High School category, Page 300
Norwin plays mistake-free softball in win over Pine-Richland
Brookelyn Kotch has a message for her Norwin teammates. “Thank you.” Kotch, who managed just two strikeouts, scattered six hits and didn’t walk anyone, and the Knights’ defense played flawlessly as No. 5 seed Norwin advanced in the WPIAL Class 6A softball playoffs with a 3-1 quarterfinal-round victory over No....
Penn-Trafford overcomes early Moon homers to advance into Class 5A quarterfinals
Penn-Trafford couldn’t break a tie in a tight, four-team Section 1-5A race for first place. But the Warriors had no problem snapping a knotted score in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A baseball playoffs. Once they did, it was on to the next round. The seventh-seeded Warriors battled...
Clutch pitching key for Franklin Regional in 1st-round win over Connellsville
Connellsville had runners at first and second with one out in the top of the seventh inning, and Franklin Regional pitcher Blake Bertucci quickly fell behind in the count to Matt Firestone. Three balls and no strikes. A touch-and-go, one-run lead in the playoffs rested squarely on Bertucci’s shoulders, but...
Penn-Trafford senior knocks off state champ in discus showdown at WPIAL championships
SLIPPERY ROCK – Penn-Trafford senior Matt Sarnowski seems to throw his best when he goes against Hempfield senior Peyton Murray. Before Wednesday, Sarnowski had twice edged the reigning PIAA Class 3A discus champ this season. The third time came at the WPIAL Track and Field Championships at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium at...
Alle-Kiski Valley athletes battle elements, delays to win WPIAL gold; some events postponed
SLIPPERY ROCK — Mother nature spared Slippery Rock University for the first four hours of Wednesday’s WPIAL track and field championships with the sun coming out and temperatures rising to near 70 degrees. But showers, thunder and lightning arrived about 3:30. The adverse weather caused the WPIAL to suspend competition...
After rain halts WPIAL meet, Butler’s Drew Griffith doesn’t mind waiting to make more history
Butler’s Drew Griffith ran the 1,600 meters in record time at the WPIAL track and field championships and then waited around for hours as it rained off and on. He’s one of the fastest seniors in the country, but wasn’t too bothered by the slow down. “We just hung out,”...
Hitting catches up with pitching as Chartiers Valley downs Kiski Area in baseball playoffs
Throughout the regular season, Chartiers Valley has depended on its sound pitching rotation that limited teams to fewer than three runs. With the fielding holding its end of the bargain, the Colts were looking to dig into its untapped potential at the plate. That third facet came through in the...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Piper sizzles for Ligonier Valley softball
Even in the playoffs, teams are paying the Piper. Ligonier Valley softball pitcher Cheyenne Piper continued to erase hitters with her tricky movement and change of speeds as she twirled her second straight no-hitter, this one a perfect game. Piper, a senior Westminster commit, blanked Keystone Oaks, 8-0, as she...
PIAA sets 2025-28 state championship sites for basketball, wrestling, swimming
Giant Center in Hershey will continue to host the state basketball and individual wrestling championships for the next four years, and swimming and diving is staying at Bucknell. The PIAA on Wednesday approved those venues as championship sites for 2025-28. However, no site was selected for team wrestling or competitive...
PIAA moves closer to approving girls flag football as official sport
High school girls flag football took an important step toward becoming an official PIAA-sponsored sport Wednesday. The PIAA board of directors unanimously approved on a first reading to sanction girls flag football as a sport. Girls flag football achieved emerging status last July by reaching 25 schools statewide. At the...
Westmoreland softball playoff preview capsules: Games for May 16, 2024
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 3A Quarterfinals 2-Ligonier Valley (14-5) vs. 10-Ellwood City (15-4) 4 p.m. Thursday at Plum Winner plays: Winner of 6-Central Valley (12-2)/3-South Park (17-1) in semifinals (date, time, site TBD) Players to watch: Sydnee Foust, Ligonier Valley; Amber McQuiston, Ellwood City Extra bases: Ace Cheyenne Piper continued...
A-K Valley softball playoff preview capsule: Game for May 16, 2024
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 3A Quarterfinals 11-Freeport (11-6) vs. 4-Mohawk (15-5) 6 p.m. Thursday at Seneca Valley Winner plays: Winner of 1-Avonworth (12-3)/9-Yough (8-4) in semifinals (date/site/time TBD) Players to watch: Addy Caruso, Freeport; Addy Moskal, Mohawk Extra bases: Freeport made the most of its return to the WPIAL playoffs...
