Apr 12, 2023 11 min read

High school baseball

Steven Laurence belted a two-run home run on a 3-2 count over the left field fence for a 7-5 walk-off victory for Peters Township over Trinity in Class 5A Section 2 play Wednesday night.

Laurence’s blast scored Luke Scott, who singled.

Jack Lutte had three doubles for PT (2-2, 4-4) and teammate Jack Natili also doubled.

Cole Carl had three hits for the Hillers (2-2, 3-2), including two doubles. Gibby Havanis had three singles.

Zach Miner was the winning pitcher after striking out three in 2 2/3 innings.

• Brock Henderson’s grand slam in the second inning led Charleroi to a 6-5 victory at Bentworth in Class 2A Section 1.

The Cougars (4-2, 6-2) had a 6-2 lead after the second inning before the Bearcats (3-3, 5-4) scored two in the fourth and one in the fifth.

Reliever Kaden Woods entered in the fourth and recorded five strikeouts in earning the win.

Nico Rongaus had a double for Charleroi. Teammate Ben Shields had two hits and two RBI.

Aaron Woodhouse had two singles for Bentworth.

• Addison Panepinto pitched a six-hit shutout in California’s 10-0 victory over Fort Cherry in Class A Section 1.

The teams split the two-game series.

Panepinto had 10 strikeouts and walked two over six innings.

Brody Todd doubled for California (4-2, 4-6). Chase Cicchitto had two RBI for the home team.

Owen Norman tripled for Fort Cherry (1-3, 2-6).

• Darrin Knight struck out 14 over seven innings in West Greene’s 10-2 triumph over Mapletown in Class A Section 1.

Knight yielded two runs on three hits.

The Pioneers’ Ian Van Dyne had two doubles and two RBI. Teammate Colten Thomas doubled and Morgan Kiger had three RBI for the Pioneers (2-2, 6-3).

Jeremiah Mick had a two-run single for the Maples (1-5, 1-6).

• Avella exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning for a 13-3 victory over Jefferson-Morgan in Class A Section 1 to sweep the series.

The Eagles (5-1, 7-1) scored one in the first and five in the fourth for a 6-0 lead before the Rockets (1-5, 2-6) answered with three in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-3.

Isaiah Bradick had four RBI for Avella. Hayden Gatewood double and drove in two. Brian Humensky had a run-producing double.

Deakyn Dehoet doubled for Jefferson-Morgan.

Winning pitcher Brian Martos struck out seven and walked one.

• Washington had five players with three hits in a 20-7 victory over Frazier in Class 2A Section 1 action at Wild Things Park.

The Commodores (2-4, 3-5) had a 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the third before the Prexies (1-3, 3-5) scored 12 for a 18-7 advantage. The home team added two runs in the fourth.

David Lutes, Iain Callan, Michael Shallcross, Zakery Burt and William Callan each had three hits.

Iain Callan had four RBI and Shallcross tripled and homered. Nick Blanchette tripled.

• South Fayette had a two-run lead in the top of the first before Bethel Park scored four straight en route to a 5-3 win in Class 5A Section 2.

Christian Brandi had a sacrifice fly in the first and Anthony Diodata drove in one run with the first of two singles for the Lions (1-3, 7-3).

Michael DiMartini had an RBI double in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 4-3 before the Black Hawks (4-0, 6-3) added an insurance run in the fifth.

• Yough broke open a close Class 3A Section 4 game by scoring seven runs in the fifth inning and went on to a 14-4 win over visiting Waynesburg.

Yough (4-0, 5-1), which swept the two-game series, led 5-4 before the fifth-inning outburst.

Jack Sampson went 2-for-3 and scored three times for Yough. Lincoln Pack was 2-for-2 with a solo home run for Waynesburg (2-4, 2-5), which surrendered 10 unearned runs.

• Latrobe’s Logan Bradish threw a two-hit shutout in the Wildcats’ 6-0 victory over Ringgold in Class 4A Section 2.

Bradish had eight strikeouts and walked one.

Gianni Cantini doubled for the Rams (2-2, 3-5).

• Sewickley Academy scored seven runs in the second and rolled to a 16-1 section win over Monessen.

High school softball

Jacklyn Tatar homered, doubled and drove in five runs, sparking Bentworth to a 7-6 road win over Burgettstown in Class 2A Section 3 on Wednesday.

The win moved Bentworth to 3-1 in the section and 3-3 overall. It was the first section loss for Burgettstown (3-1, 6-3). Both teams trail first-place OLSH by one game in the standings.

Sofia Gaussa gave Bentworth a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh with an RBI double and Tatar followed with a two-run double that made it 7-3.

Burgettstown answered with a three-run bottom of the seventh and had runners on second and third with two outs but a line drive back to Bentworth pitcher Nora Lindley ended the game.

Lindley struck out seven and survived eight walks to get the win. She helped her cause by hitting a home run. Gaussa had two doubles, and Zoe McDonald and Kyleigh Glaze each doubled.

Burgettstown received three hits, including a double, from Layla Sherman.

• Sam Bewick went 4-for-5 with two home runs and eight RBI as Peters Township overcame a nine-run deficit and rallied for a wild 18-15 win over Bethel Park in a Class 5A Section 4 game.

