Bill Beckner stories, Page 17
Derry softball team elevates its game to meet competition of higher classification
A jump to WPIAL Class 4A wasn’t something Derry softball could control, but the Trojans knew they had to make a quick adjustment to new opponents, better pitching and deeper lineups. Almost immediately, the girls began to list their goals. Coming up from 3A fit the team’s motif of upping...
Hempfield gets revenge against Norwin
Hempfield waited 11 months and two days for this opportunity. Nearly one year of stewing over a semifinal loss that, in the Spartans’ eyes, cost them another WPIAL softball championship. Norwin upset mighty Hempfield to advance to the final for the first time, sending the No. 1 seed home shocked...
Canon-McMillan rides ‘hit train’ to win over Hempfield
Between innings Wednesday, ace pitcher M.J. Maruschak soft-tossed with a teammate behind his team’s dugout to stay loose. It is a tradition he has adopted, along with throwing and catching a medicine ball. Down time is not an option for the right-hander. The entire Canon-McMillan baseball team looked loose in...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: New date set for Hempfield-Seneca Valley showdown
Hempfield and Seneca Valley, let’s try this again. The Class 6A softball rivals’ first section matchup at Hempfield has been postponed twice because of inclement weather, but the game has been rescheduled again for 4 p.m. May 6 at Robert D. Kalp Field. Hempfield (13-0, 9-0) is ranked No. 1,...
No. 2 Franklin Regional softball overcomes sluggish start, finishes sweep of Latrobe
Chloe Lancaster threw 27 pitches in the first inning Tuesday and gave up two runs in the second. It had the makings of a long afternoon. The situation even prompted movement in the Franklin Regional bullpen, which caught Lancaster’s attention. But the Panthers ace didn’t panic or get flustered. “I...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Penn-Trafford bolsters resume with nonsection slate
Penn-Trafford is in the thick of the Section 1-5A race, but its nonsection baseball schedule has been beneficial. The Warriors (7-5, 4-2) own three wins over Class 6A teams in Norwin, Hempfield and North Allegheny. The third win is the most impressive because North Allegheny was ranked No. 1 when...
Jeannette grad Marcus Barnes confident his name will be called in NFL Draft
He was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in February, but all that did was give him more mental leverage, more fuel to prove the doubters wrong. Jeannette’s Marcus Barnes could have a life-changing week, have his dreams come true, but he won’t hide the giant chip on his...
Seneca Valley’s Lexie Hames nearly untouchable in shutout vs. Norwin
After losing to Pine-Richland twice in a five-day span, Seneca Valley went into its next softball game with some pent-up frustrations. Ace pitcher Lexie Hames and the third-ranked Lady Raiders took it out on Norwin. Hames was on her game in a big way, striking out 19, including the final...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Hempfield’s Sowers sets Bloomsburg record
Bloomsburg has a new strikeout queen. Senior pitcher Callie Sowers (Hempfield) became the program’s career leader in strikeouts with 804. In her previous appearance, Sowers tied the mark of 803 set by Cait Paine from 2010-13. A career 69-game winner, Sowers earned the record in relief in a 12-9 victory...
Powerful offenses lead Hempfield, Penn-Trafford softball teams to top of their classes
Hempfield and Penn-Trafford played each other in the softball season opener. Who knew it was a preview of two of the best — maybe the best — hitting teams in the WPIAL? Both have been putting the business end of the bat on the ball with crushing regularity, a couple...
Central Catholic grad Neal Shipley earns first win as professional
Pittsburgh’s Neal Shipley was introduced to the golf world at large last year when he earned low amateur honors at the Masters and U.S. Open. Now he has his first professional win. Shipley, a 24-year-old Central Catholic graduate, outlasted Seungtaek Lee of South Korea in a five-hole playoff to win...
Westmoreland high school notebook: More Division I offers for Hempfield’s Heisler
The recruiting process is coming in waves for Brock Heisler. The junior from Hempfield is lining up a Division I college football career and has plenty of options when it comes to his future destination. But he is handling the endeavor with poise. “I always knew I wanted to play...
