High School category, Page 827
Woodland Hills athletic director Ron Coursey leaving WPIAL for Chambersburg job
Woodland Hills athletic director Ron Coursey has always wanted to chat with the PIAA leadership about its transfer rule. He’ll soon be working almost in their backyard, once he becomes athletic director at Chambersburg, so maybe he’ll knock on their door. “I would love to have that conversation, if they’ll...
Ligonier Valley softball hits reset button, sets sights on PIAA run
Mark Zimmerman said the chip Ligonier Valley softball had resting firmly on its collective shoulder is all but gone. “That’s been knocked off a little bit,” the veteran coach said. “That can be a good thing, too. This is the start of a new run. Now it’s all about the...
Sandra Soltes’ 2 home runs lead Bethel Park to 1st WPIAL softball title
The Bethel Park softball team remained undefeated in grand style. Junior catcher Sandra Soltes smacked two home runs, including a first-inning grand slam that put the Black Hawks up for good in a 9-2 win over Canon-McMillan in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game Thursday afternoon at Cal U’s Lilley...
WPIAL baseball teams set for PIAA playoffs
The 2021 WPIAL baseball playoffs are now in the books with six new champions crowned and the order of district teams set for the PIAA postseason. The state baseball playoffs begin Monday with sites and times to be determined. Here are the matchups that are set for the first round...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for June 2, 2021
High schools Baseball WPIAL playoffs Class 5A Consolation Wednesday’s result Peters Township 2, West Allegheny 1 Class 4A Championship Wednesday’s result New Castle 5, Montour 0 Class 3A Championship Wednesday’s result Hopewell 6, South Park 5 Consolation Wednesday’s result McGuffey 2, Avonworth 1 Class 2A Championship Wednesday’s result Shenango 2,...
High school roundup for June 2, 2021: McGuffey baseball earns state tournament bid
Winning pitcher Jake Orr went 6⅔ innings, giving up one run and striking out 10, and hit an RBI double in the fifth inning to lead No. 4 McGuffey to a 2-1 victory over No. 2 Avonworth in the Class 3A baseball consolation game Wednesday afternoon. The Highlanders (14-5) claimed...
New Castle’s Rocco Bernadina mows down Montour in WPIAL Class 4A championshipVideo
New Castle owns the most boys basketball titles in WPIAL history, and the football team ranks third on the league’s all-time championships list. But the Red Hurricanes never had won a baseball title, until now. Senior Rocco Bernadina pitched a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts Wednesday night and led seventh-seeded New...
Beaver Area shakes off Highlands rally, walks off with WPIAL softball crown
The first three WPIAL softball championship games played at Cal (Pa.) on Wednesday ended by way of the mercy rule, with the winning teams scoring 17, 15 and 12 runs. The nightcap between Highlands and Beaver Area for the Class 4A title was much closer. In a pitchers’ duel between...
North Hills overwhelms Armstrong, wins school’s 1st WPIAL softball title in 21 years
North Hills softball coach Libby Gasior said pitcher Sophia Roncone doesn’t necessarily like much attention focused on her. But holding a team that has scored at least nine runs in 13 of its games to just a pair of first-inning runs is sure to bring attention to her effort. Roncone...
Hopewell survives roller-coaster Class 3A final, beats South Park for 4th WPIAL title
Two years ago, the Hopewell Vikings coughed up a three-run lead in the bottom of the seventh inning against Steel Valley in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game. They weren’t about to do it again on Wednesday. No. 3 South Park (15-5) tied the game in the top of the...
Big-hitting Mt. Pleasant blanks Ellwood City for 2nd WPIAL softball championshipVideo
A fourth-grade student made the Mt. Pleasant softball team a good-luck card before the WPIAL championship, one of several the players received and read. One charming message stood out from the pile: “Softball was invented to show boys how it’s done.” The Lady Vikings must have been inspired. They showed...
WPIAL Class 6A softball championship preview: Bethel Park vs. Canon-McMillan
Softball Class 6A 1-Bethel Park (17-0) vs. 7-Canon-McMillan (9-9) Noon Thursday at Cal (Pa.) Road to the finals • Bethel Park — The Black Hawks haven’t been tested all that much this season. They’ve scored at least nine runs in each of their last six games, hitting that mark 13...
WPIAL Class 2A softball championship preview: Shenango vs. Laurel
Softball Class 2A 5-Shenango (16-4) vs. 2-Laurel (16-1) 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Cal (Pa.). Road to the finals • Shenango — The Wildcats advanced to the finals in an unusual way, defeating top-seeded Ligonier Valley 3-1 despite not recording a hit. They scored three runs on one play, a dropped...
