Bill Beckner stories, Page 212
Cal (Pa.) hosting golf regional at Totteridge
College golf is coming to the area. Cal (Pa.) will host the NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Region Championships May 9-11 at Totteridge Golf Club near Greensburg. As hosts, the Vulcans receive an at-large bid to the tournament. Twenty teams will compete in the event, which also features an individual competition....
IUP’s Matt Cocorikas takes hot streak into regionals
Matt Cocorikas is on a roll, just in time for the postseason. The IUP senior golfer has won three consecutive tournaments, four overall, this spring season. His latest win came this week in Crofton, Md., when he finished with a 2-under-par 214 to take the Crofton Invitational. He shot a...
Latrobe grad Kokoska finds his ‘place’ with Kansas State baseball
Feeling wanted on a team and knowing you’re in its future plans can do plenty for any baseball player’s confidence. The opposite seemed to happen for Latrobe’s Zach Kokoska, though, when he arrived at Virginia Tech last year. A new coaching staff came in with little to no knowledge of...
Belle Vernon softball to play game at football stadium
Belle Vernon does not have a turf softball field, but that won’t stop the Leopards from playing a home game on an artificial surface Saturday. And a pretty cool one at that. The 10 a.m. game will be played at the school’s football stadium — James Weir Stadium — with...
Sweet victory for Mt. Pleasant baseball, Secosky
Fresh off an extra-inning win, Mike Secosky took a bite out of a chocolate chip cookie loaded with extra M&Ms. Eager to grant an interview request, he shoved the half-eaten treat neatly into the back pocket of his game pants. It peeked out like a batting glove. “I’ll eat it...
WCCC softball hosting conference playoffs
The Westmoreland County Community College softball team earned the top seed in the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference and will host the conference tournament Saturday at Seton Hill University. There are three teams in the bracket. Butler County Community College will play Garrett College (Md.) at noon. WCCC (6-8) will face...
St. Francis (Pa.) hires Keila Whittington as women’s hoops coach
Keila Whittington’s first head coaching job in Division I women’s college basketball will be at Saint Francis (Pa.). A Louisiana native, Whittington replaces Joe Haigh, who resigned after 10 seasons with the program, seven as head coach. Whittington will officially be announced Thursday afternoon during a press conference on Loretto....
Softball coaches walk line between winning and potential over-use of pitchers
While softball is different from baseball when it comes to pitchers’ throwing motion and wear and tear on their arms, a risk of over-usage still exists. Latrobe might have found out the hard way. Jordan Tallman threw 165 pitches against Yough earlier this season. The Wildcats sophomore has been near...
JJ Matijevic homers on consecutive nights
Houston Astros prospect JJ Matijevic enjoyed his first Double-A home run so much on Monday that he belted another one Tuesday night. The former Norwin and Arizona star sent a 1-1 pitch climbing down the first base line and off the foul pole as the Corpus Christi Hooks beat Northwest...
Quartet of ‘pleasant surprises’ helps Penn-Trafford baseball climb to No. 2 ranking in Class 6A
Even the best baseball teams don’t completely know what they have until the section schedule gets rolling. Some returnees pan out, others fade out. Chemistry takes reps to be uncovered and even more reps to be intensified. Penn-Trafford baseball coach Dan Miller has a group of players he calls his...
Hempfield’s Mekayla Dedo commits to Air Force
Hempfield junior Mekayla Dedo sometimes skies to make a block or deliver a kill. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter could be soaring to new heights in the near future, and her volleyball talents could help her get there. Dedo announced Tuesday she will play at the Air Force Academy. An all-section...
Westmoreland campus clippings: GCC grad Collin Liberatore stays unbeaten for Indiana State
Junior pitcher Collin Liberatore is in control of his game at Indiana State. The Greensburg Central Catholic graduate improved to 7-0 this season after working eight strong innings in an 8-2 win Sunday over Evansville. The 6-foot-4 right-hander struck out two and gave up eight hits in the victory. Liberatore,...
Courtney Grove named field hockey coach at Seton Hill
Anybody who followed Seton Hill women’s lacrosse in recent years will know the name Courtney Grove. Now, Griffins field hockey fans will know it as well. The 10th-year coach of the lacrosse team was announced Tuesday as the new field hockey coach. She left Seton Hill in 2011 to become...
