High School category, Page 486
Trib HSSN State Softball Rankings for April 13, 2023
The winds of change were blowing in Class 4A this past week as three teams from the inaugural Trib HSSN state softball rankings last week dropped out of the Top 5. Only two other teams were bumped in the other five classifications combined. In 4A, Clearfield, Villa Joseph Marie and...
Trib HSSN Baseball State Rankings for April 13, 2023
Much like the weather this past week, it was smooth sailing for most of the teams in the first edition of the Trib HSSN baseball state rankings from last week. Only three teams lost their spot in the Top 5, including Cumberland Valley in 6A, Donegal in 5A and Montoursville...
High school roundup for April 13, 2023: Hempfield sweeps Baldwin, gives coach 200th win
Hempfield scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to break the game open en route to a 10-0 win over Baldwin in Section 2-6A baseball Thursday, sweeping the three-game series and giving coach Tim Buzzard his 200th career victory. Gage Wheaton had two doubles and two RBIs...
Penn-Trafford boys volleyball gets past Hempfield in ‘classic match’
Jim Schall has coached in some intense and high-quality high school volleyball settings during his considerable time on the bench, but he ranked Thursday night’s Penn-Trafford-Hempfield match right up with the best of them. Schall’s Penn-Trafford Warriors came away with a 3-1 home victory that was tougher than it appeared....
Deer Lakes runner Aidan Herman circles goals on track calendar
Aidan Herman has his track and field future in his sights. The Deer Lakes senior middle distance standout expects to run at the Division I level next year, and Eastern Kentucky is a likely landing spot. “I am talking with them a lot right now,” said Herman, a PIAA qualifier...
Serra Catholic rallies to defeat Greensburg Central Catholic in softball nail-biter
Serra Catholic knocked Greensburg Central Catholic from the ranks of the unbeaten and out of first place in Section 3-2A with a 6-5 comeback win Thursday at Jamie Brewster Filotei Field in McKeesport. After the Centurions scored two runs in the top of the sixth and take a two-run lead,...
Leechburg baseball team making presence felt loud and clear
Leechburg baseball coach Heath Shimer looked at his roster coming into the season and knew the potential was there for success. “I have seven seniors that start and I’m thankful, but I also realize that we have to make noise this year,” Shimer said. “When you have seven seniors that...
Canon-McMillan baseball overpowers Norwin behind Andrew Kocan’s 2 homers
Brawny and powerful, Andrew Kocan is an intimidating presence at the plate. The Canon-McMillan senior first baseman — all 6-foot-4, 285 pounds of him — is headed to Virginia Military Institute to play football. An offensive lineman and defensive end, Kocan did the lead-blocking for the baseball team Thursday, launching...
Coaches rave about new 3-game series for WPIAL Class 6A baseball
Let’s play … three? The WPIAL went to three-game series this season in Class 6A baseball, and the change has been met with warmth from local coaches who must develop pitching depth to stay sharp and earn sweeps or series wins. Baseball long has been a chess match, and the...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Franklin Regional off to hot start in Section 1
Only one Westmoreland County baseball team is situated among the top teams in the Trib top-5 rankings. Franklin Regional remains third in this week’s Class 5A rankings. The Panthers (7-2, 3-1 Section 1) have only one section loss, a 3-1 setback against Gateway. They return to section play Monday against...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on April 13, 2023: Western Beaver softball continues breakout season
In its first two years playing Class 5A softball, Western Beaver, which co-ops with Lincoln Park, had a combined record of 0-19 in section play and 2-22 overall. However, third year has been a charm for the Golden Beavers. Western Beaver has been a great story thus far this season...
Trib 10: New team moves into top spot in softball power rankings
There was some shuffling of the deck this past week, but not a lot of turnover in the latest baseball and softball weekly Trib 10. Three teams total lost their grips on a power-ranking spot, with Mars and South Park baseball and Latrobe softball slipping out of the top 10...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for April 12, 2023
High schools WPIAL Baseball Wednesday’s results Class 6A Section 1 North Allegheny 3, Butler 2 Class 5A Section 1 Fox Chapel 13, Gateway 3 Armstrong 16, Penn Hills 1 Plum 3, Penn-Trafford 2 Section 2 Bethel Park 5, South Fayette 3 Peters Township 7, Trinity 5 Connellsville 5, Upper St....
