Dave Mackall stories, Page 16
Valley wins playoff section showdown vs. Burrell baseball
Section rivals Valley and Burrell got together again Tuesday night for another baseball encounter, but the stakes were much higher this time in a preliminary-round WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Highlands. While Valley came up short against its neighbors from Burrell in both regular-season Section 3 games, the Vikings...
Seton Hill softball falls short of NCAA berth despite strong season under 1st-year coach
On a day before the Seton Hill softball team was to learn the outcome of a potential return trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament, coach Cassie Moore and her fiance were continuing their restoration project of a 100-year-old house situated in the apple orchards region near Follansbee, W.Va. The...
Underdog Gateway, top-seeded Sewickley Academy win WPIAL team tennis titles
Gateway’s first WPIAL team tennis championship in 35 years sparked a merry post-match celebration Wednesday on the lower courts at Washington & Jefferson’s Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center. Players, coaches and fans mingled amid a chaotic chatter. “I’m so excited,” Gateway coach Emily Levine shouted. “Hey, ‘Let’s Go, Gators,’ right?...
Freeport capitalizes on East Allegheny mistakes to set up section title showdown
There weren’t many hits by either baseball team Tuesday, but there were enough errors made by one to provide plenty of baserunners for the other. Freeport was happy to oblige. The Yellowjackets took advantage of some sloppy defense by East Allegheny in the opener of a two-game, home-and-home series to...
Penn-Trafford powers through in win over Franklin Regional
Penn-Trafford continues to play through the pain. The Warriors baseball team Monday lost another key player to an injury — its fourth this season — but went on to its third consecutive victory and seventh in the past eight games, beating Franklin Regional, 7-5, at Murrysville’s Haymaker Park, and delaying...
Ace Lexie Hames fans 19 as Seneca Valley wins Class 6A showdown with Norwin
Like mother, like daughter? Or something like that. Lexie Hames has picked up where her mother, Marlesse Hames, left off. Or something like that. “She’s 10 times better than me. She’s a better athlete than I was, for sure,” Seneca Valley softball coach Marlesse Hames said of her daughter, sophomore...
Riverview’s Enzo Lio throws shutout in Raiders’ bounceback win vs. Ligonier Valley
The Riverview baseball team ended a string of 13 scoreless innings, sending nine batters to the plate during a four-run fourth that sparked a 7-0 victory Monday at Ligonier Valley. Raiders left-hander Enzo Lio limited the Rams to two hits and one walk while striking out 11 as Riverview (7-3,...
Hempfield boys volleyball finding success early on relying on its ‘2 varsity teams’
Boys volleyball practices at Hempfield this season have been like nothing Owen Kelley has seen in his four-year association with the Spartans program. “We have 13 guys that see varsity time, which is a full second team,” Kelley said. “In the past, the varsity would practice against the (junior varsity)...
Frazier softball offense erupts in 6th inning for win over Jeannette
It hardly seems fair that the Frazier softball team, a state championship contender for years in Class 2A, was reassigned this season to the Class A level. The Commodores have demolished their past six opponents by an average of 14 runs after opening the season with a loss to Class...
Penn-Trafford boys volleyball gets past Hempfield in ‘classic match’
Jim Schall has coached in some intense and high-quality high school volleyball settings during his considerable time on the bench, but he ranked Thursday night’s Penn-Trafford-Hempfield match right up with the best of them. Schall’s Penn-Trafford Warriors came away with a 3-1 home victory that was tougher than it appeared....
Burrell puts pressure on Freeport, wins section showdown
The Burrell baseball team is rolling along, despite coach Mark Spohn’s occasional declarations of despair. “We looked better today than we did the last time out,” he said. “We had a couple (of mistakes) where we didn’t get some runs in. Those are things we’ll go over.” Nevermind that the...
After dropping to Class 2A, Latrobe boys volleyball ready for role as WPIAL favorite
Minutes after exiting the court following Latrobe’s 3-2 loss to Hempfield, Drew Vosefski flashed a smile at a well-wisher. “It’s early,” the Latrobe boys volleyball coach said over the noise of fans disbursing from the Latrobe High School gymnasium. In a battle of neighboring rivals with a history of ultra-competitive...