Bethel Park (0-3, 1-6) led 14-5 in the fourth inning before Peters Township (1-1-2, 3-5) responded by scoring the game’s final 13 runs. The Indians scored four times in the fourth to pull to within 14-8, added five in the fifth to close to within 15-13 and won with a five-run sixth.

Bewick hit a three-run homer in the sixth to put PT up 16-15. That came one inning after she belted a grand slam that cut BP’s lead to 15-12.

Elena Tylka homered and drove in three runs for the Indians, who overcame 15 walks by its pitchers to win.

• Trinity stayed unbeaten in Class 5A Section 4 with a 2-0 win at Upper St. Clair, handing the panthers their first league setback.

The game was scoreless until the sixth inning when an error on a ball hit by the Hillers’ Kristina Bozaek went for an error, allowing Madison Argo and Ally Krenzelak to score the game’s only runs.

Winning pitcher Taylor Dunn fired a three-hitter. Each of USC’s hits were singles.

Trinity is 3-0 in section and 7-1 overall. The Hillers host Thomas Jefferson Friday with the winner taking sole possession of first place in the section.

• Kendall Ellsworth drove in four runs, including three on a bases-loaded triple, Bailey Barnyak twirled a one-hitter and Carmichaels stayed unbeaten with a 12-0 five-inning win over Avella in Class A Section 2.

Barnyak struck out 10 and allowed only a single to Laylyn Moore as the Mikes moved to 5-0 in section and 9-0 overall.

• A 13-run third inning sent Charleroi to a 17-2 win over visiting Washington in a Class 2A Section 3 game.

Leadoff hitter Leena Henderson went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and three RBI to lead the Cougars (2-1, 7-1) at the plate. Madalynn Lancy had a double and two RBI.

Winning pitcher Sofia Celaschi struck out 11.

Amari Oakley and Morgan Winters each tripled for Wash High (0-4, 0-5).

• Kendall Lemley homered, doubled and pitched a complete game as Waynesburg used a pair of early three-run innings to beat South Park 7-1 in Class 3A Section 4.

The Raiders remain unbeaten in section (3-0) and are 6-2 overall. South Park fell to 2-1, 4-2.

Kayleigh Varner also homered and doubled for the Raiders. She had a team-leading three RBI.

• Canon-McMillan scored two runs on a two-out error in the sixth inning to break a tie and beat Baldwin 5-4 in Class 6A Section 1.

Winning pitcher Brooke Bumer scattered nine hits and stranded two Baldwin runners in scoring position in the seventh. Morgan Doyle led the Big Macs (2-3, 3-4) at the plate with two hits, a run and an RBI.

• Julia Munkittrick drove in three runs and Stephanie Binek pitched a four-hitter as South Fayette defeated Moon 9-4 in Class 5A Section 3.
• OLSH remained in first place in Class 2A Section 3 with a 14-3 win in five innings over Fort Cherry. The Chargers are 4-0 in the section and 6-1 overall.
• Winning pitcher Julie Cooper went 3-for-4 with two home runs and a double to power Laurel Highlands to a 10-6 victory over Ringgold in Class 4A Section 2.

LH (2-3, 2-4), which has won two straight, forged an early 7-3 lead. Ringgold (0-4, 1-6) closed to within 7-6 but LH scored three times in the sixth, which included a solo homer by Cooper.

Cassi Kunkel and Cadence Harding tripled for Ringgold. Hailey Robertson and Alice Ramous doubled.

• Jefferson-Morgan outlasted Mapletown 14-13 in nine innings in Class A Section 2.

Peyton Farabee homered, doubled twice and had four hits for J-M. Winning pitcher Kayla Larkin and Ava Wood also had four-hit games. Karlee Crockard had two doubles.

Krista Wilson had four hits for Mapletown. Devan Clark struck out 10 over seven innings.

College baseball

Washington & Jefferson overpowered Franciscan to sweep a Presidents’ Athletic Conference doubleheader, 11-3 and 15-1.

Sam Schuster homered and drove in three for W&J in the opener. Nolan Lutz, Scout Zaas and Logan Scheider all homered in the second game.

• Waynesburg and Westminster split a PAC doubleheader. Westminster won the opener 9-7 in 10 innings but Waynesburg bounced back to win the nightcap, 7-2, behind the pitching of Ethan Erhard and reliever Zach Scibelli.

Gavin Pratt homered and Lane Ours drove in three for the Yellow Jackets in the second game.

Elliott returning

Chase Elliott will return to racing this weekend at Martinsville Speedway after he missed the last six NASCAR Cup races with a broken left leg.

The 27-year-old Elliott was injured in a snowboarding accident in Colorado. The 2020 Cup Series champion rehabilitated in Colorado before returning to his home in Dawsonville, Georgia, in late March to continue physical therapy.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver tested this week in the Chevrolet Driver-in-the-Loop simulator in Concord, North Carolina, before making the final decision to return at Martinsville.

“We’re looking forward to having Chase back in his race car to pick up where he left off,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “Since the injury, he’s worked extremely hard and focused all his time and energy on returning to the No. 9 team. Throughout the last six weeks, he’s stayed fully engaged with everything we’re doing, and we know he’s chomping at the bit to get on the racetrack and compete for wins.”

Josh Berry filled in for Elliott in five of the last six Cup Series events with a best finish of second, which came at Richmond Raceway. Jordan Taylor drove the No. 9 Chevrolet at Circuit of The Americas, starting fourth and finishing 24th in his Cup debut