Dave Mackall stories, Page 10
IUP evens Super Regional series with Seton Hill to force decisive Game 3 Sunday
Let’s play three. IUP’s Davin Landers stroked a three-run homer in the eighth inning Saturday, and the Crimson Hawks edged Seton Hill, 9-8, to even the best-of-three NCAA Division II Atlantic Super Regional series at a game apiece and send the teams to a third, deciding game Sunday. “Nothing better...
Mandler’s homer helps Seton Hill beat IUP in super regional opener
Max Mandler was happy to contribute in such a big way, but the Seton Hill outfielder certainly wasn’t about to accept all the credit. Mandler hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, and Seton Hill’s bullpen made it stand Friday in a 5-4 victory over IUP in the...
IUP baseball coach Steve Kline guides team to 1st Super Regional
For three seasons, from 1999-2001, left-hander Steve Kline led the National League in appearances, averaging 85 per year with Montreal and St. Louis during that time. In all, Kline pitched in 796 games during an 11-year major-league career. All but once he worked in relief — his lone start came...
Thomas Jefferson wins battle of double-digit seeds against Latrobe, earns spot in 5A final
A pair of double-digit softball seeds waited overtime Wednesday night for a chance to meet No. 1 Armstrong in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game next week. After a delayed start of 1 hour and 20 minutes, No. 10 Thomas Jefferson earned a shot at the River Hawks with a...
Seneca Valley seizes momentum after dropping 1st set to zoom past Norwin in boys volleyball quarterfinals
Seneca Valley overcame a slow start Thursday night at Norwin to advance to the semifinals of the WPIAL Class 3A boys volleyball playoffs. The fifth-seeded Raiders, who used a balanced offense in the quarterfinals to eliminate No. 4 Norwin, 3-1, by scores of 22-25, 25-17, 25-20 and 25-17, will face...
Norwin plays mistake-free softball in win over Pine-Richland
Brookelyn Kotch has a message for her Norwin teammates. “Thank you.” Kotch, who managed just two strikeouts, scattered six hits and didn’t walk anyone, and the Knights’ defense played flawlessly as No. 5 seed Norwin advanced in the WPIAL Class 6A softball playoffs with a 3-1 quarterfinal-round victory over No....
Norwin boys capture Section 3-3A volleyball title with narrow win over Penn-Trafford
It took every bit of energy and drive Thursday night for Norwin to hold off Penn-Trafford’s relentless energy and drive in the final regular-season boys volleyball match and escape with a marathon 3-2 victory that clinched the WPIAL Section 3-3A championship. “It’s good to be able to win the section...
Franklin Regional gets gem from Max Bernadowski, edges Penn-Trafford to share section crown
The WPIAL baseball playoffs are a week away, but a postseason atmosphere Tuesday enveloped Haymaker Park in Murrysville, where two senior right-handers dominated on the mound. It was almost a dead-even match between host Franklin Regional and top-ranked Penn-Trafford. “It was like a playoff game,” Penn- Trafford coach Lou Cortazzo said....
Franklin Regional tops Penn-Trafford as section race goes down to final day
Just as Franklin Regional’s defense was turning a sharp grounder into a game-ending double play Monday, the Panthers were spilling onto the field at Penn-Trafford, pumping their fists in unison to celebrate a 6-2 Section 1-5A victory over the top-ranked Warriors. One down, one to go. The teams were scheduled...
Hempfield boys volleyball trying to work out kinks, make push for WPIAL playoff berth
At the midpoint of the boys volleyball season, Hempfield still was trying to hold serve. It seemed the harder the Spartans tried, the more inconsistent they became. It’s been perhaps the one aspect delaying Hempfield’s progress the most. “You don’t want to ask,” Hempfield coach John Howell said, responding to...
After run to ACHA nationals, Latrobe grad Vinny Amatucci transitions quickly to Saint Vincent baseball season
Latrobe is the one place Vinny Amatucci would rather be. He’s a local fella, and he usually doesn’t stray. “I live in the Third Ward. We call it ‘The Hill,’ up on St. Clair Street,” said the 20-year-old sophomore at nearby Saint Vincent, where he’s been a busy guy, majoring...
Hempfield grad David Shearer earns call to Clarion Sports Hall of Fame
His school-record 42 points in a game at Hempfield has stood for 27 years. And David Shearer is not going to lie: He’s proud of it. Long miffed at the lack of recruitment from college coaches, the 45-year-old Shearer is humbled by such an impressive accomplishment in high school. “That...
