High School category, Page 499
With strong returning core, Norwin softball has sights set on playoffs
Six out of nine teams in WPIAL Class 6A will make the playoffs this softball season. Norwin does not plan to be one of the unfortunate three. The WPIAL condensed its largest classification in to one section. It also includes Seneca Valley, North Allegheny, Mt. Lebanon, Hempfield, Baldwin, Butler, Canon-McMillan...
Norwin notebook: Fox Chapel ends hockey team’s season
Top-seeded Fox Chapel avenged a loss to Norwin in a semifinal rematch and ended the Knights’ season March 12 with a 7-3 win to advance to the PIHL Class A Penguins Cup final. Norwin was the defending champion. Fox Chapel jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second...
With playoff sting faded, North Hills softball turns page
The sting from last June sat with the North Hills softball team for a while, but now the Indians are ready to atone with a new cast. North Hills finished the 2022 season with a 17-5 record. It lost to eventual champion Armstrong in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals and...
North Hills boys basketball season marked by ups, downs
For a second straight year, Buzz Gabos is proud of his team’s accomplishments but also is left wanting more. Gabos, who just completed his 17th season as North Hills’ boys basketball coach, led the Indians to a 20-7 record with appearances in the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA first round. “I’m...
Hampton’s Vitaliy Pikalo ascends to No. 1 singles spot
In tennis, “love” is another word for zero. But for Hampton’s No. 1 singles player, adoration for his newfound sport has added up to a lot. Junior Vitaliy Pikalo, a lifelong swimmer who started playing tennis only two years ago, has used his devotion to the courts to claim the...
Hampton softball off to powerful start
The Hampton softball team opened the 2023 season with a bizarre at-bat the Talbots won’t soon forget. Junior leadoff hitter Charlotte Lomb smashed a deep first-inning drive at Fox Chapel on March 20 that was called a ground-rule double. But umpires eventually ruled the ball cleared the fence, giving Lomb...
Young Fox Chapel softball team works to build confidence
Alina Stiger may feel anxiety about other things, but the Fox Chapel senior welcomes the anxious feeling softball can provide. The Foxes shortstop/center fielder is one of two seniors on the team this season. With a roster breakdown that features 15 freshmen and sophomores and seven upperclassmen, Fox Chapel will...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 25, 2023
High schools WPIAL Baseball Friday’s schedule Nonsection Armstrong 5, Freeport 0 Derry 17, West Shamokin 1 Franklin Regional 9, Shaler 3 Gateway 11, Riverview 1 Knoch 8, Valley 6 North Hills 15, Saddle Brook (NJ) 0 Pine-Richland 6, Mars 2 Seneca Valley 6, Bethel Park 3 South Fayette 10, St....
High school roundup for March 24, 2023: Off to fast start, Franklin Regional tops Shaler
Daniel Luko went 2 for 2 with two doubles and an RBI to lead Franklin Regional to a 9-3 victory over Shaler in nonsection baseball Friday. Cole Brinker had two hits and two RBIs and Anthony Alesi also drove in two runs for the Panthers (4-0). Miguel Hugas drove in...
Mars’ Olivia Donnelly beats rival in hot shot competition at Cager Classic skills event
Olivia Donnelly and Hattie McGraw had an opportunity to settle an old Butler County rivalry Friday night at Highlands. Donnelly, a Mars senior, and McGraw, a Knoch senior, were paired against each other in the finals of the girls hot-shot competition at the Cager Classic, with Donnelly prevailing. Both programs...
PIAA Class 4A girls basketball championship breakdown: Lansdale Catholic vs. Blackhawk
PIAA Class 4A girls basketball championship Lansdale Catholic vs. Blackhawk Noon Saturday, at Hershey’s Giant Center On the air: TV: PCN; Radio: WMBA-AM 1460, WBVP-AM 1230, WBVP-FM 99.3 Streaming audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com PIAA titles: Lansdale Catholic 0; Blackhawk 4 (1999, 2000, ‘14, ‘15) Lansdale Catholic (27-2) Coach: Eric Gidney Probable starting...
PIAA Class 3A boys basketball championship breakdown: West Catholic vs. Deer Lakes
PIAA Class 3A boys basketball championship West Catholic vs. Deer Lakes 2 p.m. Saturday, Hershey’s Giant Center On the air: TV: PCN PIAA titles: West Catholic 0; Deer Lakes 0 West Catholic (19-10) Coach: Miguel Bocachica Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos. 0, Adam Clark, 5-10, sr., G...
PIAA Class 5A girls basketball championship breakdown: South Fayette vs. Archbishop Wood
PIAA Class 5A girls basketball championship South Fayette vs. Archbishop Wood 6 p.m. Saturday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Radio: WJPA-FM 95.3; Streaming audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com PIAA titles: South Fayette 0, Archbishop Wood 7 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022) South Fayette (28-2) Coach: Bryan Bennett Probable...