Fox Chapel, Seton Hill product Patrick Monteverde promoted to Marlins
Pitcher Patrick Monteverde is on his way to the big leagues. The 27-year-old left-hander out of Fox Chapel received a call-up Saturday to the Miami Marlins. He had been with the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp of the International League. Monteverde, who played at Seton Hill and is the first Griffins...
Franklin Regional grad Jake Williams shines in final season at Yale
You could say Jake Williams is a gap hitter. But it doesn’t take a spray chart to figure that out. No, the former Franklin Regional baseball standout made the most of a gap year — a year off between high school and college — to get his game right for...
Franklin Regional notebook: Panthers standouts make college decisions
Franklin Regional soccer player Addison Ayres committed to play at Division III Allegheny College. Ayres is a junior goalkeeper. She was an all-section pick last season when she made 107 saves and posted seven shutouts in 17 games. She made 22 saves in a 3-2 loss to Montour in the...
Norwin notebook: Track and field teams sweep at Tri-State Coaches meet
Norwin made it a clean sweep at the Tri-State Track and Field Coaches Association Championships at West Mifflin, cruising to boys and girls team titles. Ryan Schiller won the 110- and 300-meter hurdles and helped the 1,600-meter relay to victory. His time of 38.85 seconds in the 300 hurdles is...
Penn-Trafford baseball uses extra-base hits to sink Hempfield in nonsection matchup
Oftentimes, Penn-Trafford’s approach is to move baserunners over, create opportunities and scrape runs together, one at a time. The small-ball formula can look clinical when this baseball team does it. It worked out well last spring when the Warriors won a WPIAL championship. The Warriors, though, were in the mood...
Mt. Pleasant champion swimmer David Mutter finds new college home
Mt. Pleasant All-American swimmer David Mutter rebooted his recruitment when Alabama pulled his scholarship at the beginning of the year because of SEC- and NCAA-imposed roster cuts. But the standout has a new college target. Mutter, a specialist in the butterfly, committed to St. Bonaventure (N.Y.) and will soon sign...
Jeannette to name basketball court at playground after Lamont ‘Showboat’ Robinson
Showboat’s got next. Jeannette is honoring a proud alum by naming the longtime basketball court at the West Jeannette playground after him. Lamont “Showboat” Robinson Court will be dedicated in August to honor a former Jayhawks player who made a name for himself on the comedy hoops circuit with the...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Penn-Trafford battle-tested by top-flight competition
Penn-Trafford went from unranked to No. 1 in the TribLive HSSN Class 5A top-5 softball rankings after an impressive string of wins. Coach Denny Little doesn’t put much stock in rankings but acknowledges teams will be coming for the Warriors. Penn-Trafford (8-1, 5-0) has beaten defending PIAA champion Thomas Jefferson,...
Former Latrobe catcher brings same passion to coaching ranks at Albert Gallatin
Former Latrobe softball standout Makayla Munchinski has been out of college at Cal (Pa.) for only a short time, but she already has a coaching job. Munchinski is a first-year head coach at Albert Gallatin. The former catcher who played an extra in the streaming series “A League of Their...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Postseason series format could be gaining steam
Imagine a best-of-three baseball series to determine who advances in the WPIAL playoffs, or a two-out-of-three set to decide a championship. Coaches have been clamoring for the concept since 2021 when the WPIAL went to three-game series in Class 6A and two-game series in the other classes for regular-season section...
Penn-Trafford softball cools off Franklin Regional in 1st-place showdown
Pitcher Allyson Paulone wasn’t overpowering, but she didn’t have to be. She didn’t get too excited or nervous because, well, that just isn’t her style. The even-keeled Penn-Trafford sophomore trusted her defense to make plays and the offense to keep hitting Monday in a first-place softball matchup in Murrysville. It...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Locals lead PSAC in home runs
A pair of local baseball sluggers have been swinging for the fences. They were leading the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in home runs. Seton Hill sophomore Jakob Haynes (Penn-Trafford) and IUP junior Elijah Dunn (Norwin) each had 10 homers heading into the weekend to share the top spot in the...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Greensburg Central Catholic’s Vacanti to play in England
While it might seem generally unconventional, Jackson Vacanti sees his approach to post-prep soccer as the way to go. The senior at Greensburg Central Catholic is taking his talents to west England, where he will play for the University Developmental Academy at the University of Chester. He will still attend...
