High School category, Page 1242
WPIAL Class 3A softball finals preview: Avonworth vs. Keystone Oaks
WPIAL Class 3A softball championship No. 1 Avonworth (19-2) vs. No. 6 Keystone Oaks (13-4) 2:15 p.m. Wednesday at Peterswood Park Coaches: Jenna Muncie, Avonworth; Mark Kaminski, Keystone Oaks Players to watch: Sarah Helffrich, Sr., P, Avonworth; Sophia Piatt, Sr., 2B, Keystone Oaks WPIAL titles: Avonworth 0; Keystone Oaks 0...
WPIAL Class 5A softball finals preview: Connellsville vs. West Allegheny
WPIAL Class 5A softball championship No. 4 Connellsville (16-6) vs. No. 10 West Allegheny (11-7) 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Peterswood Park Coaches: John Burd, Connellsville; Mindi McFate, West Allegheny Players to watch: Mia Burd, Sr., P, Connellsville; Britney Wilson, Jr., C, West Allegheny WPIAL titles: Connellsville 1 (1997); West Allegheny...
Penn-Trafford takes down Franklin Regional, reaches state playoffs for 1st time since ’90
Refreshed and refocused, Penn-Trafford quickly closed the door on a sour loss in the WPIAL softball semifinals and rebounded for a historically significant victory in the Class 5A third-place game. Emma Little and Brooke Cleland each had two hits as the Warriors set the scene early and downed Franklin Regional,...
WPIAL Class 2A baseball final preview: Seton LaSalle vs. Serra Catholic
WPIAL Class 2A baseball championship No. 4 Seton LaSalle (18-2) vs. No. 2 Serra Catholic (20-2) 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Wild Things Park Coaches: Mike Wagner, Seton LaSalle; Brian Dzurenda, Serra Catholic Players to watch: Drew Lafferty, Fr., P, Seton LaSalle; Mark Black, Jr., C, Serra Catholic WPIAL titles: Seton...
Big inning carries South Park past Ellwood City in WPIAL consolation game
A five-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth inning lifted No. 4-seeded South Park to a 5-1 victory over No. 10 Ellwood City in the WPIAL Class 3A consolation softball game Tuesday at Peters Township. Julie Shinavski tossed a two-hitter with eight strikeouts for the Eagles (15-5). Taylor Glowa...
Franklin Regional ends long drought, advances to state playoffs
Franklin Regional ended a long streak Tuesday evening. The Panthers qualified for the PIAA playoffs for the first time since they won the WPIAL Class AAA title in 2001. No. 2-seeded Franklin Regional bounced back from a tough semifinal loss to Laurel Highlands with a 4-1 victory against Mars in...
Top-seeded California defeats Union for 6th WPIAL baseball title
The second time around was bittersweet for California baseball coach Lou Pasquale, who first experienced a WPIAL championship as a Trojans assistant in 2017 before leading the team to a title Tuesday as its head coach. Top-seeded California held off No. 3 Union, 9-6, in the Class A championship game...
Ritchie hits, pitches Leechburg past Jefferson-Morgan in WPIAL Class A consolation game
The old adage about a pitcher helping herself rang true Tuesday for Leechburg’s Emma Ritchie. The sophomore drove in the tying and winning runs on groundouts to third base as the Blue Devils edged Jefferson-Morgan, 3-2, to win the WPIAL Class A softball consolation game. Leechburg (17-2) advances to the...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Derry’s Justin Huss, Franklin Regional’s Rayna Todero
Justin Huss School: Derry Sport: Track and field Year: Junior Claim to fame: Huss set a school record after finishing fifth in the 400-meter run in 49.53 seconds at the PIAA Class AA championships at Shippensburg on Saturday. “I was happy to place fifth. I was seeded sixth going into...
Mt. Pleasant’s Haylie Brunson opens recruitment
Another one of the WPIAL’s top sophomore softball players has opened her recruitment. Mt. Pleasant’s versatile Haylie Brunson decommitted from Louisiana-Lafayette, a school she pledged to as a freshman. She will see what interest begins to materialize this summer during the travel ball season and go from there. “For the...
Knoch takes down Thomas Jefferson to reach PIAA Class 4A softball playoffs
There was plenty of weather swirling around Seton Hill’s softball field Tuesday afternoon. Spotty showers showed up for a few minutes, and a random lightning strike suspended play for 30 minutes. What proved to be more disrupting were the straight-line winds created from the pitcher’s circle by Knoch’s Amanda Fischer...
New Castle, Bernadina top Yough in WPIAL Class 4A consolation game
There weren’t many scoring chances in Tuesday’s WPIAL Classs 4A third-place consolation baseball game. That’s because the starting pitchers from both squads were dominant. New Castle’s run through the postseason continued thanks to sophomore pitcher Rocco Bernadina. The 6-foot-4 right-hander outdueled Yough senior lefty and Pitt recruit Jarett Bach, 1-0,...