Like Deer Lakes, West Catholic taking aim at 1st PIAA boys basketball title
Coach Miguel Bocachica says he’s just a guy who opens the gym at West Catholic Preparatory High School. He credits his players’ hard work as the primary reason the Burrs earned their first District 12 boys basketball title earlier this month and are set to play Deer Lakes at 2...
Aliquippa again finishes as PIAA runner-up after loss to Lancaster Mennonite
HERSHEY — Trips to the so-called “Sweetest Place on Earth” have become bittersweet for Aliquippa. The Quips lost in the state basketball finals for the second year in a row Friday, this time doomed by a poor shooting night in a 60-44 loss to Lancaster Mennonite in a PIAA Class...
Union rolls past Lourdes Regional to claim 1st PIAA girls basketball championship
HERSHEY — Union’s girls basketball team was unbeatable for 16 straight games in reaching the PIAA finals, and finished off that winning run with a historic victory on the biggest stage in Pennsylvania. The Scotties captured the program’s first state title with a 46-29 win over Lourdes Regional in the...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 23, 2023
High schools WPIAL Baseball Thursday’s schedule Nonsection Indiana 10, DuBois Central Catholic 7 Mt. Pleasant 16, Elkins (WV) 5 Washington 7, Jeannette 3 Shady Side Academy 9, Sewickley Academy 0 Avonworth at Moon, ppd. Beaver Falls at West Allegheny, ppd. Belle Vernon at Connellsville, ppd. Carlynton at McGuffey, ppd. Chartiers...
High school roundup for March 23, 2023: Washington gets past Jeannette
Michael Shallcross singled and tripled and Kaden Partozoti tripled and drove in a pair to lead Washington to a 7-3 nonsection baseball victory over Jeannette on a rainy Thursday. Caleb Patton also tripled and Braden Dombrowski had two hits for the Little Prexies (2-1). Brayden Luttner singled, tripled and drove...
PIAA Class A girls basketball championship breakdown: Our Lady of Lourdes Regional vs. Union
PIAA Class A girls basketball championship Our Lady of Lourdes Regional vs. Union Noon Friday at Hershey’s Giant Center On the air: TV: PCN. Streaming audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com PIAA titles: Lourdes 1 (1994); Union 0 Lourdes Regional (22-7) Coach: Mike Klembara Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos. 0, Masie...
PIAA Class 2A boys basketball championship breakdown: Aliquippa vs. Lancaster Mennonite
Aliquippa vs. Lancaster Mennonite 2 p.m. Friday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN. Radio: WBVP-AM 1230, WMBA-AM 1460. Streaming audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com PIAA titles: Aliquippa 5 (1949, 1989, 1994, 1997, 2016), Lancaster Mennonite 0 Aliquippa (24-6) Coach: Nick Lackovich Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos. 2, Demarkus...
Lincoln Park beats perennial PIAA power Neumann-Goretti in state finals classic
HERSHEY — With 11 seconds on the clock, Lincoln Park’s Meleek Thomas knew it was time to “boogie.” That’s his word to describe the late-game heroics he can do with the basketball in his hands. The 6-foot-4 sophomore star split two defenders and broke a tie with a high-arcing floater,...
Special season has community buzzing about Deer Lakes basketball
All along the main drag, as usual, business carried on in the village of Russellton. Shoppers headed in and out of the Deer Lakes Plaza, near the Russellton Fields soccer complex. Down the way, a man refueled his car at Trocki’s Service. Beyond there, at Tatoni’s Restaurant and Ale House,...
Former Yough coach Spisak set for new challenge leading Norwin baseball team
He wears navy blue and gold now instead of orange and green, but Craig Spisak still looks the part as a baseball coach preparing for a new season. Uniform day was slightly more hectic this year, however. “It’s still baseball,” he said. “It’s just baseball … with a lot more...
Westmoreland baseball notebook: Several teams head south to tune up for WPIAL season
Fun in the sun sure beats cold temperatures when it comes to playing baseball. Three local teams headed south to open the WPIAL season. Belle Vernon held its “spring training” in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Leopards played two games at Baseball City, while also attending pro games between the Philadelphia...
Armstrong’s Olsen, the 2022 winner, leads candidates for Thrower Award
WPIAL passing leader Cadin Olsen led Armstrong football to back-to-back quarterfinal playoff appearances. On Saturday, he is hoping for a different kind of repeat. Olsen is one of five finalists for the Willie Thrower Award, given to the top quarterback from the WPIAL and City League. The award winner will...
