Apr 26, 2022 10 min read

High school baseball

One day after suffering a gut-wrenching walkoff loss at Fort Cherry, Chartiers-Houston bounced back Tuesday with one of its best games of the season.

The Bucs’ Ryan Parise fired a two-hit shutout as Chartiers-Houston blanked Fort Cherry 10-0 in six innings Tuesday in a key Class 2A Section 4 game.

The win moves Chartiers-Houston back to .500 in the section at 4-4. The Bucs are 6-5 overall. The loss damaged Fort Cherry’s chances of winning the section title as the Rangers are 5-2 in the league and 6-2 overall.

Parise walked three and struck out 10. He allowed only a pair of singles, one each by Owen Norman and Dylan Rogers.

Parise helped his own cause by going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI. Anthony Romano had two hits including a double, two runs and two RBI. Lane Camden doubled and drove in a pair and Matt Reiger added two RBI.

• Burgettstown completed a home-and-home series sweep of Clairton by routing the Bears 18-3 in three innings in Class 2A Section 4.

The first-place Blue Devils (8-0, 10-1) have won nine in a row. Burgettstown scored seven runs in the first inning and ended the game with a 10-run third.

Nathan Klodowski led Burgettstown at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs and two RBI. Riley Kennedy also doubled and drove in a pair, and Sam Elich had a team-high three RBI.

Brodie Kuzior was the winning pitcher.

The only runs for Clairton (0-9, 0-9) came on a three-run homer by Christian Wade.

• Dalton Lucey pitched a one-hitter as West Greene remained unbeaten in Class A Section 2 with an 8-1 win over Monessen.

The Pioneers swept the two-game series with the Greyhounds to improve to 6-0 in the section and 8-3 overall.

West Greene took advantage of nine errors by Monessen (2-6, 2-8). Morgan Kiger had a double for the Pioneers, who scored twice in the first inning and four times in the third.

That was enough for Lucey, who struck out eight and issued only one walk.

• Isaiah Bradick threw a two-hitter and Avella pounded out 10 hits in an 11-1 win over host Western Beaver in Class A Section 1.

The teams split their two-game home-and-home series. Avella is 3-5 in section and 3-7 overall.

Avella’s Westley Burchianti had two hits and scored three times, Brian Martos had two singles and two runs, and Kenneth Rush smacked a double.

Bradick, who struck out five, helped his cause by contributing a pair of hits.

• Trinity rallied with four runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie Thomas Jefferson, but the Jaguars answered with T.J. Bucy’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Hillers 7-6 in Class 5A Section 4.

Trinity (2-6, 4-9) entered the seventh 6-2. A single by Matthew Smith and ensuing error pushed home two runs for the Hillers. Kaden Hathaway’s RBI groundout made it a one-run game and Jeremy Sikora’s single scored Zach McClenathan to make the score 7-6.

McClenathan had a double, the game’s only extra-base hit.

TJ (6-2, 10-3) scored the game-winner one batter after Trinity threw out a runner at home plate in a bases-loaded situation.

• Allen Novacek pitched six strong innings, Christian Park got the final three outs and Yough defeated Waynesburg 6-2 in Class 3A Section 4.

Yough (5-2, 6-4) swept the two-game series and has won four straight.

The Cougars scored three runs in the first inning and kept Waynesburg (4-4, 4-8) playing catchup the rest of the way.

A triple by Waynesburg’s Lincoln Park was the game’s only extra-base hit. Park went 2-for-3 and scored twice.

• Jacob Patterson and Will Burger combined on a six-hitter and Fox Chapel built an early lead and went on to a 5-3 win over visiting Belle Vernon in a non-section game.

Patterson allowed three runs over five innings for the win. He also hit a double. Burger got the final six outs for a save, striking out three.

Tanner Moody double for Belle Vernon (3-8) and Brady Hoffman had two singles.

• Southmoreland erupted for three runs in the fifth inning to upend Charleroi 4-2 in a Class 3A, Section 4 game.

Brok Potoka’s two-run single was the key hit in the inning. He finished with three RBI. Ty Keffer had the other RBI for the Scotties (5-2, 6-3).

Jake Beveridge went 3-for-3 for Charleroi (3-4, 5-4).

• Lorenzo Glasser fired a six-hit shutout and Ringgold gave its playoff chances a boost with a 4-0 win over visiting Elizabeth Forward in Class 4A Section 3.

The Rams (2-5, 4-6) scored the only run they would need in the first inning and added three more in the second.

Gloasser struck out only one batter but issued just one walk.

• Greensburg Central Catholic pounded out 10 hits and tok advantage of seven walks to gain a 15-2 victory over Mapletown in a Class A Section 2 game.

Max Kallock homered and drove in three runs for GCC (6-2, 7-2). Ryan Appleby added a triple.

Daniel Fox and Landon Stevenson had RBIs for Mapletown (0-7, 2-8).

