Apr 22, 2022 10 min read

High school baseball

Jack Kail drove in four runs and Peters Township scored in every inning after the third, including a five-run fourth to hammer defending state champion Bethel Park, 11-2, Friday in Class 5A Section 4.

Wes Parker homered, singled and knocked in two runs and Drew Ripepi had a double and two RBI for PT, which is perfect in the section at 6-0 and overall at 9-0.

This was the second straight win for Peters Township over BP. Peters Township won a 6-5 decision in nine innings Wednesday.

Parker pitched the final three shutout innings to pick up the win. He and starter Luke Markowski did not allow an extra-base hit.

PT took advantage of five errors by Bethel Park (4-2, 5-2).

• McGuffey made two first-inning runs hold up in defeating Southmoreland, 2-1, in a Class 3A game in Section 4.

Back-to-back RBI by Logan Carlisle and Austin Hall made it 2-0. Hall was outstanding on the mound for the Highlanders (2-4, 3-7), allowing five hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked no one. Hall also tripled.

Southmoreland (4-1, 5-2) cut McGuffey’s lead in half by scoring an unearned run in the fourth inning.

• Luke Ammon’s single scored Greg Nopwasky and capped Beth-Center’s three-run bottom of the seventh inning as the Bulldogs rallied to edge Washington, 10-9 in Class 2A Section 1.

Washington (2-3, 3-5) had scored three times in the sixth to take a 9-7 lead. In the B-C seventh, the Bulldogs rallied and tied the score with the two runs scoring on consecutive bases-loaded hit batsmen, which was followed by Ammon’s game-winner.

Nopwasky had a double and scored twice for B-C (3-1, 3-3), which is tied for first place in the section. Riley Henck was the winning pitcher in relief.

Mario Griffin and Nate Blanchette each had a triple for Wash High (2-3, 3-5), and Michael Shallcross and Zxavian Willis doubled. Willis drove in three.

• Carmichaels bounced back from its first loss of the season with an 8-0 shutout of visiting Bentworth in Class 2A Section 1.

Drake Long pitched a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts as the Mikes improved to 3-1 in section and 4-1 overall.

Long helped his cause with double. Ty Richmond also doubled and drove in a pair of runs.

The teams will meet again this morning at Bentworth (3-1, 3-2) with first place in the section on the line.

• Avella used stellar pitching to sweep a Class A Section 1 doublehader from Cornell, 9-2 and 2-1.

In the opener, Avella (2-4, 2-6) broke open a close game by scoring six runs in the fifth inning to back the one-hit pitching of Camden Georgetti, who struck out eight and did not walk a batter.

Cole Jaworowski had a double and two RBI for Avella and Noah Markle drove in a pair.

In the second game, Isaiah Bradick fired a three-hitter and Avella scored twice in the third inning on a single by Markle that pushed home Bradick and Brian Martos.

• Burgettstown broke open a pitchers’ duel by scoring nine times in the fifth inning and defeated host Brentwood, 10-0, in Class 2A Section 4.

The win keeps Burgettstown (5-0, 7-1) a half-game ahead of Seton LaSalle atop the section standings.

Brodie Kuzior tossed a one-hitter and struck out six for the Blue Devils. Nathan Klodowski led the offense, going 3-for-4 with two runs and double. Eric Kovach and Andrew Bredel each had a double and A.J. Kuzior drove in two runs.

• Dalton Lucey fired a three-hit complete game and opened the scoring with a two-run single as West Greene stayed in command in Class A Section 2 with a 3-1 win over host Bishop Canevin.

West Greene (4-0, 6-3) is the only unbeaten team in the section. The Pioneers were locked in a scoreless tie with Canevin (2-2, 2-2) until Lucey’s hit in the fifth. The Crusaders scored a run in the bottom of the fifth but West Greene added an insurance run in the sixth on an error.

• Lincoln Pack homered, doubled and scored three times, Jake Stephenson drove in three runs and Waynesburg defeated Brownsville 10-3 in Class 3A Section 4.

Pack went 3-for-4 for the Raiders (3-2, 3-6), who received a double from Matt Ankrom. Three Waynesburg pitchers held Brownsville (1-4, 2-4) to five hits, all singles.

• Canon-McMillan did all of its scoring in the fifth inning and defeated Norwin 4-1 in Class 6A Section 2.

Winning pitcher Austyn Winkelblech struck out 13 and allowed only one hit over five shutout innings. Roman Mollenauer pitched the final two innings for a save.

Niko Marinacci had a key run-scoring double in the fifth for C-M (2-4, 2-7). Mollenauer also had a double.

• Ryan Craig had a huge game for Fort Cherry in the Rangers’ 8-2 non-section win over Keystone Oaks.

Craig was the winning pitcher, allowing two runs (one earned) with eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. He also went 4-for-4 with a triple, two doubles, eight total bases and three RBI as the Rangers improved to 5-1.

Adam Wolfe drove in three for Fort Cherry and Mitchell Cook smacked a double.