Quaker Valley grad Garbee tosses no-hitter for Mercyhurst
Maybe Tyler Garbee should pitch seven innings more often. Garbee, a senior righthander at Mercyhurst, pitched a no-hitter Monday during his second straight complete game performance, a 2-0 victory against host Slippery Rock. The Quaker Valley graduate and Pitt transfer struck out 12, walked one and hit a batter as...
Jeannette softball gaining recognition for section success
As a math teacher at Jeannette, Zac Karas deals with numbers on a daily basis. As the school’s softball coach, he is starting to see things add up. “I was unsure how it would all play out this year,” said Karas, the Jayhawks’ sixth-year coach. “We had a lot of...
Campus clippings: Penn’s Nedley in running for nation’s top freshman
With a fast transition to college softball, and big numbers to match, Emma Nedley has proven she is one of the top freshmen in the Ivy League. But now the Penn outfielder is on a ballot to be considered the nation’s top newcomer. Nedley, a Penn-Trafford graduate, is one of...
Westmoreland lookahead for Week of April 22, 2019
MONDAY Softball Belle Vernon usually doesn’t have to work this hard for a WPIAL playoff spot, but the Leopards are in position to get into the postseason again. A sweep of Ringgold in Section 2-4A could go a long way. TUESDAY Baseball Penn-Trafford, closing in on the Section 2-6A title,...
Fun times for Ligonier Valley baseball under 1st-year coach Marabito
The old pie in the face is a time-honored tradition in baseball, however hokey and overplayed it might be. Players of all levels often get splattered with the sweets during postgame interviews. At Ligonier Valley, an assistant coach got his just desserts at a recent practice because he finished last...
Westmoreland high school notebook: WCCA football showcase returns in May
The Westmoreland County Coaches Association will host its seventh annual Underclassmen Football Showcase 9 a.m. May 11 at Hempfield’s Spartan Stadium. The event has grown exponentially since it’s start. “For a lot of kids, this is their first taste of college recruiting,” WCCA president Larry Sellitto said. “You look at...
Foothills Football Classic postponed for 2019
Logistical issues left the Foothills Football Classic committee with no choice. So, they punted. Organizers have decided to shelve this year’s Westmoreland County all-star game, which was going to be played in June. The committee plans to bring back the game in 2020. Rosters and coaches had not been selected,...
Westmoreland County contingent forms bond with Pitt-Johnstown softball
Scan the diamond at a Pitt-Johnstown softball game, and there are instant flashbacks to Westmoreland County WPIAL softball circa 2017. Four county schools often are represented on the lineup card. Middle infielders from the area turn double plays, and there is even an all-local battery. Five of the top players...
No. 4 Penn-Trafford breaks out bats to defeat rival Norwin
Jordan and Owen Sabol play for rival baseball teams. The former is a senior center fielder for Penn-Trafford, the latter a senior shortstop at Norwin. Despite living in neighboring districts and playing youth baseball together for years, they are not related. “We’ve been playing against each other since seventh grade,”...
Former IUP, Jeannette coach Carl Davis dies
Former IUP and Jeannette basketball coach Carl Davis died Tuesday, according to WCCS Radio in Indiana. He was 85. An IUP and Indiana County hall of famer, Davis had 10 winning seasons in 13 years at IUP, posting 199 wins and nine playoff trips. He won more than 300 games...
Penn-Trafford product Emma Nedley up for national freshman of year
With a fast transition to college softball, and big numbers to match, Emma Nedley has proven she is one of the top freshmen in the Ivy League. But now the Penn outfielder is on a ballot to be considered the nation’s top newcomer. Nedley, a Penn-Trafford graduate, is one of...
Ligonier Valley baseball keeps rolling with nonsection win over Greensburg CC
Michael Marinchak wears protective glasses when he plays basketball and baseball. The specs essentially have become his trademark. So has his accompanying tunnel vision. The Ligonier Valley junior pitcher kept his poise — just like his defense behind him — and showed no apprehension when Greensburg Central Catholic loaded the...
