May 2, 2022 11 min read

High school baseball

West Greene’s baseball team made history Monday afternoon.

The Pioneers wrapped up the Class 1A, Section 2 title with an 11-5 victory over Greensburg Central Catholic.

It was the first time in school history that the Pioneers won the section title outright. West Greene assured itself a tie for the section title with a win over Jefferson-Morgan Friday afternoon.

Yesterday, West Greene (9-0, 11-3) trailed GCC, 5-4 in the top of the sixth inning. But Morgan Kiger blasted a three-run home run to punctuate a seven-run, bottom of the sixth inning.

Corey Wise had two two-run home runs, one in the first inning and one in the third. Johnny Lampe and Hunter Hamilton each hit a double.

Ryan Appleby doubled for Greensburg Central Catholic, which fell to 6-3 in the section.

• Carmichaels scored eight runs in the first inning and went on to a 17-7 win over Beth-Center to clinch the Class A Section 2 championship.

The Mikes pounded out 15 hits. Mason Lapana led the way, going 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBI. Lapana hit a grand slam in the Mikes’ big first inning.

Jake Fordyce drove in three runs and Liam Lohr had a double for the Mikes (8-1, 10-1).

Ethan Varesko hit two doubles for B-C (4-5, 4-7), which cut Carmichaels’ lead to 9-7 in the fourth inning.

• Charleroi rallied from a 2-run deficit by scoring five runs over the third and fourth innings to help the Cougars to a 5-2 victory over Brownsville in a Class 4A, Section 3 game.

Jake Beveridge and Ethan Hadsell each had three hits and Nico Rongaus two for Charleroi (4-4, 6-5).

Derrick Tarley hit a solo home run for Brownsville (2-7, 3-7).

• Easton Hanko doubled in a run and smacked a solo home run to help Jefferson-Morgan take a 6-2 victory from Mapletown and clinch a playoff berth from Class 1A, Section 2.

Brody Ross also had a double for Jefferson-Morgan (4-5, 5-5). Brock Bayles struck out seven to get the win.

A.J. Vanata struck out seven for the Maples, who fell to 0-9 in the section.

• Mason Switalski pitched five innings of effective relief and Lincoln Pack drove in three runs to lead Waynesburg to a 10-7 win over McGuffey in Class 3A Section 4.

The win moves Waynesburg (5-4, 5-8) into third place in the tightly packed section. McGuffey slipped to 4-5, 6-7. The Raiders and Highlanders will meet again today.

McGuffey grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first inning and maintained the lead until Waynesburg scored four times in both the fourth and fifth innings. Switalski entered in the third inning and held McGuffey scoreless until the seventh. He did not issue a walk and struck out five.

Pack had a three-run triple in the fifth. Alex VanSickle, Jake Stephenson and Trent Stephenson doubled for the Raiders.

McGuffey’s Ryan Keith had a double and Logan Seibert drove in three runs.

• Gio Lonero came up a single shy of hitting for the cycle, leading Seton LaSalle to a 13-7 victory over visiting Burgettstown in a showdown of the top two teams in Class 2A Section 4.

Seton LaSalle leads the section at 9-0 and is 10-1 overall. Burgettstown is 8-1 and 10-2. The Blue Devils had their 10-game winning streak snapped.

The teams will meet again today in Burgettstown.

Seton LaSalle led 7-3 after three innings but Burgettstown battled back and tied the score at 7-7 in the fifth. Seton LaSalle regained the lead in the bottom of the inning and tacked on four runs in the sixth.

Nathan Klodowski was 3-for-4 with a home run to lead the Blue Devils at the plate. Maddox Gratchen doubled and had two RBI. A.J. Kuzior also doubled.

• Fort Cherry forged an early six-run lead and held on to defeat Carlynton 9-7 in Class A Section 4.

Ryan Craig homered and pitched six innings for Fort Cherry (6-3, 7-3), which clinched a playoff berth. Craig allowed only three runs (all unearned). Zach Serafin, Mitchell Cook and Owen Norman doubled.

• Connor Vig drove in four runs as California rolled to a 15-5 win over Frazier in a six-innings in Class 2A Section 1.
• Conner Martin homered and Rochester kept its Class A Section 1 title hopes alive with a 12-0 win over Avella in six innings.

Parker Lyons, who struck out eight, had one of four doubles hit by the Rochester (7-2, 8-4). Sal Laurel had a double and triple.

Avella (3-6, 4-8) was held to three singles.

• Hayden Taska was a double shy of hitting for the cycle as Greensburg Salem defeated Belle Vernon 13-6 in Class 4A Section 3.

Teska went 3-for-3 with a home run, triple, six RBI and three runs. Winning pitcher Owen Tutich threw a complete game, hit a triple and drove in three.

Belle Vernon (2-7, 4-9) had doubles from Andrew Sokol, Brady Hoffman and Zach Jackson.

• Freshman Tyler Maddix and Kole Olszewski combined on a two-hit shutout as Bishop Canevin defeated Monessen 2-0 in Class A Section 2.

Maddix allowed only one hit over six innings. He did issue six walks but struck out 16 as the Crusdaers improved to 6-3 in section and overall. Bishop Canevin pushed across single runs in the second and third innings.

