High School category, Page 639
Small ball, miscues propel Penn-Trafford into PIAA Class 5A semifinals
FAYETTEVILLE — Fundamentals, no matter what time of the season they are or are not executed, carry immense meaning for softball teams. Simple ground balls. Pop-ups. Sacrifice bunts. They all can add up. And they are magnified in the state playoffs because they can make or break seasons. Penn-Trafford used...
Bethel Park eliminates West Allegheny, keeps alive hopes for PIAA championship repeat
Bethel Park has seen this story before: The baseball team comes up short in the WPIAL playoffs only to bounce back stronger in the state tournament behind a talented pitcher recruited to Kent State. That exact storyline won the Black Hawks a state championship a year ago and they’re now...
Trib HSSN State Softball Rankings for June 8, 2022
The goal of ending the school year with a PIAA softball championship is still alive for 48 schools across the state, including the 30 listed below. However, a dozen teams from last week’s Trib HSSN state softball ranking hit the point of no return with season-ending losses in the opening...
Trib HSSN Baseball State Rankings for June 8, 2022
It only took one round of the 2022 PIAA baseball playoffs to shuffle the Top 5 deck. There were a few changes in the highest and mid-classifications, with a massive switch in the two lowest classes in the weekly Trib HSSN state baseball rankings. During the regular season and even...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on June 9, 2022: 21 baseball, softball teams alive in state title hunt
Welcome to Quarterfinals Thursday in the PIAA baseball and softball playoffs. WPIAL teams hit the midway point of the state diamond postseason with 12 softball and nine baseball teams still playing on the Path to Penn State. In the opening round Monday, district softball teams were a combined 12-7 with...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for June 8, 2022
High schools Baseball PIAA playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Thursday’s schedule Emmaus (22-5) vs. Hazleton (21-1) at Walter Stump Stadium, 6:30 p.m.; Liberty (24-2) vs. LaSalle College (15-8) at Boyertown, 7 p.m.; Warwick (20-2) vs. Upper St. Clair (13-10) at Mt. Aloysius, noon; West Chester Henderson (21-2) vs. Cumberland Valley (17-6)...
Deer Lakes wants to continue PIAA postseason journey
A quartet from the Deer Lakes softball team — Jenna Bisegna, Reese Hasley, Keeghan Cook and Lydia Guthrie — took one of the biggest walks of their lives and graduated Wednesday evening. As one journey comes to a close, the graduates hope another keeps rolling along. They will join their...
Sophomore slugger makes name for herself in middle of Penn-Trafford lineup
Mackenzie Keenan has a number of nicknames. The sophomore softball player at Penn-Trafford has been called “Chuck” and “Chunk” for reasons that can’t altogether be explained around the clubhouse. “We always call her, ‘Line-drive Mack,’” Warriors coach Denny Little said. “Everything she hits is a frozen rope.” Keenan, pronounced ka-nan,...
A-K Valley PIAA softball playoff capsules for June 9, 2022
Today’s games Class 4A Quarterfinals Burrell (14-2) vs. Beaver (20-0) 3 p.m. at Mars Winner plays: Winner of Hamburg (20-3) vs. Clearfield (19-3) in semifinals Monday (site and time TBD) Players to watch: Caroline Dynka, Burrell; Payton List, Beaver Extra bases: Burrell won its first state playoff game since 2011...
Westmoreland County PIAA softball playoff capsule for June 9, 2022
Class 5A Quarterfinals Penn-Trafford (19-3) vs. Southern Lehigh (19-6) 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Norlo Park Softball Complex, Fayetteville Winner plays: Winner of Central Mountain (21-2)/Armstrong (21-4) on Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Extra bases: Penn-Trafford didn’t hit like it can in the first round, sending 14 pop-ups into the...
North Allegheny boys volleyball moves within 1 win of 4th straight state title
The North Allegheny boys volleyball team will have a chance to win its fourth straight state championship Saturday at Penn State’s Rec Hall. Cole Dorn had nine kills and Nico Sfeir and Jack Birch added six apiece as the WPIAL champion Tigers rolled to a 25-23, 25-17, 25-17 victory over...
Burrell softball team faces juggernaut Beaver in PIAAs
The Beaver softball team currently owns one of the longest winning streaks in WPIAL history. The Bobcats, last year’s PIAA Class 4A champs, defeated District 3’s Fleetwood, 3-2, on Monday to extend their unbeaten run to 41 games. Burrell (14-2) has its chance to stop Beaver in its tracks Thursday,...
