Sports briefs
High school baseball
Ryan Opfer pitched a four-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts and Chartiers-Houston scored a run in the first inning for a 1-0 victory over visiting Washington in Class 2A Section 1 on Monday.
The win keeps Chartiers-Houston in first place in the section at 6-1. The Bucs are 11-2 overall.
C-H scored in the first inning as Dominic Cumer led off with a single, moved up on a walk by Lane Camden and an error, then scored the game’s only run on a sacrifice fly by Nico Folosi.
Opfer made the one-run lead hold up by limiting Washington (1-6, 4-8) to three singles and a walk. Opfer retired the last five Prexies hitters, all via strikeout.
Michael Shallcross had two of the four hits by the Prexies.
Broidie Kuzior struck out 12 over 6 2/3
- innings as Burgettstown kept pace with Chartiers-Houston atop Class 2A Section 1 with a 6-1 victory over Bentworth.
The Blue Devils (6-1, 7-2) share first place with the Bucs. Bentworth (3-6, 7-7) is in fourth place.
Kuzior allowed only two hits and three walks. He helped his cause by going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Tristan Roach, Jacob McNabb, Wyatt Stevenson and Andrew Bredel each had a double for Burgettstown.
- Ringgold gave its playoff hopes a boost when it scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning and defeated host Laurel Highlands 5-3 in Class 4A Section 2.
The Rams are 3-4 in the section and 5-8 overall. LH drops 4-3, 4-7.
LH led 3-0 entering the seventh but the first five Ringgold batters in the inning reached base. Andrew Mackey had a two-run single and Remington Lessman’s sacrifice fly tied the score.
Spencer Behrendt’s RBI groundout gave the Rams a 4-3 lead and winning pitcher Lorenzo Glasser provided Ringgold an insurance run with an RBI single.
Glasser pitched 6 1/3 innings and struck out nine. Gianni Cantini had a save by striking out both batters faced in the seventh.
- Kaden Woods fired a one-hit shutout, leading Charleroi to a 9-0 victory over visiting Frazier in Class 2A Section 3.
Woods struck out 10 and did not walk a batter. The lone hit by Frazier was a single by Aidan Hardy to lead off the seventh inning. Hardy was later erased on a double play.
Charleroi (7-2, 9-3) stayed within striking distance of first place in the section.
- Canon-McMillan stayed in the thick of the Class 6A Section 2 title hunt with an 8-0 win at Baldwin.
Ben Urso and Roman Mollenauer combined on a two-hit shutout for the Big Macs (7-3, 9-4).
Andrew Kocan went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs to lead the C-M offense.
- Waynesburg climbed to the .500 mark overall with a 9-3 win at Southmoreland in Class 3A Section 4.
The Raiders (3-4, 5-5) scored four runs over the first two innings and five more in the final two frames.
Winning pitcher Lincoln Pack went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Alex VanSickle had a pair of hits and scored twice, and Austin Surber doubled.
- Patrick Holaren scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a wild pitch and Dom Colarusso came around on an ensuing error to give Carmichaels a 4-3 win over visiting Avella in a game between teams vying for the Class A Section 1 title.
Carmichaels (5-2, 9-3) snapped a three-game slide. The Mikes led 2-0 before Avella (6-3, 9-3) scored three times in the fifth to take the lead. Carmichaels won the game after loading the bases with one out in the seventh.
Colarusso was 3-for-4 with two doubles. Liam Lohr was the winning pitcher with a scoreless inning of relief.
Brian Humensky doubled and had two of Avella’s five hits.
- John Woodward and Brock Bayles combined on a three-hit shutout as Jefferson-Morgan blanked Mapletown 7-0 in Class A Section 1.
Woodward pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing three singles and two walks. He struck out 11. Bayles got the final two outs.
The Rockets (3-6, 4-9) scored the only runs they would need during a four-run second inning. Woodward and Drew Adams each finished with two RBI and Dayten Marion had a double.
- Fort Cherry unleashed a 16-hit ttack and defeated visiting West Greene 11-1 in five innings in Class A Section 1.
Blake Sweder led the FC attack by going 3-for-3 with three doubles and three runs. Adam Wolfe got the Rangers (3-4, 6-7) started off on a strong note by hitting a home run in the first inning.
Winning pitcher Ryan Steele was the benefactor of all the Rangers; offense.
Morgan Kiger had a double for West Greene (3-4, 7-6).
- Two Brownsville errors with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning allowed the tying and winning runs to score as McGuffey rallied for a 5-4 win in Class 3A Section 4.
Brownsville (1-8, 2-10) had overcome a 3-0 deficit by scoring four times in the top of the fifth inning.
McGuffey (5-2, 9-3) won the game by taking advantage of three Brownsville errors and a walk to score two runs without the benefit of a base hit in the seventh.
Jacob Ross had a triple for the Highlanders. Reno Presto and Cameron Dames had doubles. Presto was the winning pitcher in relief.
High school softball
Hannah Wood went 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double and five RBI, powering Class 3A Section 4 leader Waynesburg to a 10-2 thumping of visiting Keystone Oaks on Monday.
