High School category, Page 475

With Latrobe on Hempfield’s bumper late in Thursday’s nonsection baseball game, the host Spartans turned to their defense to bail them out of some tense moments, particularly those attached to two of the final three outs. First baseman Adam Hess made a long throw across the diamond to knock out...

The Ohio trip has become a tradition at Latrobe. And if the Wildcats don’t make the trek to Upper Arlington to play the Golden Bears to christen a new baseball season, then the Golden Bears come to them. Upper Arlington is coached by Latrobe alum Nate Phillips. The initial thought...

Junior Blake Bertucci and his fellow Franklin Regional baseball pitchers are playing with less stress these days. With the offense giving them leads to work with, their job is less complex. It comes down to limiting the damage, getting off the field and allowing the hitters to get back to...

Freeport baseball coach Ed Carr sensed this could be the year the program bounced back. It wasn’t that long ago that the Yellowjackets made the WPIAL semifinals and state playoffs, but the last two seasons have been a rebuild. They only won one section game last year, so this week’s...

High schools WPIAL Baseball Wednesday’s results Class 5A Section 1 Franklin Regional 10, Penn Hills 1 Class 3A Section 1 Mohawk 8, Quaker Valley 4 Section 3 Shady Side Academy 10, Deer Lakes 9 Class 2A Section 2 Northgate 10, Aliquippa 3 Class A Section 2 Summit Academy 8, Springdale...

There are 21 WPIAL softball section games slated for Thursday as teams continue or begin their section schedule in Sections 2 and 3 in Class 4A, Sections 1 and 3 in Class 2A and Sections 1, 2 and 3 in Class A. Two games match teams that are looking to...

The WPIAL sent seven teams to Hershey to play for a PIAA basketball championship, and three came home with gold. Lincoln Park won the boys Class 4A state title while Class A produced two PIAA champions with Imani Christian boys and Union girls. Thus, there was no change at the...

Riley Miller homered and threw a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts as Hempfield defeated Mt. Lebanon, 10-0, in Section 1-6A softball Wednesday, bouncing back from a loss to North Allegheny on Monday. Claire Mitchell and Allie Cervola also homered and Margaret Howard went 4 for 4 with a double for...

Watching softballs fly over the fence can make some coaches jump around like a child on a trampoline. But Latrobe’s Bob Kovalcin doesn’t overreact to home runs. He admits he would rather see base hits and sacrifice bunts, crisp execution over power. “They’ve made a fool out of me,” Kovalcin...

Plum’s softball field is known for its short dimensions. A coach whose team was playing there for the first time called it a litter box. On Monday, Franklin Regional mistook it for a driving range. In one of the wildest games you will see, Franklin Regional out-clubbed host Plum, 28-19,...

High schools WPIAL Baseball Tuesday’s results Class 5A Section 1 Franklin Regional 5, Penn Hills 3 Penn-Trafford 9, Fox Chapel 3 Armstrong 6, Plum 5 Class 3A Section 1 Riverside 7, Ellwood City 5 Mohawk 13, Quaker Valley 0 Shenango 10, Beaver Falls 0 Section 3 Freeport 13, Derry 2...

Ryan Cochran tripled and drove in a run, and Lucas Derose knocked in two runs as Deer Lakes doubled up Shady Side Academy, 6-3, in Section 3-3A baseball Tuesday. Anthony Smith got the win for the Lancers (2-0, 1-0). Jonah Sacrowitz and Bryce Trischler each had two hits for the...

Valley jumped on Highlands for three runs in the first inning of a nonsection softball game Tuesday. The Vikings scored just one more run in the matchup, but the early outburst proved to be the difference in a 4-2 victory over the Golden Rams. “This is a nice win for...

There are only nine teams in WPIAL 6A softball this season and after nearly one week of the 2023 campaign, nearly half of them are still looking for their first victory of the season. Perhaps some home cooking will be the perfect remedy. Three of the four winless teams are...

There are 12 districts in the PIAA, and three of them shared the pot of gold when it came to boys basketball championships in 2023. District 3 (Harrisburg area), District 12 (Philadelphia City and Catholic Leagues) and District 7 (WPIAL in Southwestern Pa.) all captured a pair of boys roundball...

Imani Christian boys basketball coach Omar Foster thought his team’s journey this season got off to a rocky start. Well, if the Saints’ beginning was shaky, their finish was smooth sailing with plenty of gold in their two playoff tournament treasures. For the first time in school history, Imani Christian...

After striking out 17 times in the series opener against Ligonier Valley, Greensburg Central Catholic was eager to get the bats around on some pitches in the rematch. The offense had been mostly stagnant through three games this season, and the team was looking to break out. “We walked a...

Section play continues in one WPIAL Class 3A boys volleyball section and begins in a pair of 2A sections Tuesday. In Section 2-3A, defending champion North Allegheny tries to avoid an 0-2 start in the section when it visits rival North Hills, which is attempting to go to 2-0 in...

For the third straight year, District 12 has proven to be the epicenter of PIAA girls basketball. Three of the six state championships crowned in Hershey last week were from District 12, which consists largely of schools from the Philadelphia Public League and the Philadelphia Catholic League. Archbishop Carroll in...

Some young athletes watch TV to see their sports heroes in action. Others get a chance to actually meet the players who inspire them. Lincoln Park junior Brandin Cummings got to live under the same roof with his basketball role model. Lincoln Park graduate Nelly Cummings scored 2,411 points in...

High schools WPIAL Baseball Monday’s results Class 5A Section 1 Plum 12, Armstrong 2 Fox Chapel 2, Penn-Trafford 1 Franklin Regional at Penn Hills, ppd. Class 3A Section 1 Beaver Falls at Shenango, ppd. Mohawk at Quaker Valley, ppd. Riverside 9, Ellwood City 2 Section 3 Burrell 7, Valley 2...

Toryn Fulton went 6 for 6 with four home runs, two doubles, nine RBIs and seven runs scored to lead Franklin Regional to a 28-19 victory over Plum in an epic nonsection softball slugfest Monday. The game was tied 19-19 after seven innings when the Panthers put up a nine-spot...

Baserunning miscues, walks galore, a period of moderate rain and perhaps, surprisingly, no errors made for a quirky but typical March baseball game in Western Pennsylvania. In the end, visiting Burrell on Monday came away with a 7-2 victory over neighboring Valley in a renewal of their WPIAL rivalry in...

In 2015, Anders Bordoy served as a ball boy on the sidelines of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ US Open Cup match with DC United. Eight years later, he’s training with the Hounds’ senior team. Bordoy, a senior at Kiski Area, signed a USL Academy contract with Pittsburgh for the 2023 season...

The end of a sports season for underclassmen marks a time of reflection and preparation, but for seniors, it marks the end of an era. For St. Joseph senior Jimmy Giannetta, there’s a lot to look back on, especially because he was one of the top scorers in the WPIAL...