High school roundup for April 12, 2023: Bethel Park sweeps South Fayette
Coby Goelz had two hits and two RBIs to lead Bethel Park to a 5-3 victory over South Fayette on Wednesday, competing a two-game sweep in Section 2-5A. John Chalus also drove in a run for Bethel Park (6-3, 4-0). Michael DiMartini doubled and drove in a run for South...
Hempfield rallies for walk-off win over No. 1 Seneca Valley
Early miscues, a nagging struggle to bunt runners over and a pile of strikeouts were an unsavory combination for Hempfield. Seneca Valley pitcher Lexie Hames and the top-ranked Raiders seemed to be in command and had the No. 3 Spartans right where they wanted them — with a two-run lead....
Moon senior Anthony Lounder, Winchester Thurston freshman Austin He take WPIAL tennis titles
A senior playing his third WPIAL tournament and a freshman making his WPIAL debut took home boys tennis singles championships Wednesday afternoon at Bethel Park High School. Moon senior Anthony Lounder, the No. 2 seed in the Class 3A bracket, claimed WPIAL gold with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over No....
Butler basketball standout Braylon Littlejohn commits to Miami (Ohio) — for football
When Butler’s Braylon Littlejohn committed to Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, folks weren’t asking him about his choice of schools, but rather his choice of sports. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound junior will play defensive back for the RedHawks football team. “Everyone was texting me, ‘You committed for football?’” Littlejohn said. “I don’t...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Southmoreland riding high after string of shutout wins
Southmoreland picked Easter week to rise into the rankings. The Scotties (3-1, 2-0) jumped into the Trib top five in Class 3A after a pair of 2-0 section wins over Ligonier Valley (9 innings) and Mt. Pleasant. They had three straight shutouts heading into Wednesday’s game at Yough. They opened...
After strong start, Valley boys tennis chasing section championship
The Valley boys tennis team already has clinched a spot in the WPIAL Class 2A team playoffs, which are set to begin May 1. But veteran coach Rachel Link said her Vikings players, who improved to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in Section 1 on Monday with a 3-2 victory over...
Cheyenne Piper steps seamlessly into ace role for Ligonier Valley
Cheyenne Piper understands the assignment because she has prepared for it. She has longed to fulfill it. The top pitching role at Ligonier Valley now belongs to her, and the steely junior behind the glasses could not be more focused. “It motivated me to keep working,” Piper said of taking...
Underclassmen steal spotlight at WPIAL tennis tournament
A youth movement is afoot at the WPIAL boys tennis singles tournament this week. A freshman, two sophomores and just one senior advanced to the finals as the Class 3A and 2A tournaments began Tuesday. In Class 2A, top-seeded freshman Austin He of Winchester Thurston rolled to the championship match,...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on April 12, 2023: Class 6A softball powers to meet
The top four teams in WPIAL Class 6A softball square off Wednesday. Defending champion and undefeated Seneca Valley visits a Hempfield team that knows something about gold. The Spartans won the last two Quad-A championships before expansion, then won the first three 6A crowns between 2015-2019. While the Raiders are...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for April 11, 2023
High schools WPIAL Baseball Tuesday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Pine-Richland 12, Allderdice 6 North Allegheny 13, Butler 0 Section 2 Norwin 7, Canon-McMillan 5 Hempfield 11, Baldwin 1 Mt. Lebanon 16, Central Catholic 1 Class 5A Section 1 Armstrong 12, Penn Hills 1 Fox Chapel 6, Gateway 0 Penn-Trafford...
High school roundup for April 11, 2023: Avonworth gets past South Park in battle of 3A contenders
Winning pitcher Mason Horwat broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the third inning and Jake Osborn followed with a sacrifice fly to lead Avonworth to a 2-0 victory over South Park in a Section 2-3A baseball showdown Tuesday. Horwat allowed three hits and struck out 11 in...
No. 9 hitter sparks 7th inning rally, leads Chartiers Valley past Thomas Jefferson
The last shall be first. Senior Tyler Zallenick, the designated hitter batting in the No. 9 spot in the order, delivered a two-out RBI single in the top of the seventh inning to break a scoreless tie and spark a big inning in a big win for Chartiers Valley over...
