Michael Love stories, Page 48
Shaler softball falls in state finals on 9th-inning play at the plate
In a game full of heart-stopping moments, Saturday’s PIAA Class 5A championship contest between Shaler and District 3 champion Northern York at Penn State’s Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park came down to a play at the plate. With the teams tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth...
Scrappy Plum Junior Legion team shows promise under new coach
The Plum Junior Legion baseball team picked up a key Westmoreland County league victory June 14 with a 10-9 triumph over Connellsville at Plum High School. It was the third win for Plum this season and one head coach Markus Cestra hoped would help the team build additional momentum towards...
Highlands’ Reigard, Fox Chapel’s Katz, Kiski Area honored with Positive Athlete awards
Each year, Positive Athlete Western Pennsylvania seeks out those high school student-athletes who are making a difference in the arena of their chosen sport and also in the classroom and in their community. The Alle-Kiski Valley is home to many of those whose goal it is to make where they...
Freeport teammates Madyson Kirsch, Rowan Wible make big impact in PIHL girls league
Madyson Kirsch familiarized herself with the new PIHL girls league last June when she and her father, Jim, attended the inaugural championship game at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township. It helped spark her desire to be part of the league’s return this spring. “From there, I knew I...
Shaler softball uses big 8th inning to best Armstrong, punch ticket to state finals
In last Thursday’s PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal victory over WPIAL champion Trinity, Shaler scored all five of its runs on three home runs. The Titans again used the long ball Monday to produce six of their eight runs against Armstrong in a state semifinal contest at Gateway. Shaler scored six...
Expectations high for Monroeville Junior Legion this summer
Monroeville Junior Legion coach Rich Otterman saw determination in the eyes of his returning players at the start of the season last month. It is a mission, he said, to go further and reach at least the Western Regional tournament after being eliminated in last year’s Westmoreland County Youth Legion...
Gateway grad Mike Rugh to lead Gators boys soccer team
Mike Rugh joined the Gateway boys soccer coaching staff as an assistant five years ago with the hopes of giving back to his alma mater while remembering all of the good memories he had when putting on the Gators uniform. He, along with head coach Bernie Stiles and fellow assistant...
Riverview baseball says good bye to deep, talented senior class
Riverview baseball coach Bill Gras said during the season and in the postseason, he knew his team could play with anyone. “That comes from the history of the players,” he said. “Other than three players, these guys played in the WPIAL championship game two years ago. They had an off...
Plum girls lacrosse team reflects on section championship season
The Plum girls lacrosse team had big things in mind for the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs and beyond after a regular season which saw it finish undefeated in section play for the first time and rack up a 14-3 overall record. The Mustangs were awarded the No. 2 seed —...
Kiski Area’s Hill earns state title in fast-growing sport of trap shooting
Taygen Hill didn’t have to look too far for influence and inspiration in the world of clay target shooting. “My great uncle, Joe, was big into skeet and shooting clays, and I watched what he did,” said Hill, a rising senior at Kiski Area. “But I’ve been hunting for a...
New Freeport girls basketball coach Ketterer is familiar face
Mallory Heinle Ketterer knows the Freeport girls basketball program inside and out. She spent the past four years as an eighth-grade coach and varsity assistant to Fred Soilis. That experience, she hopes, will serve her well as she continues to transition in her new role as Freeport’s new girls head...
Burrell comes up short in pitchers’ duel in 1st round of PIAA softball playoffs
MIFFLINTOWN — With Fordham-bound junior Liz Gaisior in the circle for Juniata and senior Katie Armstrong, a Gannon commit, throwing for Burrell, an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel was expected Monday in a PIAA Class 3A first-round game at Juniata High School in Mifflintown. That is what came about over the seven...
Alle-Kiski Valley PIAA softball capsule: Game for Monday, June 5, 2023
PIAA Softball Class 3A First Round 7-3 Burrell (14-6) at 6-1 Juniata (22-3) 4 p.m. Monday at Juniata High School, Mifflintown Winner plays: Winner of 7-1 Avonworth (21-1)/10-2 Fort LeBoeuf (20-1) on Thursday in second round (site/time TBD) Players to Watch: Katie Armstrong, Burrell; Liz Gaisior, Juniata Extra-bases: Burrell is...
