Apr 5, 2022 7 min read

High school baseball

Patrick Holaren fired a four-hit shutout and struck out 12 as Jefferson-Morgan blanked host Monessen 11-0 in five innings Tuesday in Class A Section 2.

The Rockets (2-0, 3-0) swept the two-game series with the Greyhounds (0-2, 0-4).

Holaren allowed only four singles, did not walk a batter and helped his cause by going 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs and two RBI as J-M’s leadoff hitter.

Colin Bisciglia also had a triple for the Rockets. Easton Hanko and Morgan Sisler each doubled.

• Adam Wolfe went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs and three RBI, powering Fort Cherry to a 16-4 five-inning win over visiting Clairton in Class 2A Section 4.

The win keeps Fort Cherry (3-0, 3-0) undefeated as the Rangers swept the two-game series.

FC’s Louis Serafin drove in four runs, Mitchell Cook was 3-for-3 with two doubles, and Dylan Rogers and Ryan Craig each doubled.

All the offense backed the winning pitching of Ryan Steele, who allowed three hits and struck out seven.

• Burgettstown exploded for 12 runs over the last three innings to rout Carlynton, 14-2, in Class 2A Section 4.

A.J. Kuzior had two hits and drove in four runs, Andrew Bredel knocked in three runs and Eric Kovach doubled, singled and had three RBI. Sam Elich had two RBI for the Blue Devils (4-0, 4-1).

Carlynton fell to 1-2 overall, 0-2 in the section.

• Ryan Parise’s two-run single capped Chartiers-Houston’s four-run second inning and the Bucs went on to a 5-1 win over Brentwood in Class 2A Section 4.

The Bucs (2-2, 2-3) swept the two-game series against Brentwood. C-H won 7-0 on Monday.

Ryan Opfer and Keegan Kosek gave the Bucs another strong pitching performance. Opfer allowed one run over five innings and struck out eight. Kosek followed with two shutout innings.

C-H’s Anthony Romano and Nico Filosi each hit a double.

• West Greene broke open a close game by scoring eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and defeated Mapletown 12-2 in Class A Section 2.

Winning pitcher Corey Wise threw a three-hitter and struck out 11. Two of the hits Wise surrendered were doubles by A.J. Vanata.

West Greene’s Hunter Hamilton also smacked two doubles. Dalton Lucey had a triple, and Morgan Kiger and Johnnie Lampe each contributed a double.

West Greene swept the two-game series.

• Defending state champion Bethel Park completed a two-game sweep of Trinity by defeating the Hillers 16-3 in five innings in Class 5A Section 4.

Bethel Park (2-0, 4-0) scored in every inning but did most of its damage during an 11-run third inning.

Kaden Hathaway belted a two-run homer for Trinity in the third inning. The Hillers’ Matthew Robaugh had a double.

• Southmoreland scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and defeated visiting Waynesburg 3-0 for a split of their two-game series in Class 3A Section 4.

The game was a pitchers’ duel between Southmoreland’s Ty Keffer and Waynesburg’s Lincoln Pack. Keffer tossed a three-hitter with nine strikeouts while Pack fired a four-hitter.

The game was scoreless until the sixth. Southmoreland (1-1, 1-1) had runners on first and third with one out when Keffer hit a ground ball that was fielded and thrown to home plate too late get Owen King, who scored the game’s first run. After a groundout, the Scotties’ David Billheimer delivered a two-run single.

• Eric Link’s three-run triple highlighted a seven-run sixth inning as West Mifflin defeated visiting Belle Vernon 7-3 in Class 4A Section 3.

The teams split their two-game series.

Belle Vernon (1-2, 1-2) took a 1-0 lead in the sixth on an RBI double by Andrew Sokol. The Leopards scored three times in the top of the seventh.

• Mark Stanley had three hits, two RBI and two runs in a 16-1 win over Avella that was stopped after four innings.

Nick Vitale had a double, triple, drove in two and scored twice for the Scotties (2-0, 2-1). Tyler Staub singled and scored twice. Brennan Porter scored twice and had an RBI.

Gavin Frank doubled in the only run for Avella (0-2, 0-3).

High school softball

Paige McAvoy had a double among her three hits, drove in two runs and scored a run Tuesday to power Chartiers-Houston to a 6-2 victory over Burgettstown in a Class 2A Section 1 game.

Ella Richey and Hanna Richey each had a single, RBI and scored a run for the Bucs (2-0, 4-1).

• Dani Vecchio hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth to give Ringgold a 6-4 victory over Uniontown in Class 4A Section 2.

Vecchio set down the last 22 batters she faced for the Rams (1-1, 2-2). The Rams tied the game with a run in the top of the seventh on a groundout by Emma Nolff.

Summer Hawk and Sequia Dunlap each hit solo home runs for Uniontown (0-1, 0-1).

Madison Kozares hit a solo home run for Burgettstown (0-1, 2-3).

• Carmichaels was leading California 11-2 in the fourth inning when the Class 2A Section 3 game was suspended because of rain.

Big 12 commissioner

Bowlsby to step down

Bob Bowlsby will step away from his role as Big 12 commissioner later this year after a decade in the Power Five conference that’s facing a transition in membership and negotiations over a new media rights deal – like it was when he first took the job.

Bowlsby will remain as the Big 12’s leader until a new commissioner is appointed. The expectation then is that Bowlsby, whose contract goes into 2025, will transition into an interim role with the league.

“After more than 40 years of serving in leadership roles in intercollegiate athletics, including the last 10 with the Big 12, and given the major issues that college sports in general and the Big 12 specifically will address in the next several years, I have reached a natural transition point in my tenure as commissioner, as well as in my career,” the 70-year-old Bowlsby said in a statement Tuesday.

When Bowlsby arrived in 2012, the Big 12 was coming off a two-year period when it lost four schools to three other conferences and at times appeared to be on the brink of collapse before settling as a 10-team league with the additions of TCU and West Virginia.

Within weeks after Oklahoma and Texas accepted formal invitations to join the SEC last August, the Big 12 expanded by adding BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston.

In the NHL

Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf will retire at the conclusion of the regular season, ending his 17-year NHL career spent entirely with one club.

The 36-year-old Getzlaf made his announcement Tuesday. The Ducks have 11 games left in what’s almost certain to be their fourth consecutive non-playoff season.

In the NBA

Gene Shue, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year who won 784 games with the Bullets, 76ers and Clippers, has died. He was 90.

A five-time All-Star as a player for the Pistons, Shue went on to coach for more than two decades. He took the Baltimore Bullets to the NBA Finals in 1971, then did the same with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1977. He is still the record holder for the Washington-Baltimore franchise with 522 victories.