Mar 30, 2022 10 min read

High school baseball

Dylan Rogers led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a single, stole second and third and then scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch as Fort Cherry outlasted Brentwood 4-3 in the Class 2A Section 4 opener Wednesday.

Brentwood, which led 2-0 in the first inning, forced extra innings by scoring a run in the top of the seventh. The game remained tied 3-3 until the 11th when the Rangers scored the game-winner. Adam Wolfe was the winning pitcher, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. The Rangers used three pitchers.

Fort Cherry (1-0, 1-0) outhit Brentwood 16-9. Wolfe went 4-for-5 with a double. Rogers, Owen Norman, Ryan Steele also doubled.

The teams will play again today at Brentwood.

• Ben Shields did a little of everything for Charleroi.

The junior pitcher threw six innings of one-run ball, struck out 10 batters without issuing a walk and helped his own cause by belting three doubles and driving in two runs as Charleroi defeated Bentworth 4-1 in a non-section game.

Charleroi scored the only runs it would need in a four-run third inning. Shields and Kaden Woods each had two-run hits.

Landon Urcho had two of Bentworth’s three hits.

• Nick Simpson hit a tiebreaking single in Peters Township’s three-run eighth inning as the Indians outlasted host Norwin 8-5 in a non-section game.

The hit by Simpson scored Wes Parker and gave PT (2-0) a 6-5 lead. The Indians added two more runs on an error.

Norwin (0-2) had tied the score at 5-5 in the seventh on a one-out RBI single by Ty Stecko. The Knights had forged a 4-1 lead in the second inning before PT battled back, scoring three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. Parker hit a leadoff homer in the fourth.

Sam Miller had a double for PT. Drew Ripepi was the winning pitcher in relief. Bryce Thompson pitched the eighth for a save.

• Nathan Klodowski fired a one-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts as Burgettstown won its Class 2A Section 4 opener 8-0 over Chartiers-Houston.

Klodowski issued only one walk. The lone hit by C-H was a double by Matthew Rieger that led off the Bucs’ sixth inning.

Klodowski helped himself by going 2-for-2 with a double and two runs. A.J. Kuzior drove in three runs for the Blue Devils and Maddox Gratchen had two RBI.

• Lorenzo Glasser struck out 10 over five innings and Hunter Mamie belted a solo home run as Ringgold defeated visiting California 3-1 in non-section action.

California took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second but Ringgold answered with a run in the bottom of the inning on Mamie’s home run and tacked on single runs in the third and sixth.

Ringgold’s Remington Lessman threw two innings of relief for a save.

• Jefferson-Morgan scored in each inning to take a 10-6 victory from Trinity Christian in a non-section game.

Mason Sisler went 2-for-3, scored, knocked a double and drove in two runs for the Rockets (1-0). Patrick Holeran went 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs. Brock Bayles and Liam Ankrom each had a double for J-M. Brody Ross struck out four and did not walk a batter in picking up the win.

Tim Rice tripled for Trinity Christian (3-4).

• Mapletown scored in each of the first five innings and held on to beat Avella 10-8 in a non-section game, giving new Maples coach Dave Bates his first win since returning to coaching after 11 years away from the game.

Mapletown (1-0) led 4-0 after two innings and 7-1 after three. Landan Stevenson had three hits and drove in three runs, and A.J. Vanata went 3-for-4. Stevenson and Vanata combined to do the pitching for Mapletown. The Maples stole nine bases.

Avella (0-1) closed to within 10-8 with a run in the seventh and had the potential tying run on base but a strikeout ended the game. Isaiah Bradick had three hits for the Eagles.

• Uniontown scored two runs in the fifth inning to win a pitchers’ duel at Belle Vernon, 2-1, in Class 4A Section 3.

There were only five hits in the game – three by Uniontown (1-1, 1-1) – including an RBI single by Clay Dean.

Belle Vernon scored on a single by Andrew Sokol in the sixth but the Leopards left the bases loaded in the inning.

• Three Mt. Pleasant pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout as the Vikings blanked McGuffey 6-0 in a non-section game at Wild Things Park.

Logan Carlisle had two doubles for McGuffey (1-1) but the Highlanders left eight runners on base.

High school softball

Jefferson-Morgan scored multiple runs in every inning and routed Monessen 19-4 in a four-inning Class A Section 2 game Wednesday.