Freeport turns the page, sets sights on PIAA tournament berth
The Freeport baseball team turned to a magic elixir to help it move on from last Wednesday’s loss to section rival Steel Valley in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals. Chicken wings. “We ate for about an hour Thursday and kind of forgot about that game and loosened back up a...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Zach Allen, Deer Lakes’ Kiera Cutright
Zach Allen School: Freeport Class: Junior Sport: Baseball Report card: Allen has provided big-time offense for Freeport (14-6) this season, but it was his work on the basepaths that has made a difference this postseason. Allen scored the game’s only run on a Joe Hotalski squeeze bunt in the fourth...
Shaler rolls past Laurel Highlands to win 5th WPIAL baseball championship
Prince sang about partying like it was 1999. The Shaler baseball team is going to take his advice. The Titans beat Laurel Highlands, 8-1, on Tuesday afternoon in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game at Wild Things Park. It’s Shaler’s fifth title and first in 20 years. “I didn’t really...
High school scores, schedules for May 27, 2019
High Schools Baseball WPIAL Playoffs Class 6A Championship Wednesday’s schedule Penn-Trafford (18-3) vs. Pine-Richland (17-4) at Wild Things Park, 7:30 p.m. Consolation Tuesday’s schedule North Allegheny (16-6) vs. Bethel Park (15-4) at Washington & Jefferson College, 7 p.m. Class 5A Championship Tuesday’s schedule Shaler (14-7) vs. Laurel Highlands (14-6) at...
TribHSSN Softball Player of the Week for games of May 20-25, 2019
The Trib HSSN Softball Player of the Week is Laurel senior Kayla Ruperto, who helped lead the defending WPIAL Class 2A champions back to the title game. Laurel isn’t the only team back in the finals. It will be a rematch of the championship game last spring as the Spartans...
Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week for games of May 20-25
The Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week is Beaver senior Mason Rose, who used his arm and his bat to help the Bobcats reach the WPIAL finals for the first time in six years. Beaver will see a familiar foe in the title game Wednesday as it takes on...
Penn-Trafford baseball gets boost from former pro Dana Williams
Like most championship baseball teams, Penn-Trafford relies heavily on its pitching and defense. Of the squad’s 18 wins, the Warriors have allowed two or fewer runs in 11, including four shutouts. However, Penn-Trafford’s offense isn’t too shabby, either. The Warriors have scored 127 runs in 21 games (6.1 per outing)...
WPIAL Class A baseball final preview: California vs. Union
WPIAL Class A baseball championship No. 1 California (17-1) vs. No. 3 Union (15-3) 5 p.m. Tuesday at Wild Things Park Coaches: Lou Pasquale, California; Bill Sanders, Union Players to watch: Jacob Swartz, Sr., P, California; Nate Meeks, Jr., SS, Union WPIAL titles: California 5 (1983, 2001, ‘06, ‘14, ‘17);...
WPIAL Class 3A baseball final preview: Steel Valley vs. Hopewell
WPIAL Class 3A baseball championship No. 4 Steel Valley (12-8) vs. No. 2 Hopewell (15-5) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wild Things Park Coaches: Pat Loughran, Steel Valley; Mike Shuleski, Hopewell Players to watch: Mason Haley, Sr., P, Steel Valley; Jake McGovern, Jr., P, Hopewell WPIAL titles: Steel Valley 1 (2014);...
WPIAL Class 5A baseball final preview: Shaler vs. Laurel Highlands
WPIAL Class 5A baseball championship No. 5 Shaler (14-7) vs. No. 6 Laurel Highlands (14-6) 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wild Things Park Coaches: Brian Junker, Shaler; Scott DeBerry, Laurel Highlands Players to watch: Hunter Boyan, Jr., P/C, Shaler; Justin Brestensky, Jr., OF, Laurel Highlands WPIAL titles: Shaler 4 (1964, ‘80,...
Pennsylvania avenges loss, defeats Maryland in Big 33 game
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania defeated Maryland, 21-0, in the Big 33 Football Classic on Monday afternoon at Landis Field, avenging a 9-6 loss last season. The third Pennsylvania touchdown was scored by Aliquippa wide receiver William Gipson. Midway through the third period, Gipson caught a high floater thrown by Harrisburg quarterback...
Knoch softball team 1 win from 1st berth in state tournament
The Knoch softball team had its eyes on a WPIAL 4A title, but a 4-0 semifinal loss to Elizabeth Forward last week curtailed that goal. However, the Knights knew their season wasn’t over and turned their focus to making the state playoffs for the first time in program history. Knoch...
WPIAL Class 6A baseball final preview: Penn-Trafford vs. Pine-Richland
WPIAL baseball championships Class 6A 1-Penn-Trafford (18-3) vs. 2-Pine-Richland (17-4) 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Wild Things Park, Washington Coaches: Dan Miller, Penn-Trafford; Kurt Wolfe, Pine-Richland Players to watch: Maclean Maund, Sr., P, Penn-Trafford; Matt Wood, Sr., C Pine-Richand WPIAL titles: Penn-Trafford 0; Pine-Richland 5 (2017 6A; ’10 4A; ’06, ’05,...