High school softball

Trinity won two games in a doubleheader with Western Beaver, taking both games in three innings, 17-2 and 18-0 in Class 5A Section 4 action Tuesday.

The Hillers (9-0, 13-1) advanced their streak of double-figure scoring to 10 straight. They have hit that mark in all 13 wins.

In Game 1, Alyssa Rager had two triples and scored three times. Regan Miller also tripled. Addison Agnew clubbed a three-run homer and Finley Hohn scored three times.

In Game 2, Ryleigh Hoy hit for the cycle, scored three times, and knocked in six runs. Hanna Suhoski also hit a three-run home run. Miller conributed four RBI.

Western Beaver fell to 0-8 and 0-8.

• Chartiers-Houston’s hitters continue to put up video game-like numbers.

The Bucs produced their sixth consecutive double-digit offensive output in a 15-0 win over Monessen in a three-inning non-section game.

The win moves C-H to 10-1 overall.

Ella Richey and Nicolette Kloes each belted a solo home run. Kaileigh Walton and winning pitcher Meadow Ferri each doubled and Emily Swarrow went 3-for-3 with three RBI.

Ferri scattered three singles and walked only one.

• Bentworth erased a three-run deficit by scoring five times in the bottom of the sixth inning, then held off a California comeback to edge the Trojans 9-8 Tuesday in a Class 2A Section 3.

It was the third consecutive win for Bentworth (4-4, 4-5). The Bearcats swept the series with California (1-4, 2-5). The Bearcats slipped past California 9-7 on Sunday and defeated Beth-Center 14-2.

Freshman Kayla O’Dell had a double and triple to lead the Bearcats at the plate. Freshman Kylie Glaze also tripled.

California, which led 7-2 in the third inning, had doubles by Kera Yurick and Jordyn Cruse.

After falling behind 9-7 in the messy sixth inning, California scored one run in the seventh and had the bases loaded when winning pitcher Willow Echols got a game-ending strikeout.

• Talia Ross fired a three-hit shutout and struck out 14, Ashley Joll drove in five runs, and Belle Vernon rolled to a 7-0 non-section win at Charleroi.

Belle Vernon led 3-0 through five innings and pulled away over the final two frames by scoring four more runs.

A triple by Joll, who went 3-for-4, was the lone extra-base hit by Belle Vernon (5-4-1).

Tyler Perok had a double for Charleroi (3-4).

• Alaina Whipkey homered and Anne Melle pitched a five-hitter as North Allegheny edged visiting Canon-McMillan 3-1 in a non-section game.

Melle struck out five and did not walk a batter as NA improved its record to 8-3.

Canon-McMillan (3-3) fell behind 1-0 in the first inning on a Melle RBI double. The Big Macs tied the score on an error in the third, but NA went ahead on Whipkey’s home run in the bottom of the third.

Olivia Ford had two of Canon-Mac’s five hits.

NCAA’s Emmert plans exit

NCAA president Mark Emmert is stepping down after 12 tumultuous years leading an association that has become increasingly marginalized while college sports has undergone massive changes and been besieged by political and legal attacks.

NCAA Board of Governors Chairman John DeGioia announced the move Tuesday and said it was by mutual agreement. The 69-year-old Emmert will continue to serve in his role until a new president is in place or until June 30, 2023.

The move is not entirely a surprise. The NCAA remains the biggest governing body in college athletics, but it is has been under sharp criticism for years as too heavy handed and even out of date with Emmert serving as the prime target.

Emmert has guided the NCAA through the most transformative period in the history of the more than 100-year-old organization. During the past decade, athletes have gained more power, benefits and ability to earn money than ever before. Amateurism has been redefined.

But Emmert has been viewed by some as not a catalyst for change but as an obstacle standing in the way – or at the least reactive instead of proactive.

In the NHL

Playing without injured captain Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals missed an opportunity to move up in the standings with a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

The Capitals blew a lead and gave up four unanswered goals to an opponent that has long been out of playoff contention. They allowed power-play goals to Ryan Pulock and Noah Dobson, goaltender Ilya Samsonov botched a puck-handling attempt behind the net to help Casey Cizikas score short-handed and Tom Wilson turned the puck over to Anders Lee for New York’s fourth goal of the game.

Washington failed to pass rival Pittsburgh for third place in the Metropolitan Division after the Penguins lost at home to Edmonton, but the Caps still have two more chances before the end of the regular season.

Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves to help the Islanders snap a five-game losing streak near the end of what has turned into a lost season a year after reaching the East final. They played a forward short with 17 skaters instead of the usual 18 after Brock Nelson and Zdeno Chara were ruled out because of illness.

• Steven Stamkos reached the 100-point mark for the first time in his NHL career by scoring two goals and assisting on two more, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 for their fourth consecutive victory.

Stamkos had an assist and a power-play goal in the first period, then got point No. 100 when he took a pass from Nikita Kucherov and beat Elvis Merzlikins from the right circle at 7:29 of the second to put Tampa Bay ahead 3-1.