May 10, 2022 8 min read

High school baseball

Brodie Kuzior and Ethan Kovach combined on a three-hit shutout as Burgettstown blanked Fort Cherry for the second consecutive day, 5-0, in Class 2A Section 4.

Burgettstown finishes section play with a 10-2 record. The Blue Devils are 12-3 overall.

Kuzior pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing three hits. Kovach got the final five outs for a save.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when Burgettstown scored three times, including two on a single by Kovach. The Blue Devils tacked on two insurance runs in the sixth.

Fort Cherry is 7-5 in section and 8-5 overall.

• Ryan Opfer had a big game in Chartiers-Houston’s 11-1 win in six innings over Carlynton in Class 2A Section 4.

Opfer threw a gem, allowing only four hits while striking out 10. He walked only one batter. At the plate, Opfer went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI.

Jake Mele had two hits and scored three times and Anthony Romano smacked a double as Chartiers-Houston finished in a tie for third place in the section at 7-5. The Bucs are 10-6 overall.

• Chase Malanosky hit a two-run single to cap Beth-Center’s three-run bottom of the seventh inning that gave the Bulldogs a 9-8 come-from-behind win over Waynesburg in non-section action.

Malanosky’s hit scored Dom Revi and Dylan Knizner. The Bulldogs’ first run in the inning scored when Greg Nopwasky was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Revi went 4-for-4 with a double and scored three runs. Nopwasky also had a double for the Bulldogs (6-9).

Trent Stephenson had a triple and Alex Van Sickle doubled for Waynesburg (5-11).

• Trinity scored in four consecutive innings to erase an early deficit and defeat McGuffey 8-5 in a non-section contest.

McGuffey (7-8) led 4-0 in the second inning, but Trinity (6-12) tied it in the third and took the lead with a two-run fourth and added two more runs in the fifth.

Winning pitcher Braydon May worked into the sixth inning and struck out seven. He also hit a triple.

Aiden Metts also tripled for the Hillers and Zach McClenathan had a double.

McGuffey’s Ryan Keith had a double.

• Hunter Assad and Aidan Lowden each drove in four runs as California overpowered Charleroi 14-2 in five innings.

California (9-6) has won five in a row.

Winning pitcher Rick Lawson drove in three runs.

• Wayne Sparks-Gatling threw six shutout innings and Washington scored six runs in the sixth inning to beat visiting Jefferson-Morgan 8-0 in a non-section game.

Sparks-Gatling walked one and struck out six. Zak Burt got the final three outs.

Iain Callan doubled, tripled and scored two runs for Wash High (6-9). Michael Shallcross doubled and drove in a pair. Sparks-Gatling helped his cause with two RBI.

Liam Ankrom had a triple for Jefferson-Morgan (6-6).

• Class 4 A Section 3 champion West Mifflin scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to rally and beat Ringgold, 6-4.
• Winning pitcher Jack Burt doubled and tripled as Bentworth defeated Avella 12-1 in non-section action.

Bentworth’s Landon Urcho matched his teammate with a double and triple as the Bearcats improved to 9-5.

• Peters Township wrapped up the outright Class 5A Section 4 title late Monday night with a 7-1 win over host Upper St. Clair.

Pitchers Wes Parker and Bryce Thompson combined on a three-hitter and each contributed a double as the Indians finished 9-1 in the section. PT is 16-1 overall.

Jack Kail went 4-for-5 with a double and Drew Ripepi was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBI. Parker also drove in a pair of runs.

High school softball

Paige McAvoy hit a game-ending grand slam as Chartiers-Houston defeated visiting Valley 16-3 in six innings in a non-section contest.

Chartiers-Houston got off to a slow start and trailed 3-1 in the third inning but erupting for consecutive four-run innings.

C-H’s Ella Richey went 4-for-4 with a double, three runs and three RBI. Bella Hess had three singles and scored four times. Nicolette Kloes also crossed the plate four times.

Winning pitcher Meadow Ferri struck out 10 as C-H improved its record to 15-2. Valley is 4-5.

