sports briefs
Waynesburg eliminated
One of the greatest seasons in recent Waynesburg University athletics history came to a close on Saturday. After setting program records, collecting a pile of All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference accolades and going further than any team has in school history, the Yellow Jacket softball team played its final game of the 2022 campaign, a 6-1 loss to Alfred in an NCAA Division III championship tournament elimination game.
The Saxons (26-15) took advantage of a Waynesburg (27-11) error in the second inning to plate a pair of unearned runs that wound up being the game-winning scores. Alfred held onto its multi-run lead until the bottom of the fourth. Junior leftfielder Reghan Benschoter led off with a double. Two batters later, sophomore first baseman Emma Bliss singled to put runners on the corner with one out.
Freshman starting pitcher Sydney Wilson connected on a deep fly ball to right field that nearly cleared the wall for a three-run Home run. Though the ball was caught, it did allow Benschoter to score and cut Alfred’s lead to 2-1.
Wilson’s pitching and the Jacket defense kept the deficit at one run until the top of the seventh, when an infield single, a stolen base and a wild pitch put a runner on third with no outs for Alfred. That series of events was the beginning of the end for the plucky Jackets. Some very uncharacteristic control problems in the circle, combined with a two-run double allowed the Saxons to rack up four runs during their final at-bats that put the game out of reach.
W&J lacrosse loses
The Washington & Jefferson College women’s lacrosse team put forth a strong effort in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The game came down to the final minute where W&J would ultimately drop a 16-15 decision to Transylvania University. The game was hosted by Washington & Lee University at Watt Field in Lexington, Va.
The two teams would battle through a 60-minute back and forth affair. Neither team led by more than three goals in the match.
Amanda Effland led W&J offensively with a seven-point effort, as the junior finished with five goals and two assists.
In the NBA
In the fog of the Celtics’ Game 5 loss to Milwaukee that dropped his team into a 3-2 series hole, Boston coach Ime Udoka made a prediction.
“It’ll make it sweeter when we bounce back,” he said.
Two wins later, the Celtics turned their coach’s prophecy into reality.
Grant Williams scored a career-high 27 points and hit seven 3-pointers, Jayson Tatum added 23 and Boston set a Game 7 record with 22 3-pointers to eliminate the NBA champion Bucks 109-81 on Sunday in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Celtics will face top-seeded Miami beginning Tuesday in a rematch of the 2020 East finals. The Heat beat the Celtics in six games in that series at Walt Disney World.
Tatum said his team embraced the “backs against the wall” moments it faced in having to win the final two games after their late collapse in their previous home game.
Pony baseball
Tuturice & Associates downed Avella 17-6 in the Founder’s Pony League action.
Nate Pettit, Austin Buchanan and Sam Stout each had a double for Turturice & Associates. William Callan had a triple and home run.
Bryce Wright, Cam Ullem and Brayden Fuller each hit a double for Avella.