No. 12 Shenango credits strength of its section after upset win over No. 5 Valley
Shenango was the underdog on paper as a fourth-place finisher from one section facing the champion of another. But the Wildcats didn’t play like underdogs. Led by junior Joe Campoli, who had an RBI double and scored twice, No. 12 seed Shenango upset No. 5 Valley, 5-3, Tuesday night in...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for May 14, 2024
High schools Baseball WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Monday’s schedule Mt. Lebanon (16-4) vs. Butler (6-12), TBA; Hempfield (14-6) vs. Seneca Valley (10-8-1), TBA; Pine-Richland (16-4) vs. Central Catholic (10-10), TBA; North Allegheny (14-5) vs. Norwin (11-9), TBA Class 5A First round Wednesday’s schedule West Allegheny (15-3) bye; Shaler (15-5)...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on May 15, 2024: Shaler, South Fayette meet in eagerly anticipated matchup
Let’s just call it even steven. Wednesday marks the first meeting of the year between defending district and state champion No. 8 seed Shaler (15-5) and No. 9 South Fayette (8-6). The much-anticipated matchup highlights Day 2 of the WPIAL baseball playoffs … weather permitting. While this is the first...
High school roundup for May 14, 2024: Cheyenne Piper throws perfect game for Ligonier Valley in 3A 1st round
Cheyenne Piper finished off a perfect game by striking out the side in the seventh inning, leading No. 2 Ligonier Valley to an 8-0 victory over No. 15 Keystone Oaks (8-10) in a WPIAL Class 3A first-round softball playoff game Tuesday. Piper finished with 14 strikeouts to surpass the 500...
WPIAL track and field leaders through May 14, 2024
Class 3A boys (The top four finishers automatically qualify for the PIAA Track and Field Championship, as do those who meet the standard if they finish in the top eight. Pole vault is the exception.) 3200 relay (8:02.02): 1. Butler, 7:57.88; 2. North Allegheny, 8:04.05; 3. South Fayette, 8:04.05. 110...
Greensburg Central Catholic fends off Washington in Class 2A 1st round
Sophomore Tyler Samide drove in two runs and earned a save to lead No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic to a 3-2 victory over No. 12 Washington in a WPIAL Class 2A first-round baseball game Tuesday at Gateway. Samide doubled in Anthony Grippo in the first inning and then scored on...
17 champions looking to defend titles at WPIAL track and field championships
It’s the day track and field athletics have had circled all season. The WPIAL track and field championships begins 11 a.m. Wednesday at Slippery Rock. Athletes will try to become the best in the district and earn a spot in the PIAA championships, which are May 24 and 25 at...
Kiski Area’s Miller ready for final shot at winning WPIAL track gold
Eliza Miller has a faint memory of her first WPIAL event as a freshman in the fall of 2020 amid the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. “I think it was a meet at Kiski against Norwin,” the Cavaliers senior three-sport standout said Tuesday on the eve of what will be her final...
14th-seeded Burrell baseball stuns Mt. Pleasant in 1st round of WPIAL Class 3A playoffs
Any team wanting to be successful in the WPIAL playoffs should follow Burrell’s recipe Tuesday at Gateway. The No. 14 Bucs combined timely hitting, sound defense and the crafty pitching of left-hander Stevie Hasson en route to a 6-2 upset of No. 3 Mt. Pleasant in the opening round of...
Well-prepared Central Valley knocks Mt. Pleasant out of WPIAL softball playoffs
Like most games, Central Valley softball players knew the assignment. Coach Shannon Sullivan and her staff like to analyze opponents down to the finest details. They know tendencies. “We had girls watching film during study hall,” Sullivan said. “We chart pitches and do our homework on teams. We know what...
Avella gets clutch hits to top Springdale, end 15-year playoff win drought
In the fourth inning of a WPIAL Class A first-round playoff game between Springdale and Avella, Bryce Wright of the Eagles hit a long foul ball to left field that clanged off the light standard and ricocheted back on the field. It was kind of appropriate for the Avella pitcher...
Jeannette softball advances past Northgate even without the benefit of a hit
No hits, no problem. Sixth-seeded Jeannette didn’t get a hit against Northgate on Tuesday but took advantage of the Flames’ miscues to score four unearned runs and move on in the WPIAL Class A softball playoffs with a 4-0 victory in the first round at West Mifflin. “It wasn’t pretty,...
Chartiers Valley ‘checked all of the boxes’ for new boys basketball coach Corey Dotchin
Corey Dotchin used to listen to podcasts on his drive to basketball practice, but he won’t have the time anymore. “Now I’ll listen to them when I cut the grass,” said Dotchin, who was hired Tuesday night as boys basketball coach at Chartiers Valley, which gives him a much shorter...