New coach Dru Joyce III hopes to reward Duquesne’s support
The last time Duquesne hired a men’s basketball coach from inside its own program, things didn’t turn out well. That was then. This is now. Momentum is on Duquesne’s side. Momentum is in Dru Joyce III’s court. “It’s a different strategy, a different way of doing things,” Duquesne athletic director...
Experienced Latrobe boys volleyball team again among Class 2A contenders
Latrobe opened another boys volleyball season last week still aware of the dismal ending of a year ago that saw the team enter the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs as a top seed but come away disappointed following a pair of season-ending losses to eventual WPIAL champion North Catholic and Mars....
Post-Keith Dambrot era could feature familiar face on sideline for Duquesne
The Keith Dambrot era is a wrap. Duquesne’s outgoing basketball coach already had cast his vote for a successor before his last game Saturday night, but the decision ultimately will come from athletic director Dave Harper. Or will it? “Dave’s the boss,” Dambrot said last week during a news conference...
Illini too much as Duquesne’s magical postseason run comes to an end
Lightning-fast layups. NBA-range 3s. Illinois’ calling card this season has been a relentless approach, and it continued with a vengeance Saturday night against Cinderella hopeful Duquesne. The Dukes were run out of the gym. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 30 points and No. 3 seed Illinois opened the throttle to its...
Members of ’09 Dukes who let NCAA bid slip away enjoying ride with current team
Pittsburgh’s namesake school is usually the big man on campus during March Madness, but this year, the Duquesne Dukes are stealing the show, appearing in their first NCAA Tournament in nearly a half-century. While it hasn’t happened often, it might have 15 years ago had the Dukes gotten the right...
Duquesne not ready for ride to end as it preps for Illinois in NCAA Tournament 2nd round
For a team facing the longest odds among eight underdogs in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament games, Duquesne doesn’t appear bothered. It’s been the Dukes’ calling card all season. “It’s all about staying the course, keeping steady, don’t let anything get you out of whack,” said the Dukes’ David Dixon. “If we...
N.C. State scorches Texas Tech as another double-digit seed wins in Pittsburgh
N.C. State opened the NCAA Tournament where it left off in conference play — with a win. The surprising Wolfpack have been doing that a lot lately. Ben Middlebrooks scored a season-high 21 points, Mohamad Diarra went for 17 points and 12 rebounds, and ACC champion N.C. State used its...
No. 11 Duquesne upsets No. 6 BYU, earns 1st NCAA Tournament win since 1969
Duquesne’s players weren’t ready for their coach to retire just yet, and Thursday, playing in the school’s first NCAA Tournament in 47 years, they showed him why. Now, Keith Dambrot is stuck coaching them again. “If we keep winning games, they’re going to make me an old man,” said the...
Coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne going for historic win over BYU in NCAA Tournament
This is it for Keith Dambrot. This is the cherry on top for the diminutive Duquesne basketball coach, who is standing tall in his seventh and final season at Duquesne, where he’ll cap an impressive 22-year run as a Division I head coach. He has won 440 games in Division...
Akron amped for chance to upset Creighton in NCAAs at Pittsburgh
The Akron Zips took the short trip to Pittsburgh this week as the Mid-American Conference’s lone representative in the NCAA Tournament, but Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot, their former longtime coach, won’t be there Thursday to watch his old team take on No. 3 seed Creighton in a Midwest Region first-round game...
Intangibles make DiMichele irreplaceable part of Duquesne’s watershed season
By now, you’ve probably caught wind of it a million times, the story of Jake DiMichele, the Duquesne basketball walk-on whose inspired play has helped lead the Dukes back to the NCAA Tournament after years of futility. What’s one more take on this feel-good vibe? It’s universally understood that DiMichele,...
Duquesne stars from yesteryear celebrate Dukes’ return to NCAA Tournament
The voice on the other end of the line was faint, and there was a dinging sound in the background. “Oh, wait, I need to buckle up my seat belt.” It was Penn Hills resident Moe Barr, the Duquesne basketball star from yesteryear, multi-tasking while talking on his cell phone....
After 47 years, Duquesne is headed back to the NCAA Tournament
Mossie Murphy, this one’s for you. After a 47-year wait, the Dukes can go dancing again. “I’m sure he would be up in the aisle dancing,” former Duquesne great Baron “B.B.” Flenory said of Murphy, the late political consultant from Pittsburgh and Duquesne’s most visible basketball booster back when the...
