Bill Beckner stories, Page 117
College notebook: Point Park names Scarborough women’s hoops coach
Dave Scarborough is coming home to coach the Point Park women’s basketball team. A Fox Chapel and Cal (Pa.) graduate, Scarborough was announced Friday as the Pioneers’ next coach. He has been an NCAA Division I women’s assistant for the past nine years — and 13 of the last 14...
Westmoreland H.S. baseball notebook: Derry not getting comfortable
His team bouncing into the TribLive HSSN rankings for the first time this season, Derry baseball coach John Flickinger is excited but far from content. The last thing he wants is for the Trojans to get comfortable at the No. 4 spot in WPIAL Class 4A. The Trojans moved to...
Fun-loving Latrobe baseball team fills up toy box, win column
Simplistic and fun, some trinkets around the clubhouse represent Latrobe baseball’s approach to the game. There’s the pink Barbie car, with Ken and Barbie nestled in and ready to roll, which is a postgame award that goes to the player or players of the game. The shoebox-sized toy has been...
Westmoreland high school softball notebook: Trio stays perfect
Three Westmoreland teams remained among the undefeated in the WPIAL through Tuesday’s action. Hempfield improved to 4-0 with a home win over Seneca Valley and stayed atop Section 1-6A at 2-0. Penn-Trafford had a 7-0 mark and was 3-0 and tied with Thomas Jefferson for the top spot in Section...
Unbeaten, top-ranked Hempfield overpowers Norwin in slugfest
Hempfield softball players kept barking like dogs from the dugout, a unique rallying cry implemented by first-year coach Tina Madison. Turns out, their bark was not louder than their bite. The top-ranked Spartans kept snarling, even as they watched three Norwin home runs sail over the fence Wednesday, and ended...
Freshmen chip in all over Westmoreland softball scene
There is a youth movement in local softball this spring. Hempfield knows. Just look at first-year coach Tina Madison’s pitcher-catcher combo: Both are freshmen. Pitcher Riley Miller deals to catcher Allie Cervola, the pair revealing a been-there-before aura against Class 6A hitters that impresses Madison, one of the best pitchers...
Latrobe earns doubleheader sweep of Franklin Regional with pair of 1-run wins
Latrobe had every reason to say “Cheese.” Wildcats baseball players were all smiles after a doubleheader sweep of No. 5-ranked Franklin Regional on Tuesday, including a Game 2 win powered by the battery of senior pitcher Chase Sickenberger — nicknamed “Cheese” long ago by his brother — and senior catcher...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Belle Vernon’s Aaron Krepps returns to Ohio Northern
Ohio Northern will have Aaron Krepps back on its football coaching staff next season. The Division III program hired Krepps, a Belle Vernon graduate who served as an assistant there in 2015 and ‘16 before he left to coach at Bluffton, another D-III program that plays in the Heartland Conference....
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Schools working to replace ADs
A pair of Westmoreland schools are working to replace athletic directors. Mt. Pleasant isn’t actively searching for a replacement for Chris Brunson, who resigned in January, but has a dual arrangement working in lieu of an immediate substitute for Brunson. Former AD Allan Bilinsky and principal Bob Gumbita are handling...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad Anthony Sherwin makes big impact at Bucknell
Sophomore Anthony Sherwin has become a fixture in the Bucknell baseball lineup. The shortstop out of Penn-Trafford started 30 games as a freshman, and is the leading hitter this season for the Bison. Sherwin was hitting .362 with .954 and .486 on-base and slugging percentages, respectively. He had a team-best...
Cal (Pa.)’s Dylan Brosky tosses no-hitter
Right-hander Dylan Brosky allowed one base runner after the first inning on the way to completing Cal (Pa.)’s first no-hitter since 2014 in a 4-0 victory over IUP on Sunday at Wild Things Park in Washington. A senior from Brownsville, Brosky is the first Vulcans’ pitcher to throw a no-hitter...
Westmoreland high school athletes of the week: Toryn Fulton, Andrew Allen
Toryn Fulton School: Franklin Regional Sport: Softball Year: Freshman Claim to fame: Fulton made an immediate impact in the Panthers’ lineup, delivering four home runs during a four-game stretch in Orlando, Fla. The 6-foot center fielder who bats third in the order, hit two homers and drove in four runs...