• Seton LaSalle used a four-run fourth inning to rally and edge visiting Chartiers-Houston in Class 2A Section 4.

The Rebels (4-0, 5-1) trailed 4-1 entering the pivotal fourth inning.

Anthony Romano went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs for C-H (3-3, 5-4), and Justus Buckingham drove in a pair.

• Greensburg Central Catholic hit five extra-base hits on the way to an 13-0 five-inning victory over Monessen in a Section 2 game in Class A.

Zach David hit two doubles, John Tropeano, Johnny Weigers and Brody Bothell each had one for GCC (4-2, 5-2). Weigers pitched five shutout innings, striking out six.

Dante DeFelices and Eli Covington had doubles for Monessen (2-4, 2-6).

• Logan Brown hit a tiebreaking single in the top of the sixth inning as Frazier slipped past Mapletown 4-3 in non-section play.

Frazier trailed 3-2 before scoring twice in the sixth, the first run crossing home plate on an error.

Landan Stevenson was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI for Mapletown (2-5). Danny Fox also had two hits including a double.

• Joe Chambers took a shutout into the seventh inning and finished with a four-hitter as Laurel Highlands defeated Belle Vernon 3-1 in Class 4A Section 3.

High school softball

Sophia Celaschi fired a no-hitter and belted a home run to lead Charleroi to a 7-0 win over visiting Beth-Center on Friday in Class 2A Section 3.

Celaschi struck out 14 and walked only one as she faced the minimum 21 batters with the help of a caught stealing.

Charleroi (3-1, 3-3), which moved into a second-place with Carmichaels, scored three times in the second inning and Celaschi led off the fourth with a home run. McKenna DeUnger had a triple, and Riley Jones, Avery Pendo and Emma Stefancik each contributed a double. Pendo had two RBI, matching Celaschi.

• West Greene overcame a three-run first inning by host Greensburg Central Catholic to beat the Centurions 13-3 in six innings in a game matching the top two teams in Class A Section 2.

The Pioneers (5-0, 5-3) scored in every inning except the fourth and pounded out 16 hits. Leadoff hitter Katie Lampe led WG at the plate, going 4-for-5 with five RBI and three runs. London Whipkey, winning pitcher Kiley Meek and Olivia Kiger each had a double.

GCC fell to 3-1 in section and 6-3 overall. The Centurions had won five in a row.

• Nicole Palmer fired a one-hit shutout and Frazier scored three times in the fourth inning to beat visiting Carmichaels 3-0 in a pivotal game in Class 2A Section 3.

The win keeps Frazier undefeated at 5-0, 7-0. Carmichaels is 3-1 in section and 5-2 overall.

Palmer allowed only a single by Kaitlyn Rohrer. Palmer did not walk a batter and struck out 15. Emilia Bednar had a double for Frazier.

• Brooke Perri struck out 13 and Samantha Booher drove in a pair as Canon-McMillan defeated Baldwin 7-2 in Class 6A Section 1.

Perri scattered seven hits but walked only one as the Big Macs improved to 2-1 in section and 2-2 overall.

• Chartiers-Houston’s hitters keep scoring in bunches. The Bucs had 13 hits en route to an 11-1 win over Burgettstown in Class 2A Section 1.

It was the sixth time the Bucs (6-0, 8-1) have scored in double figures.

Bella Hess went 4-for-4 with a double and triple, Paige McAvoy belted a home run, Emily Swarrow tripled, and Nicolette Kloes, winning pitcher Meadow Ferri and Hannah Richey each doubled.

Layla Sherman and Aubry Krivak doubled for Burgettstown (2-3, 5-5).

• Mt. Pleasant pounded out 16 hits, including nine for extra bases, and defeated visiting McGuffey 12-2 in a six-inning Class 3A Section 3 game.

Ally Jones and Krista Brunson each homered for Mt. Pleasant (2-3, 3-6) and Kite Hutter had two doubles.

McGuffey (0-3, 0-3) had a double by Mackenzie Shrader.

College baseball

Washington & Jefferson College had its 17-game winning streak come to an end Friday in a 2-1 road loss to Saint Vincent.

The Presidents are 16-1 in conference play and 23-7 overall. The Bearcats, who are currently in second play in the PAC, have won 14 straight and are 14-2 in league play and 18-8 overall.

In the bottom of the 11th, Jordan Sabol produced a one-out double then TJ Dailey was walked intentionally to set up a double play chance. W&J pitcher Kamden Kautz induced a ground ball to Jason Gregovits, who retired the Saint Vincent runner at second for the second out. However, LaDuca briefly lost control of the ball on the exchange at second base. That allowed Sabol to advance home for the winning run.

In the NBA

The NBA playoff game between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks was delayed Friday night after a suspicious package was found outside State Farm Arena.

The tipoff was pushed back nearly an hour while police investigated the package. Three gates were closed while security personnel made sure there was no danger.

The package was found near the stairwell that provides access to a MARTA subway station at the arena.

The game finally began shortly before 8 p.m., but many fans in the sellout crowd were still in long lines outside the arena, plodding through security checkpoints that are in place for all games.