Kayla Larkin led a 17-hit attack for J-M (1-0) with three hits, including a home run. Winning pitcher Brooklynne Snyder had a pair of doubles, and Karlee Crockard and Danica Grainey each doubled for the Rockets.

• Allie Miller tossed a three-hitter and Karissa Rohrer drove in two runs as Carmichaels defeated Bentworth 6-1 in Class 2A Section 3.

Bentworth (0-1, 0-1) scored its lone run in the top of the first inning but Miller, who struck out two, blanked the Bearcats the rest of the way.

Carmichaels (1-0, 2-0) scored twice in the bottom of the first to take the lead and the Mikes added on by scoring in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

The Mikes had 11 hits, including two doubles by Grace Brown. Kendall Ellsworth and Megan Voithofer also doubled. Ellsworth scored two runs.

• Zoe Mangan twirled a three-hit shutout and Marie Kinchington hit a two-run homer as Chartiers Valley blanked Peters Township 7-0 in non-section play.

CV (2-0) scored five times in the third inning and padded its lead to 7-0 on Kinchington’s two-run homer in the fifth.

Mangan walked five but the only hits generated by PT (1-2) were singles.

• Upper St. Clair scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to rally for a 13-9 victory over South Fayette in the Class 5A Section 4 opener.

South Fayette led 7-0 after four innings and 9-7 entering the seventh. USC (1-0, 1-1) tied the score in the seventh on Sophia Pries’ second double of the game, a two-run shot. Pries then scored the go-ahead run on a single by Ava Martin.

Pries went 3-for-5 with a home run, two triples and six RBI. The Panthers also hit three doubles.

Losing pitcher Stephanie Binek was 4-for-4 with a triple and two doubles. Sage Deramo, Maddie Cavenaugh and Haley Nicholson doubled for the Lions.

• Southmoreland did all its scoring in the final two innings and rallied to beat Belle Vernon 9-6 in non-section action.

Belle Vernon (1-1-1) led 5-0 after five innings, but Southmoreland (2-0) scored five times to tie in the sixth and added a four-run seventh.

Mikaela Etling led the Scotties at the plate with two doubles. Elle Pawlikowsky also doubled.

Mia Zubovic had a solo homer for the Leopards and Maren Metikosh had a big game with three doubles and four RBI. Olivia Kolowitz added a double.

• Krista Wilson and Hannah Hartley each hit two doubles and drove in three runs, powering Mapeltown to a 15-4 win over Washington in non-section play.

Mapletown (1-0) scored in every inning.

College baseball

California split a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday at Salem, losing the first game 8-2 but bouncing back to win the nightcap, 7-6.

Salem scored five runs over the first two innings of the opener and Cal was held to five hits, all singles.

In the second game, the Vulcans scored three runs in the top of the seventh to get the come-from-behind win. Jacob McCaskey scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jayden Taitano.

Patrick Gumto pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief for the win.

In college basketball

Shaheen Holloway is leaving Saint Peter’s for Seton Hall just days after helping the little Jesuit school make history by becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

Seton Hall athletic director Bryan Felt announced the hiring of the 45-year-old early Wednesday evening. It really wasn’t a surprise.

Holloway played for the Pirates of the Big East Conference and his move to replace Kevin Willard has been a hot topic since the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Willard left last week for the head job at Maryland.

Holloway, whose Peacocks knocked off No. 2 seed Kentucky. No. 7 Murray State and No. 3 seed Purdue before falling to North Carolina, will get a substantial raise. Willard earned $2.4 million last season, about tenfold what Holloway got at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Confernece school in Jersey City, N. J.

Baylor standout freshman Kendall Brown and point guard James Akinjo both announced Wednesday they are entering their names into the NBA draft.

Akinjo still had another season of eligibility at Baylor, where he transferred last year after leading Arizona in scoring in his only season with the Wildcats. He began his college career at Georgetown.

Brown, a five-star recruit whose dad is a former Harlem Globetrotters player, averaged 9.7 points and 4.9 rebounds a game while starting all 34 games for the Bears.

In baseball

Washington Nationals fans have reasons to doubt 2022 will be their year. They got 29 more of them Wednesday.

Pitchers Anibal Sanchez and Cade Cavalli allowed 10 runs each while the Nationals were shellacked 29-8 by the St. Louis Cardinals in a spring training game – a laugher even by exhibition standards.

“Things just got a little bit out of hand,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “They had some hits where they had the magic wand today.”

The Cardinals scored 15 times in the eighth inning, a barrage that began against Cavalli.