Burrell softball team wants long ride to start deep run
Burrell High School graduation is Thursday evening. Four senior members of the Bucs softball team who will be receiving their diplomas — Abbie Larko, Alanna Miller, Cassidy Novak and Katie Armstrong — hope the day is a busy one as it also is the day of the second round of...
Gateway notebook: Gators tandem takes 3rd at PIAA doubles championships
Emily Levine wasn’t witness to her Gateway doubles team’s run to third place at the PIAA Class 3A tournament May 27, at the Hershey Racquet Club. Her husband had undergone emergency eye surgery, and she wasn’t able to travel. But the news that traveled back to the Pittsburgh area excited...
Gateway showcases ‘premier baseball and softball complexes’ during WPIAL playoffs
When the baseball and softball fields at the Gateway Sports Complex were still in the construction stage, Gateway athletic director Don Holl gazed into his crystal ball and saw the facility hosting a number of WPIAL playoff games. Hope and optimism turned into reality over a two-week span from May...
Leechburg boys basketball coach Damian Davies resigns
Damian Davies said it was time to step away as head coach of the Leechburg boys basketball team but said he leaves with many positive moments from the four seasons of his second stint with the program. Davies said he made the decision a couple of weeks ago, ending the...
WPIAL girls lacrosse all-star teams released
Fox Chapel’s Sydney Schutzman and Mt. Lebanon’s Addie Murdoch in Class 3A and Hampton’s Emi DiLiberto in Class 2A were unanimous selections to the All-WPIAL girls lacrosse teams released Wednesday. The selections for All-WPIAL in both Class 3A and Class 2A as well as the four all-section teams are based...
Penn-Trafford earns spot in PIAA baseball playoffs with win over rival Plum
The first two meetings between baseball section rivals Plum and Penn-Trafford were close and low-scoring. Each won on their home field. The rubber matchup between the Mustangs and Warriors on Wednesday at Washington & Jefferson’s Ross Memorial Park was expected to be a similar type of contest, and it was....
Katie Armstrong strikes out 14 as Burrell blanks Waynesburg in WPIAL Class 3A third-place game
The Burrell softball team used small ball to pick up its first run of Tuesday’s WPIAL Class 3A third-place game against Waynesburg Central at Gateway. Sophomore Brae Jones led off with an infield single, was aggressive in moving to third on a sacrifice bunt from senior Alanna Miller and scored...
Greensburg Central Catholic holds off OLSH to advance to PIAA softball playoffs
In a win-or-go-home scenario Tuesday at Gateway, the Greensburg Central Catholic softball team survived. The Centurions bounced back from last week’s WPIAL Class 2A semifinal loss to No. 1 Neshannock with a 7-6 victory over Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in a battle for third place where only the...
Spot in states secure, but Burrell softball team still plenty to play for in 3rd-place game
Last year, the Burrell softball team lost in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals, dropping it to the third-place consolation game against Montour with a trip to the PIAA playoffs on the line. The Bucs, in a must-win situation to continue their season as only three Class 4A teams advanced to...
Gateway boys volleyball uses playoff defeat as learning moment
On the road and down a set in its WPIAL Class 2A first-round match against No. 7 Montour on May 16, the No. 10 Gateway boys volleyball team punched back and scored a win in set two to even things up. “It was nothing short of awesome to see us...
Gateway boys tennis team caps special season in PIAA semifinals
The Gateway boys tennis team surged to the top of WPIAL Class 3A this season and made its mark with a run at the PIAA tournament. First-year coach Emily Levine said it was a special feeling to be a part of it all with her players and to see the...
5 athletes, coach, cross country team to join Gateway Sports Hall of Fame in class of 2023
The Gateway Sports Hall of Fame will induct its next class of Gators athletic greats this fall, and the first class since 2019 has been selected. The group includes five athletes, a teacher/coach and one team. Robert Kalkstein (Class of 2010) was 41-9 as Gateway’s starting quarterback and played in...