Seton Hill’s Neal McDermott makes No. 1 play on SportsCenter with highlight catch
Recruited as a pitcher out of high school, Neal McDermott did not get to show his defensive skills much at Seton Hill. But on Friday night, the converted outfielder flashed his glove for all of America to see. The grad student out of Greensburg Central Catholic made the No. 1...
Greensburg CC lineman develops colt following on horse show circuit
Born on a 98-acre horse ranch in Scottdale, Tyler Shafer grew up around colts and fillies. The animals were always there, so he didn’t know anything different. His family bred and raised horses, so Shafer’s interest was more passed down than discovered. It led him down a path to acclaim...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Derry volleyball coach reflects after 200th win
Shawn Spencer sees his coaching milestone as one part longevity, two parts personnel. He doesn’t make it about himself. The Derry boys volleyball coach recently captured his 200th win leading the Trojans. Spencer also coached the Elderton boys from 1992-95 and again from 1998-2003, but the milestone only counts his...
After school record toss, Norwin’s Schmook targets WPIAL, PIAA success in javelin
Aaron Schmook took up throwing an 8-foot toothpick about four years ago. Watching a javelin soar through the spring sky, like it’s going to spear a cloud and pull it down to earth, brings a smile to his face. It is fun for Schmook, a senior at Norwin. But the...
Norwin notebook: Knights take part in PIHL all-star game
Five Norwin hockey players suited up for the PIHL Class A All-Star Game on April 3 at Alpha Ice Complex in Pittsburgh. Sophomore Alex Thomas had an assist, and sophomore Owen Burmeister made 10 saves in net for Team Gold, but Team Blue won the game, 9-4. Senior Logan Fear...
Piper provides perfect pitching performance for Ligonier Valley softball
Cheyenne Piper arrived at the ballpark Wednesday ready to play. She didn’t know, however, she would be pitching. Just perfect, she thought. Perfect, indeed. The sophomore from Ligonier Valley tossed a perfect game as the Rams blanked visiting Punxsutawney, 7-0, at Donaldson Softball Field. Not bad for her first start....
Westmoreland baseball notebook: 2-game series well liked
Coaches and players seem to like the WPIAL’s home-and-home, two-game series that occur on back-to-back days. Especially the teams that bounce back after a loss in Game One. Franklin Regional and Penn-Trafford split their Section 1-5A opening series, with Franklin Regional rebounding from a 4-3 loss with a 5-0 win....
Franklin Regional baseball revamps rotation in repeat bid
By and large, Franklin Regional had gaps to fill on its WPIAL Class 5A championship baseball team. But coach Bobby Saddler did not think it would take long for replacements to emerge, particularly in the pitching rotation. He was right. The search for quality pitching in Murrysville is over —...
Westmoreland softball notebook: Double-digit run totals becomes more common
Yes, scoring is up in Westmoreland County softball. There have been only seven shutouts by county teams so far in this hitters’ delight of a season, while teams scored 10 or more runs a head-turning 16 times through Tuesday. The question is, who hasn’t been in a game involving double-figure...
Mt. Pleasant softball team still working to build chemistry after turnover of championship roster
Mt. Pleasant wants reps. It needs reps. Lots of reps. Results don’t matter, at least not in the nonsection games. Not in the baby steps of a softball season that lives in the shadow of the one that preceded it. “This time of year, we all just need to play,”...
Alumnus Hoffer hired as coach to revive Yough football program
It can be done: Yough can win again. That is the message Ben Hoffer is bringing to his alma mater, and he plans to plaster it all over the football program until it comes to pass — or run. Whatever it takes. The former Yough standout running back was hired...
Franklin Regional baseball team avenges Monday’s loss to Penn-Trafford
Defending WPIAL baseball champion Franklin Regional was a little miffed after losing its Section 1-5A opener. It showed in the rematch with previously unbeaten Penn-Trafford. The Panthers pushed back. They came out swinging, limited the Warriors offense and earned a series split with a 5-0 victory Tuesday in light rain...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Magen Polczynski makes quick transition to lacrosse season
A switch from basketball to lacrosse looked rather effortless to Westminster’s Magen Polczynski. The senior from Norwin has 10 goals and five assists in three games since switching uniforms. Her 15 points leads the team. Most of the other players have appeared in five games. She had a six-goal, nine-point...
