 runs over its first two WPIAL Class 5A playoff victories. It was a different offensive story Tuesday against Fox Chapel in a semifinal game at Mars. The No. 7 River Hawks found runs at more of a premium against...

Elizabeth Forward, the top seed in the WPIAL Class 4A softball playoffs, hit 15 home runs in 17 regular season games. The Warriors added three to that total Monday in a 7-5 come-from-behind victory over No. 8 Knoch in a quarterfinal game at Plum. “We can hit the long ball...

The West Mifflin softball team’s return to Plum was a successful one. The Titans fell to Indiana on an extra-inning walk-off at Plum in the first round of the 2018 WPIAL Class 4A playoff. On Monday, West Mifflin rallied from a two-run first-inning deficit to top Burrell, 6-2, in a...

Class A Tuesday 2-Leechburg (12-4) vs. 3-Union (11-7) 4 p.m. at Mars Coaches: Debbie Young, Leechburg; Fred Settle, Union Winner plays: Winner of 1-West Greene (16-2) vs. 4-South Side Area (12-3) in championship game June 2 or 3 at California University of Pa. Players to watch: Anna Cibik, Soph., P/1B,...

Class 4A quarterfinals Monday 1-Elizabeth Forward (15-2) vs. 8-Knoch (10-7) 5 p.m. at Plum Coaches: Harry Rutherford, Elizabeth Forward; Gary Coe, Knoch Winner plays: Winner of 4-Montour (12-5) vs. 5-Highlands (14-4-1) on Wednesday (site, time TBD) in semifinals Players to watch: Kailey Larcinese, Sr., P, Elizabeth Forward; Olivia Vissari, Sr.,...

Jordan Geist enjoyed another banner season in the throwing events for the University of Arizona. The Knoch graduate and Wildcats junior picked up his third Pac-12 postseason award, earning Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the second time (also in 2019). Geist also was named Men’s Freshman of the...

Clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the low to mid 80s greeted Gateway track and field athletes as they competed at last week’s WPIAL Class AAA championships at Slippery Rock. Senior Jayson Jenkins and junior Amaya Robinson picked up a medal as Gateway was represented in 11 events overall. Robinson,...

As the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A baseball playoffs, Mars and Gateway were expected to play a close and competitive game. That’s just what happened May 19 at North Allegheny. The contest ended in a walk-off as JJ Wethereholt singled...