Losing pitcher Jack Sacco threw a complete game and allowed only one earned run.

High school softball

Trinity broke open a tie game by scoring nine runs over the final two innings and defeated Chartiers Valley 14-5 in a key Class 5A Section 4 game on Monday.

The win assures Trinity (10-1, 14-2) of at least a share of the section title.

The Hillers were locked in a 5-5 tie through five innings. Trinity scored four times in the sixth and five times in the seventh. Finley Hohn had a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth and Hanna Suhoski added a three-run double. Suhoski went 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. Regan Miller also had a pair of doubles.

• There has been no slowing the Chartiers-Houston hitters. The Bucs scored in every inning, pounded out 15 hits and rolled to a 16-5 win in five innings over Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, a victory that netted the Bucs the Class 2A Section 1 title.

Chartiers-Houston (8-0, 12-1) produced its eighth consecutive double-digit scoring outburst. Nicolette Kloes and Ella Richey each homered. Richey had six RBI and Kloes three to back the pitching of Meadow Ferri, who struck out five.

OLSH is 8-2 in section and overall.

• West Greene ran its winning streak to eight with an 8-3 non-section win over Shadyside (Ohio).

The Pioneers (8-3) were locked in a 3-3 tie in the sixth before scoring six times to pull away. West Greene scored the go-ahead run on one of Shadyside’s 10 errors.

Winning pitcher Kiley Meek had a double, and London Whipkey and Lexi Six each drove in a pair for the Pioneers.

• Brooke Perri struck out 12 and did not walk a batter in leading Canon-McMillan to an 8-3 win over Peters Township in a Class 6A, Section 1 game.

Perri gave up three unearned runs and knocked in a run with a double for the Big Macs (5-3, 5-4). Aybriana Buswell drove in two runs and Morgan Doyle and Hailey swope also had RBI.

Amber Wilkes scored twice and doubled for Peters Township (1-6, 5-8).

• Nicole Palmer fired a one-hit shutout and Gracen Hartman drove in three runs as undefeated Frazier beat Beth-Center 15-0 in five innings in Class 2A Section 3.

Palmer struck out 12 and did not issue a walk. The only hit for Beth-Center (2-7, 2-7) was a two-out single in the first inning by Lexi Snyder.

Frazier (9-0, 11-0) led 12-0 after two innings. Victoria Washinski tripled, and Palmer and Emilia Bednar each had a double.

• Ava Henke scored on a sacrifice fly by Madison Rieker in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving West Allegheny a 3-2 in over South Fayette in Class 5A Section 4.

The win keep West Allegheny (9-2, 10-3) in the hunt for a share of the section title. The Indians led 2-1 in the sixth when South Fayette (3-7, 7-8) pushed across the tying run.

Henke had a solo home run as West Allegheny was held to four hits.

• Sofia Celaschi fired a one-hit shutout and Charleroi moved closer to a playoff berth with a 9-0 win over host California in Class 2A Section 3.

Celaschi struck out 15 and did not issue a walk as the Cougars improved to 5-2 in section and 5-5 overall. The lone hit by California (4-5, 5-6) was a single by Kendall Griffin.

Rece Eddy, Leena Henderson, Riley Jones and McKenna DeUnger, the first four batter in Charleroi’s lineup, each finished with two RBI. DeUnger and Madalynn Lancy doubled.

• Waynesburg hit three home runs and overpowered McGuffey 13-6 in Class 3A Section 3.

Waynesburg moved to 5-2 in the section and 7-4 overall. McGuffey, which needed a win to keep its playoff hopes alive, fell to 2-6 both in section and overall.

Winning pitcher Kendall Lemley, Dani Stockdale and Morgan Stephenson all homered for the Raiders, who scored eight runs in the third inning to erase an early 5-0 deficit. Stephenson had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with the home run, two doubles and three runs. Lemley drove in four runs and Paige Jones had a double.

McGuffey’s Mackenzie Shrader hit a grand slam in the second inning. Roxanne Painter had a double.

• Belle Vernon swept a Class 4A Section 2 doubleheader from Uniontown, 6-4 and 12-2.

Ashley Joll homered in both games and finished the day with five RBI as the leopards improved to 7-3 in section and 9-5 overall. Winning pitcher Talia Ross struck out 13 in the opener and Olivia Kolowitz had 10 strikeouts in the second game.

In the NFL

After a disappointing season with his hometown team, running back Mike Davis was released Monday by the Atlanta Falcons.

The move was not surprising for a team dealing with salary cap woes, especially after the 29-year-old Davis rushed for just 503 yards and three touchdowns last season. He averaged 3.6 yards per carry.

• The NFL handed former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson another loss.

The league announced Monday that it found “no evidence” the Browns purposely lost games or incentivized personnel to do so after Jackson alleged in February the team tried to lose during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The league said Monday that a 60-day independent review determined “none of the allegations could be substantiated.”

• Cade York has already kicked out his competition with the Browns.

Cleveland released kickers Chase McLaughlin and Chris Blewitt on Monday, two days after selecting York, one of college football’s best kickers, in the fourth round of the NFL draft to upgrade its wayward kicking game.