Freeport’s Hanz shines in 5-inning win vs. Deer Lakes
Whether Freeport’s Michael Hanz will keep making a jump or eventually flame out is a common question for potential phenom baseball pitchers. After all, Hanz is one of those rare young fellows whose fastball touches the upper-80s and who is capable of consistently throwing the rest of his arsenal for...
Burrell takes advantage of Valley miscues to win renewal of baseball rivalry
Baserunning miscues, walks galore, a period of moderate rain and perhaps, surprisingly, no errors made for a quirky but typical March baseball game in Western Pennsylvania. In the end, visiting Burrell on Monday came away with a 7-2 victory over neighboring Valley in a renewal of their WPIAL rivalry in...
Special season has community buzzing about Deer Lakes basketball
All along the main drag, as usual, business carried on in the village of Russellton. Shoppers headed in and out of the Deer Lakes Plaza, near the Russellton Fields soccer complex. Down the way, a man refueled his car at Trocki’s Service. Beyond there, at Tatoni’s Restaurant and Ale House,...
Union’s postseason run rolls on with PIAA semifinal win
If ever an adage was suited for Class A athletics, bet on the old “we-wear-many-hats” proverb. Just ask Union girls basketball coach Rob Nogay what goes into creating a successful season at Pennsylvania’s smallest high school level. Generally, with limited resources, the multi-tasking never ends. “I got this job four...
After guiding Pitt-Johnstown men’s basketball to 566 wins and counting, Bob Rukavina set to join school’s hall of fame
As a basketball player at Riverview High School, Bob Rukavina could dish the rock with the best of them. Later in life, in geezer pickup games, he was money off the glass from the left wing. Yet, what he seems most to have done well in his 66 years so...
Duquesne’s season ends with loss in 1st round of CBI
A men’s basketball season of promise for Duquesne came to a screeching halt Sunday in an 84-78 first-round loss to Rice at the College Basketball Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla. Still, Duquesne finishes the year with a 20-13 record, a remarkable turnaround from last season’s 6-24 debacle that represented the...
Duquesne settles in for opening CBI game in Florida
As he was relaxing following a team meal along Florida’s East Coast, Keith Dambrot’s phone began to ring. The Duquesne men’s basketball coach answered and a reporter greeted him on the other end. “How are things going down there, coach?” the caller inquired while noticing the background noise from a...
Deer Lakes boys looking to make school history in PIAA quarterfinals vs. Neshannock
Colin Kadlick remembers well when his mom babysat Aiden Fletcher — yes, that Aiden Fletcher, the son of the Deer Lakes boys basketball coach, the kid currently playing hoops for his dad, Albie Fletcher. “It seems like yesterday that Aiden was at my house,” said Kadlick, a basketball player at...
Deer Lakes jumps on Loyalsock Township, rolls into PIAA quarterfinals
ALTOONA — Albie Fletcher makes no secret about where his loyalty lies. “We’re excited to keep our community following us,” Deer Lakes’ first-year boys basketball coach and 1993 school alum said Wednesday night in the moments after the Lancers advanced to the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals for the second time...
Highlands drops Johnstown to cruise into PIAA 2nd round
JOHNSTOWN — With some light snow predicted for the ridges of Cambria County, the Highlands boys basketball team set out on a 65-mile trip to Johnstown for its PIAA Class 4A first-round game hoping to avoid any slick spots. When the Rams hit the floor Friday night at Johnstown High...
Cold-shooting Duquesne upset by La Salle in Atlantic 10 Tournament
One look at the anguished expressions was all it took to feel the despair. A season full of surprise and its share of highlights ended in disappointment Wednesday night for the Duquesne men’s basketball team in its first game of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament as No. 11 La Salle...
Duquesne set to put loss in regular-season finale in past, focus on Atlantic 10 Tournament
One-by-one, they stepped to the free-throw line. Clang! … Swish! … Swish! … Clang! … For every miss by a Duquesne basketball player, there was a chance for everyone to run the floor. A make, of course, bought some extra time. Two days removed from their worst loss of the...
Frazier’s Lawrence emerges with 189-pound title at Class 2A Southwest Regional
ALTOONA — It didn’t take long for Rune Lawrence to flash the brilliance of his skills in the sport he loves. Frazier’s dominating 189-pound junior showed why he’s a two-time PIAA Class 2A wrestling champion by registering the only fall in the finals of the Southwest Regional championship tournament Saturday...
