Sports briefs
High school softball
Fort Cherry scored eight runs in the top of the seventh inning and won with three in the ninth as the Rangers knocked off Burgettstown 13-11 in Class 2A Section 3 on Wednesday.
The loss knocked Burgettstown (4-2, 7-4) out of what was a four-way tie for the section lead.
The Blue Devils led 6-2 entering the seventh inning but FC (3-4, 4-5) battled back and took a 10-6 lead. Burgettstown scored four times in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.
Heather Coughenour hit a three-run double in the ninth for FC. Winning pitcher Adryonna Herbst had a home run and Cadence Fehl-Gariglio doubled.
Layla Sherman hit two doubles and drove in four for Burgettstown. Peyton Mermon scored five runs and Julia Jastrzebski had a double.
- Talia Ross fired a five-inning no-hitter as Belle Vernon overpowered visiting Ringgold 12-0 in Class 4A Section 2.
Ross struck out 12 and did not walk a batter.
Belle Vernon (5-1, 8-3) had nine hits, including a double and two RBI each from Lauren VanDivner and Mia Zubovic.
- Zoie McDonald went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI and three runs, and teammate Sofia Gaussa was 3-for-3 with a double, triple and four runs, sparking Bentworth to a 17-2 four-inning win over Washington in Class 2A Section 3.
The win moves Bentworth (5-1, 5-3) into sole possession of first place in the section.
Winning pitcher Willow Eckels struck out eight.
- Carmichaels stayed undefeated with an 11-1 victory in six innings over Jefferson-Morgan in Class A Section 2.
The Mikes (7-0, 11-0) rode a two-hitter by Bailey Barnyak, who struck out 13 and did not issue a walk. Sophia Zalar hit a home run to lead the Mikes at the plate. Barnyak had a triple, and Ashton Batis and Kaitlyn Waggett each doubled.
- Class 3A Section 4 leader Waynesburg unleashed a 17-hit attack and defeated Seton LaSalle, 9-5.
Emma Zehner led the Raiders’ hit parade by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, three RBI and scoring three times. Hannah Wood was 3-for-3 with a double, winning pitcher Kendall Lemley had three hits including a double and Abby Davis tripled.
The win keeps Waynesburg unbeaten in section play at 5-0. The Raiders are 8-2 overall.
- West Greene rolled to a 21-1 win in three innings at Avella in Class A Section 2.
The Pioneers improved to 4-2 in the section and 7-5 overall.
Winning pitcher Payton Gilbert struck out six. London Whipkey had a double and two RBI. Gilbert drove in three. Emmaline Beazell scored three runs. Lexi Six a double and drove in five runs. Ali Goodwin and Lilly Melodia each had a double, Emily Wise had two doubles and matched Six with five RBI.
- Kaylee Ward hit a solo home run, Caydence Jack drove in three runs and McGuffey overcame a slow start to defeat Keystone Oaks 7-4 in Class 3A Section 4.
The Highlanders (3-2, 6-3) trailed 4-0 in the third inning before scoring seven unanswered runs.
McGuffey’s Julia Barr was 3-for-4 and scored twice.
- Kirra Davis went 3-for-3 with two home runs and seven RBI, powering Connellsville to a 10-3 win over visiting Peters Township in Class 5A Section 4.
Morgan Adams also homered for the Falcons (2-3, 2-7).
Makenzie Morgan homered for PT (1-4, 3-7).
- Katie Armstrong fired a three-hitter with 14 strikeouts as Burrell won 6-0 at South Fayette in non-section action.
- Norwin hit three home runs and used an eight-run sixth inning to beat Canon-McMillan 14-5 in Class 6A Section 1.
Norwin (8-1, 10-2), the section leader, had seven extra-base hits.
High school baseball
The tiebreaking run scored in the sixth inning on one of five Carmichaels errors and California rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Mikes in Class A Section 1 on Wednesday.
California (6-2, 7-6) swept the two-game series from Carmichaels (4-2, 8-2), which entered the week undefeated.
Carmichels led 4-2 entering the sixth inning, but Ricky Lawson hit a two-run double to tie the score. Lawson finished the game with three RBI to back the winning pitching of Caden Monticello. The Trojans’ Dom Martini got the final six outs for a save.
- Fort Cherry held Avella to one run over the final four innings to beat the Eagles 16-12 in the completion of a suspended game.
The game was stopped Monday with Fort Cherry leading 12-10 after two innings.
The loss drops Avella to 6-2 in the section and 8-2 overall. The Eagles share the section lead with California.
Adam Wolfe led the offense for Fort Cherry (2-4, 4-7) with three doubles. Winning pitcher Ryan Steele had a double.
Bryce Wright doubled for Avella.
- Parker Donsen threw a three-hit complete game as Hempfield defeated visiting Canon-McMillan 11-1 in six innings in Class 6A Section 2.
Hempfield (7-1, 9-3) remains in sole possession of first place in the section and has won the first two games in the series. Canon-Mac slips to 5-3, 7-4.
Hempfield ended the game by scoring six times in the sixth inning.
- Starter Kaden Woods and reliever Jake Beveridge combined for an eight-hit shutout as Charleroi defeated Washington 6-0 in a Class 2A Section at Wild Things Park.
Woods struck out nine over five innings as Charleroi improved to 6-2 in section and 8-3 overall. The Cougars won both games in the series, each by shutout.
Tyler O’Neil and Ben Shields each drove in two runs for Charleroi.
Wash High (1-5, 3-7) had a double from Zak Burt.
- Tim Speer scored on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving Upper St. Clair a 4-3 win over Trinity in Class 5A Section 2.
The teams split their two-game series.
USC (2-4, 8-5) trailed 3-0 in the fifth inning. The Panthers scored twice in the fifth and pushed across a run in the sixth to tie.
Gibson Havanis and Matthew Robaugh had doubles for Trinity (3-3, 4-3), which outhit USC 8-5.
Freshman Daren Knight struck out 13 over 5 2/3
- innings, leading West Greene to a 6-3 win over Jefferson-Morgan in Class A Section 2.
The teams split the two-game series with each winning on the opponents’ home field.
West Greene led 3-2 before scoring twice in the sixth to pull away.
Knight combined with reliever Lane Allison on an eight-hitter as West Greene improved to 3-3 in section and 7-5 overall. J-M slipped to 2-6, 3-8. Drew Adams and John Woodward doubled for the Rockets and Brody Ross drove in a pair of runs.
- Frazier overcame eight errors and an early six-run deficit to beat Monessen 11-6 in a non-section game.
Frazier (3-4, 4-6) pitcher Aidan Hardy struck out 13 and did not walk a batter in 6 2/3 innings. Noah Bachinski drove in four runs and Dylan Keilbach hit two doubles for the Commodores.
Uniontown was a 5-2 winner over Ringgold in Class 4A Section 2.