Apr 13, 2022 10 min read

High school baseball

Tyler Groves threw a six-hit complete game as Waynesburg dealt Charleroi its first loss of the season Wednesday, 10-1, in Class 3A Section 4.

Charleroi (3-1, 5-1) had been the last remaining team in the section that was unbeaten in league play.

Groves struck out seven and walked two as Waynesburg moved its records to 2-2 and 2-3. The Raiders and Cougars split their two-game series.

Waynesburg’s Lincoln Pack tripled and drove in three runs, Mason Switalski went 3-for-4 with three RBI, and Jake Stephenson, Derek Turcheck and Matt Ankrom each contributed a double.

• Monessen snapped a 16-game losing streak with a 12-2 home win over Mapletown in Class A Section 2.

Monessen (1-2, 1-4), which last won April 6, 2021 against Bishop Canevin, led 3-2 before exploding for four runs in the fifth and five in the sixth to end the game.

Winning pitcher Dante DeFelices, Kody Kuhns, Jack Sacco and R.J. DiEugenio each hit a double for the Greyhounds. Sacco and DeFelices both drove in three runs.

Landon Stevenson and Jeremiah Mick had doubles for Mapletown (0-3, 2-3). Losing pitcher A.J. Vanata struck out 10 in 3 1/3 innings.

• Trenton Carter struck out 12 over six innings and Jacob Fordyce drove in four runs as Carmichaels remained unbeaten with a 14-2 win over Washington in Class 2A Section 1.

Carter allowed only three hits and two runs (one earned) as the Mikes moved to 2-0 in section and 3-0 overall. Carmichaels has won 12 consecutive regular-season games dating back to last year.

Fordyce went 3-for-5 with two doubles. Tyler Richmond tripled and Liam Lohr drove in three runs.

Michael Shallcross tripled and had two of the four hits by Wash High (1-1, 2-3).

• Ringgold used two errors by Belle Vernon in the bottom of the eighth inning to score the winning run as the Rams rallied for a 3-2 win in Class 4A Section 3.

The teams split their two-game series with Belle Vernon (2-3, 2-3) winning 3-2 Tuesday night.

Ringgold (1-3, 2-4) trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh. Chad Behrendt’s two-out single scored Lorenzo Glasser to force extra innings.

• Ethan Varesko threw a five-inning shutout and Greg Nopwasky drove in three runs in Beth-Center’s 12-0 win over visiting Frazier.

Vresko dominated as he allowed only three hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 10.

Nopwasky went 3-for-3 with a double. Dylan Kninzer and Riley Henck also doubled for the Bulldogs (1-1, 1-3). Noah Ritchie had a double for Frazier (0-2, 0-4).

• Chartiers-Houston scored seven runs in the top of the first inning and went on to a 14-7 win over Clairton in Class 2A Section 4.

The Bucs (3-2, 5-3) swept the two-game series and have won four in a row.

Jake Mele had a bases-clearing double and drove in four runs for C-H. Anthony Romano doubled and drove in three to support winning pitcher Ryan Parise.

• Greensburg Central Catholic finished off a doubleheader sweep against Jefferson-Morgan, winning the completion of Monday’s game, 10-0, and defeating J-M Wednesday, 5-1, in a Section 2 game in Class 1A.

In the Monday-scheduled game, John Weigers allowed three hits, struck out five and walked two in seven innings. John Tropeano doubled and drove in three,

In Wednesday’s game, Patrick Holaren was the tough-luck loser, striking out five and walking two for the Rockets (2-2, 3-2). Mike McCready pitched three scoreless innings of relief for GCC (2-2, 2-3).

• Allen John Novacek pitched three-hit ball over five innings and Yough defeated visiting McGuffey 11-1 in Class 3A Section 4, splitting the two-game series.

Yough (2-2, 3-4) took advantage of seven McGuffey errors and combined them with three doubles, including one by Novacek.

McGuffey (1-3, 3-5) had a double from Brock Wallace and two singles by Logan Carlisle.

• Our Lady of Scared Heart completed a two-game series sweep of Avella, defeating the host Eagles 11-0 in five innings in Class A Section 1.

The Chargers (5-0, 5-1), who have won five straight, led 5-0 after four innings before scoring six times in the fifth.

Noah Markle smacked a double for one of the four hits by Avella (0-4, 0-6).

High school softball

Chartiers-Houston started hitting Tuesday and hasn’t stopped.

One day after scoring 29 runs against Aliquippa, Chartiers-Houston put up 13 runs in the first inning and went on to a 19-0 victory over Carlynton in a three-inning Class 2A Section 1 game.

The Bucs had 19 hits and Meadow Ferri tossed a no-hitter, striking out five.

Paige McAvoy led the onslaught by C-H (4-0, 6-1) as she went 3-for-3 with two triples, a double and three RBI. Ella Richey smacked two doubles. Nicolette Kloes doubled and drove in four, and Bella Hess, Emily Winters and Alexis Brodnik each had a double.

• Layla Sherman smacked two doubles, drove in four runs and pitched four innings, powering Burgettstown to a 6-3 win over Fort Cherry in Class 2A Section 1.