Mars boys lacrosse earns 2nd straight trip to state championship game
For the second straight season, Mars will get a chance to become the first WPIAL team to win a state championship in boys lacrosse. Enzo Grieco and Austin Cote scored four goals apiece to lead the Fightin’ Planets to a 16-8 victory over Penncrest in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals...
Penn-Trafford lineman Joe Enick verbally commits to Central Michigan
A steady stream of scholarship offers have followed Joe Enick since late March. More were likely to come this summer. But the football lineman from Penn-Trafford decided it was time to highlight his favorite one. Enick gave a verbal commitment to play at Central Michigan of the Mid-American Conference. The...
12 WPIAL softball teams advance to PIAA quarterfinals
While opening day of the PIAA baseball playoffs was a mixed bag for district teams, the WPIAL softball qualifiers got a chance to strut their stuff in the first round. The WPIAL was a strong 12-7 in opening round games Monday, with all six new district champions winning and moving...
Sites announced for PIAA baseball quarterfinals
It was a rough start to the PIAA baseball postseason for several WPIAL champions. However, thanks to success from some of the other district teams, it turned out to be more of a split decision. Now, nine teams are moving on to the second round on the Path to Penn...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on June 7, 2022: Mars carries banner for WPIAL lacrosse
Welcome to Semifinals Tuesday in both the PIAA boys volleyball and lacrosse state playoffs. Much is quiet on the western front, though, as only two WPIAL teams remain to fight in the final four. There are no district teams left in the PIAA girls lacrosse playoffs. In fact, only five...
High school roundup for June 6, 2022: Griffaton leads WPIAL champion West Mifflin to 1st-round win
Winning pitcher Zane Griffaton’s three-run homer backed his five effective innings on the mound as WPIAL Class 4A champion West Mifflin opened the PIAA playoffs with a 6-1 victory over District 5-8-9 subregional champion Somerset (15-8) before a West Mifflin school-record crowd of 909 Monday. Griffaton (3-1), who yielded five...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for June 6, 2022
High schools Baseball PIAA playoffs Class 6A First round Monday’s results Emmaus 1, Owen J. Roberts 0 Hazleton 1, Coatesville 0 Liberty 1, Manheim Township 0 LaSalle College 9, Pennsbury 6 Warwick 8, Hatboro Horsham 7 Upper St. Clair 2, Altoona 0 West Chester Henderson 12, Olney Charter 2 Cumberland...
WPIAL champion West Allegheny avoids 1st-round trap, blanks Thomas Jefferson
West Allegheny knew that the environment would be different going from the WPIAL championship game to a PIAA first-round matchup with Thomas Jefferson in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday, yet the result remained the same as the Indians defeated the Jaguars, 7-0. “This is always a trap...
Burrell rides early offense, Armstrong’s arm into PIAA softball quarterfinals
ERIE — It was déjà vu for the Burrell softball team Monday afternoon in its PIAA Class 4A first-round game against District 10 champion Villa Maria Academy at Penn State Behrend. The Bucs scored three times in the first inning of last Tuesday’s consolation-game victory over Montour that clinched a...
Penn-Trafford shakes off early homer to beat Twin Valley in PIAA Class 5A 1st round
The Penn-Trafford softball team got off to a bad start in its first-round state playoff game Monday when Twin Valley leadoff hitter Alivia Lichtner homered in the bottom of the first. For the Warriors, things only got better from there. Mack Keenan had three hits, and Hannah Allen drove in...
Don’t blame ‘WPIAL hangover’ for this PIAA 1st-round loss, says Mt. Lebanon coach
The Mt. Lebanon baseball team was on the practice field for a rare early-morning, split-squad scrimmage Saturday, just a few days after winning the WPIAL title. The Blue Devils had six days to get ready for their state playoff opener and tried to use them to their fullest. “We had...
Southmoreland softball team eliminated from PIAA playoffs by Bald Eagle Area
MILESBURG — Southmoreland was hoping its two hour-plus bus ride into the heart of District 6 wouldn’t be its only road trip in the PIAA playoffs. With the PIAA softball championships at Penn State, the Scotties were planning a few rides on Route 22 and Interstate 99 to State College...
Deer Lakes softball team rallies in 6th for PIAA win
CORRY — After hitting eight pop-up outs over the first five innings, Deer Lakes resorted to a series of line drives. The Lancers exploded for five runs in the top of sixth and posted a 5-1 victory over Corry in a PIAA Class 3A opening-round game at Lou Hanna Memorial...