Shenango stuns Seton LaSalle for 1st WPIAL baseball title
Shenango senior Gabe Yanssens accused Seton LaSalle players of talking too much smack on social media before Wednesday’s WPIAL Class 2A baseball championship game. He figured the best way to shut them up was to beat them, and that’s what Yanssens did. His two-run, two-out single in the top of...
PIAA rules Gateway QB Brad Birch eligible, returns Seton LaSalle appeal to WPIAL
The PIAA overturned one WPIAL decision and told the WPIAL board to reconsider another. Gateway freshman Brad Birch, a football standout who transferred from Jeannette, was ruled eligible Wednesday following an appeal hearing with the PIAA, reversing a WPIAL decision that would’ve made Birch ineligible for one year. Separately, the...
Pine-Richland votes to hire veteran coach to heal fractured football programVideo
The Pine-Richland School Board has hired a veteran coach it hopes can close the book on a tumultuous chapter in the district’s football program. Steve Campos, an assistant football coach at Seneca Valley with nearly 30 years of experience, was the only candidate for the head coaching position considered during...
West Greene wins 5th straight WPIAL softball title in dominant performance
Not even a global pandemic can slow down the West Greene softball team. What many thought would be a fifth straight WPIAL softball championship in 2020 had to wait a year after last season was postponed due to the covid-19 outbreak. Now the Pioneers have their one for the thumb...
High school scores, summaries and schedule for June 1, 2021
High schools Baseball WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Championship Tuesday’s result North Allegheny 4, Hempfield 0 Class 5A Championship Tuesday’s result Franklin Regional 2, Bethel Park 1 Consolation Wednesday’s schedule Peters Township (10-11) vs. West Allegheny (17-4) at Washington & Jefferson, 5 p.m. Class 4A Championship Wednesday’s schedule Montour (15-5) vs....
High school roundup for June 1, 2021: Elizabeth Forward softball moves on to states
Anna Resnik had two hits and an RBI and winning pitcher Kailey Larcinese scattered six hits and struck out five to lead No. 1 Elizabeth Forward to a 4-3 victory over West Mifflin in the Class 4A consolation game Tuesday, giving the Warriors the WPIAL’s third and final spot in...
North Allegheny ace shuts down Hempfield, leads Tigers to record 8th WPIAL title
Hempfield got an early look at right-hander Kyle Demi a few weekends ago, but that sneak peek at the North Allegheny ace didn’t help much Tuesday night. Once again, Demi was dominant. The hard-throwing senior struck out 11 in six shutout innings as top-seeded North Allegheny defeated No. 3 Hempfield,...
Ligonier Valley earns Class 2A bronze in softball with 4-0 win over Frazier
“Mad dog” doesn’t like to hear about games being meaningless. Even though both teams already had clinched PIAA playoff berths, Maddie Griffin, Ligonier Valley’s junior ace pitcher, treated Tuesday’s WPIAL third-place game at Norwin with respect. The game still had the full attention of the WPIAL’s no-hit queen. “The expectation...
Franklin Regional gets walk-off win over Bethel Park in Class 5A title game
Andrew Muraco took it personally when Bethel Park coach Pat Zehnder decided to intentionally walk Louie Kegerreis with a runner on second base in the bottom of the seventh inning to get to him in the WPIAL Class 5A championship. So the Franklin Regional senior made Bethel Park pay. He...
WPIAL Class 2A baseball championship preview: Seton LaSalle vs. Shenango
Baseball Class 2A 1-Seton-La Salle (21-2) vs. 2-Shenango (19-2) 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Wild Things Park, Washington Road to the finals • Seton LaSalle — In three playoff wins, Seton-La Salle, the Section 4-2A champ, has outscored its opponents 32-0. The Rebels blanked Serra, 12-0, in the semifinals. • Shenango...
Battery powered: Chemistry between pitcher Smithnosky, catcher Shawley drives Mt. Pleasant softball
Catcher Lexis Shawley received an unsolicited compliment from an umpire after a recent playoff game. It made the Mt. Pleasant senior grin. “He said he liked the way I was framing my pitches,” Shawley said. “He said it probably helped us get a few strikes.” The proficiency also had something...
Union captures 1st WPIAL baseball title behind Jake Vitale’s no-hitter
After making trips to the WPIAL Class A baseball championship game in 2018 and ’19 without claiming a championship, the Union Scotties weren’t leaving Wild Things Park empty handed Tuesday. Senior Jake Vitale made sure of it. The 5-foot-9 southpaw threw a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts and three walks in...
