Other Local Sports category, Page 65
Medals just part of rewards for A-K Valley athletes at National Veteran Wheelchair Games
The summer of 2020 will mark the 40th annual National Veteran Wheelchair Games, and multiyear participants, Alle-Kiski Valley residents Jerry Baylor, Brenden Beck and Mark Rosensteel, are planning to be a part of the milestone games. All hope to have as much success — or even more — next July...
Plum Junior Legion loses but stays alive in double-elimination state tournament
The Boyertown Grizzlies scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to pick up a 5-4 walk-off victory over Plum Post 980 in a first-round game Saturday at the PA Youth Legion Baseball State Championship in Homer City. Plum (22-6-1) still is alive in the double-elimination tournament and...
West Point, Yough Little League softball teams headed for showdown
It will be a Westmoreland County showdown at 6 p.m. Sunday in the Pennsylvania Little League Softball U-11 tournament at West Point. Yough, which defeated Loyalsock, 6-1, and Greencastle-Antrim, 17-3, on Saturday will face returning state champion West Point. The host defeated Greater Wyoming on Friday, 11-1. Riley Miller tossed...
Hempfield East opens state legion tournament with a victory
Hempfield East got three RBIs from Noah Sweeny and four pitchers scattered nine hits in a 6-2 victory over Paxton on Saturday during Day 1 of the Pennsylvania American Legion tournament at Showers Field in DuBois. It was a pair of three-run innings — one in the first inning and...
FIBI wraps up, Sarver turns attention to next year
With the 25th Freeport International Baseball Invitational in the books, event officials already are turning their attention to next summer’s event. FIBI president Chuck Sarver said before the final pitch was thrown and the last of the famed hoagies were sold at the concession stand, talk began of setting the...
Kings of the Court brings community basketball to New Kensington
Andrew Cressler hasn’t played a college basketball game in five years, but the Plum graduate and former standout at Seton Hill and Pitt-Johnstown still enjoys the opportunity to mix it up on the court in a competitive environment. He is one of the more veteran players in the Kings of...
Baldwin’s Baloh, Avonworth’s Gavin play volleyball in Croatia
Baldwin senior Anna Baloh has taken her game to another level. Baloh, an athletic 5-foot-5 outside hitter and third-year starter on the girls volleyball team, recently competed with BIP Chicago at the 15th annual Global Challenge held in Pula, Croatia. “I’m actually in Croatia playing in the Global Challenge with...
Shady Side Academy’s Gilkes named coach of year at State College
Artie Gilkes, a 1993 Shady Side Academy graduate and current track coach at State College, recently was named PTFCA Indoor Track High School Coach of the Year. While at SSA, he participated in cross country, wrestling and track. “I loved being on the teams. Spending time with my teammates and...
FIBI notebook: Home run derby returns with flourish
After a hiatus of several years, the return of the Freeport International Baseball Invitational’s home run derby proved to be a hit. There were 38 players who participated, and Tanner Jacobson of the Pittsburgh RBI team was the winner with five long balls hit out of James Swartz Memorial Stadium....
Bushy Run Legion team falls short after amazing run
It was a disappointing end to an amazing season for the Bushy Run American Legion baseball team. The hottest team coming into the Pennsylvania American Legion Region 7 tournament at Latrobe picked a bad team to cool off against and not play its best. After opening the tournament with an...
North Allegheny grad Zach Petronic excels at USRowing Nationals
North Allegheny graduate and McCandless rower Zach Petronic has had to make changes, and it’s paying off. Petronic, 27, took first place in the men’s intermediate 1x final at the USRowing National Championships on July 9-14 in Bethel, Ohio. “I’ve had to learn a lot about balancing the workload and...
Hempfield East Legion team honors suspended coach Shamberger
After the Hempfield East baseball team was awarded medals and a trophy for winning the Pennsylvania American Legion Region 7 title for the second consecutive season Tuesday at Latrobe, players and parents started chanting for “Harry.” It was in honor of former coach Harry Shamberger, and the players summoned him...