It was the first section win for Burgettstown (1-2, 4-4). The Blue Devils forged a 5-2 lead and then turned to relief pitcher Julia Jastrzebski, who struck out seven in three innings.

Burgettstown’s Peyton Mermon went 3-for-4 and scored two runs.

• Morgan Stephenson, the No. 9 hitter in Waynesburg’s order, smacked two doubles and drove in three, leading the Raiders to an 11-5 win over McGuffey in Class 3A Section 3.

The Raiders (2-0, 4-1) had a 13-hit attack behind the winning pitching of Kendall Lemley.

Mackenzie Shrader hit a home run for McGuffey (0-2, 0-2).

• Carmichaels used a 15-hit attack to defeat Beth-Center 15-5 in six innings and remain unbeaten in Class 2A Section 3.

The Mikes (3-0, 5-1) did not score in the first inning, were tied 1-1 after two, then scored six times in the third to take control.

For Carmichaels, Sophia Zalar went 3-for-4 and scored three times, Kaitlyn Waggett was 3-for-4 with a triple, Ali Jacobs smacked a triple and a double to go with four RBI, and Carlee Roberts and Kendall Ellsworth each doubled.

• West Greene evened its overall record at 3-3 and remained unbeaten in Class A Section 2 with a 16-6 win in five innings over Avella in a game played at Jefferson-Morgan.

Kiley Meek was the winning pitcher, striking out six.

London Whipkey went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI to lead the Pioneers (3-0 in section) at the plate. Katie Lampe drove in three and Meek smacked a solo home run. Taylor Karvan added a double.

Hannah Bower and Riley Ullom each had a double for Avella (0-2, 0-3).

• Sophia Celaschi fired a one-hitter and belted a three-run game-ending homer in the fifth inning as Charleroi defeated Bentworth 10-0 in five innings in Class 2A Section 3.

Celaschi walked two and struck out 12. The lone hit by Bentworth (0-3, 0-4) was a single by Jaclyn Tatar.

Riley Jones drove in two runs for Charleroi (1-1, 1-3). Seven different Cougars had at least one RBI.

• Frazier’s Nicole Palmer threw her second no-hitter in as many days as the Commodores blanked California 10-0 in five innings in Class 2A Section 3.

Palmer walked only one batter and struck out 11 as Frazier improved to 4-0 in section and 5-0 overall.

California is 1-1 in section and overall.

• Yough scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge Belle Vernon 8-7 despite a huge game by the Leopards’ Maren Metikosh.

Yough improved to 3-1 in Class 4A Section 2 and Belle Vernon fell to 2-2, 3-3-1. The Cougars overcame a 7-4 deficit in the fifth inning.

Metikosh went 4-for-4 with three doubles, a home run and five RBI. Lexi Daniels also homered for the Leopards and scored three runs.

• Emma Henry fired a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts as Greensburg Central Catholic dealt Mapletown its first loss, 15-0 in five innings, in Class A Section 2.

Henry helped her cause with a double, one of six extra-base hits by GCC (2-0, 5-2). Bailey Kuhns had a home run and triple.

The lone hit for Mapletown (2-1, 3-1) was a single by Hannah Hartley.

• Chartiers Valley scored seven runs in the fourth inning to erase a deficit and went on to defeat South Fayette 12-4 in Class 5A Section 4.

Stephanie Binek had a triple and double for South Fayette (1-3, 4-4).

College baseball

A seven-run third inning allowed Washington & Jefferson to gain an early lead and complete the Presidents’ Athletic Conference series sweep of Waynesburg with a 10-1.

The Presidents (11-0, 18-6) have won 15 straight games over Waynesburg dating back to the 2017 season. That is the longest active winning streak for W&J over any PAC opponent. W&J currently has a 12-game winning streak overall.

Joe Lehner doubled and drove in three runs to back five W&J pitchers.

Bryce Bedilion tripled for Waynesburg (7-16 overall).

Four Backyard Brawls added

Pitt and West Virginia, set to meet in four consecutive football seasons beginning this September, have added four additional contests beginning in 2029.

The current home-and-home agreement spans the 2022-25 seasons.

Following a three-year break, the Panthers and Mountaineers will meet each season from 2029-32. Pitt will host the initial contest and 2031.

Women’s lacrosse

Amanda Effland registered a season-high eight points as Washington & Jefferson used a fast start to roll to a 15-7 win at Franciscan on Wednesday.

In the NBA

Trae Young bounced back from a sluggish start to score 24 points and De’Andre Hunter led a third-quarter surge that carried the Atlanta Hawks to a 132-103 rout of the Charlotte Hornets in an Eastern Conference play-in game Wednesday night.

The Hawks, who finished ninth in the East after a surprising run to the conference final a year ago, will travel to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Friday night.

The winner claims the No. 8 seed in the East and will face the top-seeded Miami Heat in the opening round of the playoffs.

In the NHL

Kaapo Kakko scored a pair of goals and Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves to lead the New York Rangers to a 4-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.

Artemi Panarin and Andrew Copp also scored for New York, which has won four of five. Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba each had two assists.

The Rangers remained in second place in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind idle Carolina. The Hurricanes skated to a 4-2 win over the Rangers in New York on Tuesday night.