Waynesburg improved to 8-0 in the section and 10-2 overall. The Raiders have won eight in a row.
Wood wasn’t the only Waynesburg player with a big day at the plate. Kayleigh Varner and Emma Zehner each homered, Dani Stockdale and Abby Davis doubled. Stockdale scored three runs.
Winning pitcher Kendall Lemley allowed one earned run and struck out 12 with only one walk.
- Ryleigh Hoy’s single scored Ally Krenzelak with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as Trinity edged Peters Township 5-4 in a Class 5A Section 4 game.
The win keeps Trinity (7-0, 11-1) perfect in the section. The Hillers have won 10 in a row. PT fell to 1-6, 3-9. The Indians have lost five one-run games.
Trinity led 4-3 before PT scored in the sixth to tie the game. Neither team scored again until the 10th.
Addison Agnew had a double and two of Trinity’s seven hits.
Sami Bewick and Skylar Lemansky each doubled for PT.
Winning pitcher Taylor Dunn was terrific, with 11 strikeouts and only one walk.
- Canon-McMillan hit two grand slams, one each by Olivia Ford and Kat Williams, and put up 20 runs in the fourth inning en route to a 26-8 victory over Mt. Lebanon in Class 6A Section 1.
It was the second time in four games that Canon-McMillan (4-6, 5-7) scored at least 20 runs.
Ford paced the attack for the Big Macs, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, including the grand slam, and six RBI.
Gabrielle Lucia was 3-for-3, and Emma Houck, Samantha Merkle and Hailey Swope doubled.
Mt. Lebanon (2-7, 3-8) hit three home runs, including two by Deirdre Flaherty.
- Riley Jones drove in four runs and Lyla Brunner pitched a two-hit shutout as Charleroi stayed in contention for the Class 2A Section title with a 17-0 win in four innings over Beth-Center.
Brunner struck out six and did not walk a batter. She had plenty of support as Charleroi (5-2, 10-2) scored in every inning.
Jones led the Cougars’ offense by going 2-for-4 with two triples. McKenna DeUnger had two singles and scored three times. Emma Stefanick had a double.
- Rylee Rohbeck’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh scored Stephanie Binek and capped a three-run inning as South Fayette rallied for a 6-5 win over Mars in Class 5A Section 3.
The win keeps the Lions (5-2, 8-6) in section title contention.
South Fayette trailed 5-3 entering the bottom of the seventh. The Lions received an RBI single from Maddie Cavenaugh to make it 5-4. Binek hit a triple that scored one run but the potential tying run was thrown out at the plate. One batter later, Rohbeck delivered her game-winning hit.
- Roxanne Painter smacked two home runs, powering McGuffey to a 10-5 win at South Park in Class 3A Section 4.
South Park (4-2, 8-3) led 1-0 when Painter got McGuffey (4-3, 7-4) going with a two-run homer in the Highlanders’ four-run third. McGuffey strung together nine consecutive runs in the game. Painter added another two-run homer in the fifth, which gave McGuffey an 8-1 lead.
Caydence Jack had two doubles for McGuffey and winning pitcher MaKenna Crothers and Katie Grimm each had one two-bagger.
- Katie Sokol had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in five runs as Belle Vernon defeated Greensburg Salem 14-2 in five innings in Class 4A Section 2.
The Leopards are 7-1 in the section and 10-3 overall.
Maren Metikosh had a single, double, triple and three RBI for Belle Vernon and Grace Sokol homered.
The two runs by Greensburg Salem came on a pair of solo home runs. Winning pitcher Olivia Kolowitz struck out nine.
- Fort Cherry continued its improved play by forging a pair of six-run leads an holding on for a 10-8 win at Bentworth in Class 2A Section 3.
It was the Rangers’ second win in less than a week over an opponent that is vying for the section title. The win improves Fort Cherry to 5-4 in the section and 6-6 overall. Bentworth fell to 5-3, 5-5.
Cadence Fehl-Gariglio drove in three runs for FC, Kaylee Weinbrenner had a triple and Mylee Johnson doubled. The Rangers took advantage of 11 walks by Bentworth pitching.
- West Greene id all its scoring in the first three innings and took advntage of 12 Mapletown errors to beat the Maples 12-1 in a five-inning Class A Section 2 contest.
West Greene is 5-2 in the section and 8-5 overall.
Winning pitcher Payton Gilbert struck out nine. Lexi Six had a strong day at the plate for the Pioneers, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, four RBI, and scoring three runs. Lilly Melodia a double.
- Freshman shortstop Lauren Rush hit for the cycle, leading Chartiers-Houston to a 19-0 thumping of California in a three-inning Class A Section 2 game.
Rush finished the game with eight RBI as the Bucs improved to 6-2 in section and 7-5 overall.
- Winning pitcher Kayla Larkin threw a three-hitter and smacked two home runs, sparking Jefferson-Morgan to an 8-6 win over host Avella in Class A Section 2.
Payton Farabee and Addie Larkin doubled for the Rockets (5-4, 7-5). Farabee had three hits.