Stone getting to know La Salle basketball program
Brandon Stone has been in Philadelphia since January, training and getting to know his new coaches and teammates at La Salle. The former Southmoreland basketball standout and incoming freshman, who finished his prep career at Christ School (N.C.), is beginning to adjust to his new surroundings, confident in his decision...
Freeport International Baseball Invitational is big hit with Japanese players
Tsugu Tatekawa is making his third appearance at the Freeport International Baseball Invitational this week for the Tri-Con Roos and what keeps him coming back from his home country of Japan every year is a little bit of everything that captures the spirit of the event. “We have a nice...
West Point Major team eliminated from state tournament
West Point Major Division baseball team suffered an offensive power outage in its final two games at the Pennsylvania Little League state tournament at Camp Hill. After winning its first game of the tournament, West Point was outscored 25-0 over the final two games including 6-0 to Exeter on Wednesday....
Dedicated group serves as umpires for Freeport International Baseball Invitational
Chris Speer’s umpiring career started by accident. Sitting in the stands getting ready to watch a game 10 years ago, an umpire failed to show. Speer answered the call so the game could be played. Now, he is one of the more prominent umpires at the Freeport International Baseball Invitational....
Tim Benz: 13-year-old Franklin Park kart star looking for major win
It could’ve been really bad. A blow to the face after a Little League game. Right around the eye. He got knocked out. “I was walking home, drinking my apple juice,” said Franklin Park’s Luca Mars, describing the worst injury of his life. “And a girl on the swings with...
West Point Little League softball team readies to defend crown
They are the reigning 11U state champions, and they are eager to defend their crown. The girls on the West Point Little League softball team will kick off their quest for back-to-back titles soon. Beginning Friday, West Point Little League of Pennsylvania Section 2, District 26, is hosting the 11U...
David Gravel pulls away from Kyle Larson to win Silver Cup at Lernerville
Sprint cars don’t have rear-view mirrors, so David Gravel couldn’t see how far he was pulling away from the field. Had he been able to look behind his No. 41 machine, all he would have seen was the dust coming off his rear tires. Gravel rolled through lapped traffic with...
Plum Youth Legion team comes back to reach state tourney
For the second straight game in the Pennsylvania Youth Legion Baseball Western Regional at Homer City, the Plum Youth Legion team rallied from an early five-run deficit. The latest comeback, Tuesday evening in a 7-5 win over Westmoreland County league rival Uniontown, put the Post 980 Junior Mustangs in this...
Jackson, Goetz qualify for US Amateur
Hannastown Golf Club members Palmer Jackson and Mark Goetz posted the top two scorers at the United States Golf Association’s U.S. Amateur qualifier on Tuesday at Quicksilver Golf Course near Midway. Jackson, a Franklin Regional grad who will be playing for Notre Dame this fall, followed his 1-under par 71...
Hempfield East Legion team wins Region 7 with 11-inning victory
Dajauhn Hertzog’s glove was the first one to go. Then, the rest of Hempfield East’s players heaved their mitts as high as they could before rallying around their winning relief pitcher to celebrate. It took 11 innings, but the feeling of winning a second consecutive Pennsylvania American Legion Region 7...
Pittsburgh RBI program embraces being part of Freeport International Baseball Invitational
The Freeport International Baseball Invitational hits the sweet spot in the youth summer schedule: near the end. For most teams, the five-day invitational marks the final days of the season. When Pittsburgh Pirates RBI 18-under coach Nelson Cooper IV learned an invitational was being played just 40 minutes north of...
Hempfield East among 3 teams left at Region 7 Legion tournament
A portable tent buckled under forceful wind gusts as rain began to fall in sheets Monday at Latrobe High School, prompting a lengthy delay at the Region 7 tournament of the Pennsylvania American Legion baseball playoffs. It was a scene in stark contrast to the calm, steamy weather conditions that...
Field prep key to successful Freeport International Baseball Invitational
Each year, the board of directors for the Freeport International Baseball Invitational works many hours putting together a local, regional and international field of players and teams they hope will produce a competitive week of games. The preparation doesn’t stop at the participants as the board makes sure the fields...