• Ali Jacobs had four hits and drove in three runs, and Sophia Zalar also had four hits, including a triple, and scored four runs Carmichaels rolled over host Beth-Center 13-3 in a six-inning Class 2A Section 3 game.

Kendall Ellsworth doubled, singled and knocked in a pair of runs and Grace Brown and Karissa Rohrer both had two hits and two RBIs for Carmichaels (8-3, 10-4).

Winning pitcher Kaitlyn Waggett allowed three unearned runs on three hits and four walks with eight strikeouts.

Alexis Snyder had a single and two RBI for Beth-Center (3-9, 3-10) which also got a double and an RBI from DoriAnn Hoover and a double from Katilynn Signorini.

Roxanne Painter and Julia Barr both doubled as McGuffey rallied to beat host Jefferson-Morgan 4-2 in a non-section game.

• Winning pitcher Makenna Crothers allowed six hits and no walks with eight strikeouts for McGuffey (3-8).

Jasmine Demaske had three hits, including a home run, for Jefferson-Morgan (6-6). Isabelle Bazzoli added a double.

McGuffey trailed 2-0 after three innings but scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to tie, then pushed across two in the sixth.

• Peters Township built an early four-run lead and went on to an 8-5 win over visiting Pine-Richland in a non-section game.

Skylar Lemansky had a double and Makenzie Morgan drove in three runs to back the winning pitching of Elena Tylka.

PT improved its record to 6-9.

• Burgettstown and Ringgold split a non-section doubleheader played on the Blue Devils’ field. Ringgold won 11-10 before Burgettstown bounced back to gain an 8-1 victory.

In the Ringgold win, the Rams (3-14) built an early 5-2 lead. Burgettstown (10-7) kept producing comebacks but could only draw to within one run of the Rams.

Emma Nolff and Peyton LaFlash each hit a pair of doubles for Ringgold, and winning pitcher Dani Vecchio and Olivia Vecchio had one double each.

Layla Sherman doubled for Burgettstown.

Sherman was the winning pitcher in the second game when Burgettstown scored eight runs in the second inning. Sherman and Madison Kozares each had a double.

• Delaney Warnick drove in six runs and Jensyn Hartman went 4-for-4 as Class 2A Section 3 champion Frazier defeated Bentworth, 12-2, in six innings.

Warnick was 3-for-5 with a home run. Hartman doubled twice and scored four runs.

Winning pitcher Nicole Palmer, who had been throwing shutout and no-hitters of late, settled for a five-hitter. Bentworth scored two runs in the third inning to pull to within 6-2. Jocelyn Babirad and Jaclyn Tatar each had a double for the Bearcats (4-9).

• Latrobe’s Jenna Tallman homered and drove in four runs as the Wildcats defeated Belle Vernon 11-0 in a five-inning non-section game.

Belle Vernon’s Maren Metikosh had a double, one of four hits by the Leopards (10-7-1).

Ex-kicker sues Jags

Former NFL placekicker Josh Lambo has filed a lawsuit against the Jacksonville Jaguars, seeking more than $3.5 million in salary and damages for emotional distress caused by former head coach Urban Meyer.

The Tampa Bay Times first reported details of the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in the 4th Judicial Circuit Court in Duval County and claims Meyer and the Jaguars created a hostile work environment. According to the lawsuit, Lambo says his performance suffered as a result of being kicked and verbally abused by Meyer.

Lambo is seeking a jury trial and hopes to be awarded a judgement for back pay owed from his 2021 salary ($3.5 million) with interest as well as “compensation for any special damages sustained as emotional stress and reputational harm and litigation fees,” among other costs.

The Jaguars fired Meyer on Dec. 15, hours after the Tampa Bay Times reported Meyer had kicked Lambo during a practice months earlier. Meyer was fired with cause, although the team insists Lambo’s accusation had nothing to do with owner Shad Khan’s decision to end one of the most tumultuous coaching tenures in NFL history.