William Whalen stories, Page 4

Last Tuesday was a wild day. Torrential downpours, lightning and even tornado warnings all made the day much more unpredictable. Another thing that seemed a little off was the Franklin Regional softball team’s bus ride from the Murrysville campus to Seton Hill — the site of the WPIAL Class 5A...

There was plenty of weather swirling around Seton Hill’s softball field Tuesday afternoon. Spotty showers showed up for a few minutes, and a random lightning strike suspended play for 30 minutes. What proved to be more disrupting were the straight-line winds created from the pitcher’s circle by Knoch’s Amanda Fischer...

Zach Allen School: Freeport Class: Junior Sport: Baseball Report card: Allen has provided big-time offense for Freeport (14-6) this season, but it was his work on the basepaths that has made a difference this postseason. Allen scored the game’s only run on a Joe Hotalski squeeze bunt in the fourth...

There are 20 baseball teams in WPIAL Class 5A, and if all but one those teams measured success by winning a championship, there wouldn’t be much to play for. Gateway fell short of its goal of bringing home a WPIAL title, but overall, the Gators had one of the program’s...

Bethel Park marched into Fox Chapel gymnasium Thursday night feeling confident that after three cracks at North Allegheny in past Class AAA title games, the Black Hawks might come out victorious against the two-time defending WPIAL and reigning state champion Tigers. That was not the case. Top-seeded North Allegheny played...

It’s tough to buck a trend when that trend is a 6-foot-6 outside hitter and sends high-speed laser-like kills across the net. Ambridge junior Liam Buck set the tone early for the Bridgers with aggressive play at the net that was too much to handle as No. 4 seed Ambridge...

After two years, the list might be getting longer but the candy orders have been placed. Mom, Lori, is a big fan of Almond Joy. Dad, Michael, and older sister, Rachel, have a sweet tooth for the classics and prefer the traditional Hershey bar. And for Valley tennis standout Michael...

With the score tied at 3-3 and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, Blackhawk baseball coach Bob Amalia offered some words of advice to junior infielder Marco Borello before he left the dugout. “I just said, ‘Don’t be anxious. Hit your pitch, and we’ll go from...

Logan Parker School: Plum Class: Sophomore Sport: Track and field Report card: Parker (5-foot-9, 220 pounds) will make his first appearance in the PIAA Class AAA championships this weekend after finishing third in the WPIAL in shot put with a throw of 51 feet, 4 3/4 inches. Parker finished sixth...

Monday’s WPIAL playoff game won’t go down as one of the best games Highlands played this season, but the 2019 season will go down in the record books as the best season of the new millennium. Beaver broke open a tight game with a five-run fourth inning, and Bobcats starting...

The Freeport football team has had its share of success. The soccer and basketball programs are postseason regulars and not enough can be said about the girls volleyball team with its four WPIAL titles and 2017 state championship. While nearly every sport at Freeport was flourishing, one team was laying...

The empty seat at the dais was about the same size as the hole in everyone’s hearts Saturday night as the 50th class of the Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame was enshrined at the New Kensington Quality Inn. The rich and familiar voice that echoed through the air waves...

With laser-like focus and precision, the Ligonier Valley softball team did exactly what they set out to do in the Heritage Conference this season — beat everybody. A conference title was all part of the plan. Sure, there was some celebration. But for a team driven by the pain of...

Thumb, or scroll, through the Pitt-Greensburg baseball program’s record book and one might notice something in common among the career statistical leaders: Chris Common. The 2015 Penn-Trafford grad recently put the finishing touches on his standout career with the Bobcats as the owner of a half dozen school records. “I...

It was a matter of when, not if, and everyone knew it had to end some day. Nobody wanted it to happen on their watch. But for the first time in 13 seasons, the Plum baseball team did not show up in a WPIAL postseason bracket. “It was a disappointing...

Success can be measured a number of different ways in baseball. Of course, there’s wins and losses. Batting average, RBIs and runs scored are others. The Ligonier Valley baseball team measures success 90 feet at a time. “We’ve forced some bases this year,” first-year Ligonier Valley coach Brett Marabito said....

Zac Kuniak School: Highlands Class: Senior Sport: Baseball Report card: Kuniak picked up the save in the Rams’ 9-3 win over Section 1-4A rival Indiana and helped clinch Highlands’ first trip to the postseason since 2003. A two-year captain, Kuniak leads No. 14 Highlands (10-8) in batting average (.400) and...

The road to Wild Things Park has been a short one for the Franklin Regional baseball team over the past few years. It’s not like the Panthers know some kind of special short cut. It’s all highway. The problem for the Panthers has been they have been making only half...

The Penn-Trafford track and field team isn’t much of an invitational team. Outside of Latrobe’s Wildcat/Spartan Invitational in early April, the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association track and field championships are the only other big invite the Warriors compete in heading into the WPIAL track and field championships. “(The WCCA’s is)...

Jack Henderson School: Burrell Class: Junior Sport: Baseball Report card: Previously a full-time reliever, Henderson started for the first time last week and earned a win for Class 3A No. 4 Burrell (9-4, 6-4). The right-hander gave up three hits and struck out four over 6 2/3 innings in the...

IUP freshman baseball standout Nick DiAndreth, a 2018 Hempfield grad, took off from first base after a hard-hit ball to the gap at shortstop during the first game of the Crimson Hawks’ series with PSAC rival Seton Hill this past Saturday. The hit had the potential to become a double-play...

The annual Butler Invitational is known for having a deep and talented field of athletes, which is why it’s one of the most anticipated track and field events of the season. Gateway emerging track standout Nana Adusepoku made the trip to last year’s Butler invite expecting to run just the...

CJ Thimons School: Highlands Class: Junior Sport: Track Report card: Thimons has emerged as one of the favorites to stand atop the podium at this month’s WPIAL Class AAA track championships at Baldwin. He took first (2 minutes, 01.53 seconds) in the 800-meter run at Saturday’s Mars Invitational. Thimons has...

Longtime Ligonier Valley softball coach Mark Zimmerman doesn’t randomly had out nicknames to his players — there’s a lot of though that goes into it. It was the winter of 2017, and Zimmerman was holding his first workout of the season. He asked up-and-coming freshman Jane Garver if she wanted...

It has been an up-and-down season for the Plum baseball team. First, there were back-to-back one-run losses to local rivals Fox Chapel and Kiski Area early in the season. A one-run win over one of the top teams in Class 5A, Franklin Regional. Another one-run loss to nonsection foe Shaler....