High School category, Page 91
Eden Christian falls short to Southern Fulton in PIAA Class A baseball final
STATE COLLEGE – For the third time since 2021, Eden Christian Academy fell short of hoisting its first PIAA baseball championship trophy after falling to Southern Fulton, 14-3, on Thursday at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Warriors (19-6) had one goal in mind — finishing the job...
Neshannock repeats as undefeated PIAA Class 2A softball champion
While the opponent was the same as a year prior, Neshannock softball faced a challenge they had not seen often during this season — a deficit. But the same as a year ago, a big inning for the Lancers broke open the game en route to a Neshannock championship. Neshannock’s...
PIAA Class 5A softball state championship preview: Penn-Trafford vs. Greencastle-Antrim
Class 5A Penn-Trafford (23-3) vs. Greencastle-Antrim (22-3) 4 p.m. Friday at Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park, Penn State District-place: Penn-Trafford 7-2; Greencastle-Antrim 3-3 PIAA titles: Penn-Trafford 1 (2019); Greencastle-Antrim 1 (2009) Road to State College: Penn-Trafford — Defeated 6-1 Central Mountain, (3-2), 3-1 Red Land (6-5) and 7-3...
Penn-Trafford playoff run wakes up the echoes of 2019 state championship team
Former Penn-Trafford outfielder Brooke Cleland recalls catching the final out at Beard Field and squeezing her glove around the softball. It was like time stopped for a millisecond. Then, in a rush of emotion and noise unlike anything she and her teammates had ever experienced, it became official: The Warriors...
Central Catholic linebacker Colsen Gatten picks Duke
Central Catholic linebacker Colsen Gatten, one of the top players in WPIAL football’s Class of ‘26, will play his college ball at Duke. The 6-foot-1½, 220-pound rising senior announced his commitment Wednesday on social media. Gatten had 51 tackles and three interceptions for the WPIAL Class 6A champs last season....
Aliquippa school board votes to oust championship basketball coach Nick Lackovich after all
Four-time WPIAL champion boys basketball coach Nick Lackovich is out at Aliquippa after all. In the conclusion of a three-week saga, the Aliquippa school board voted 5-4 on Wednesday night not to renew the contract of Lackovich, who also led the Quips to a pair of PIAA championships. On May...
PIAA Class 5A baseball championship game preview: Shaler vs. Upper Dublin
This will be the eighth season the PIAA has hosted a Class 5A baseball championship. Four of the previous seven winners were from the WPIAL. Latrobe was the first champion crowned in 2017. Bethel Park won back-to-back state gold in 2021-2022 and Shaler won the 5A title two years ago...
PIAA Class 3A baseball championship game preview: Riverside vs. Mount Carmel
The PIAA has been deciding a champion in Class 3A baseball for nearly a half-century. The first 3A baseball state champion was Hatboro-Horsham from District 1 in 1977. The second winner in 1978 was Penn Hills from the WPIAL. There have been 14 Class 3A state champs from the WPIAL...
PIAA Class 2A softball championship game preview: Neshannock vs. South Williamsport
The first PIAA Class 2A softball champion was crowned 46 years ago when Minersville from District 11 won the 1979 championship. The first WPIAL team to win a 2A softball state title was 10 years later when Sto-Rox captured the 1989 crown. Five years later, Central Columbia became the first...
PIAA Class A baseball championship game preview: Eden Christian vs. Southern Fulton
There have been 25 PIAA Class A baseball champions crowned since Camp Hill from District 3 won the inaugural classification championship in 1999. Since then, there have been five state Class A champions from the WPIAL, including Vincentian Academy twice (2016 and 2018), Serra Catholic (2011), Neshannock (2004) and Greensburg...
Multiple heroes have Penn-Trafford on brink of 2nd state softball title
If you hit, you play. That is Denny Little’s mantra for the Penn-Trafford softball team, and the ninth-year coach has an abundance of talented hitters to pencil onto his lineup card. “You take your nine best hitters, and you find a place for them,” Little said, not giving away any...
Southmoreland quarterback Anthony Smith transfers to Seton LaSalle
Rising sophomore quarterback Anthony Smith is leaving Southmoreland after a record-breaking first season. Smith, who became the second freshman in WPIAL history to pass for more than 2,000 yards last fall, has enrolled at Seton LaSalle. He was with the Rebels on Wednesday for a 7-on-7 workout at Woodland Hills....
5 WPIAL baseball teams to play for PIAA championships
Last year, WPIAL teams were shut out of the PIAA baseball gold rush. District 7 had two teams win state crowns in each of the previous three years. Buckle up, as five WPIAL teams — including four of district champions — are trying to capture gold this week at Penn...
3 WPIAL teams advance to PIAA softball finals
The 2025 WPIAL softball championship games are set for Thursday and Friday at Nittany Lion Softball Park at Penn State University. Only one defending champion is back in an effort to repeat, and is part of the only title game rematch from 2024. Undefeated Neshannock looks to not only repeat,...
North Allegheny set for PIAA boys volleyball finals
Two WPIAL boys volleyball champions reached the PIAA semifinals, but only one is moving on to play for state gold. North Allegheny knocked out Central York in four games to reach the PIAA Class 3A title match for the first time in three years. Meanwhile Shaler’s two-year run of playing...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for June 10, 2025
High schools Baseball PIAA tournament Class 6A Championship Friday’s schedule North Penn (22-5) vs. Cedar Cliff (20-6) at Penn State, 4:30 p.m. Class 5A Championship Thursday’s schedule Upper Dublin (17-5) vs. Shaler (20-6) at Penn State, 4:30 p.m. Class 4A Semifinals Tuesday’s result Indiana 6, East Pennsboro 5 Championship Friday’s...
Seneca Valley pitcher Lexie Hames named Gatorade player of year
Seneca Valley star pitcher Lexie Hames was named the Gatorade Pennsylvania Softball Player of the Year for the second straight season. Hames, a Clemson commit, led the Raiders to a WPIAL 6A runner-up finish, their fourth consecutive finals appearance. The two-time WPIAL champion went 17-3 with a 0.49 ERA, a...
Penn-Trafford softball step-sisters chase state title together
Penn-Trafford senior softball players Kylie Anthony and Cam Ponko have made tweaks to their swings this season. Anthony has embraced “sighting,” a timing approach that she and her teammates learned from former Warriors standout Emma Little. Ponko is focused more on “slugging,” which also shortens the swing and gets the...
Down to its last strike, Nazareth stuns Hempfield with 6-run rally in state semifinals
SHIPPENSBURG — Hempfield suffered a heartbreaking end to its highly successful season in the PIAA Class 6A softball semifinals Tuesday. Down to their last strike in the top of the seventh, the Nazareth Blue Eagles put together a dramatic six-run rally to pull out a 6-4 decision. Nazareth will play...
Riverside wins another duel with South Park to reach Class 3A state finals
When Riverside defeated South Park 1-0 in 12 innings in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals, the Eagles hoped for another opportunity to face the Panthers in the PIAA playoffs, while Riverside expected the possibility of another game between the two teams. Opportunity and possibility became reality Tuesday afternoon at Seneca...
Indiana wins longest baseball playoff game in PIAA history
Indiana won the longest baseball game in PIAA playoff history Tuesday, scoring the decisive run on a walk-off walk by Caden Force in the bottom of the 17th inning of a 6-5 victory over East Pennsboro in the PIAA Class 4A semifinals. The game was suspended tied 5-5 after 13...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for June 9, 2025
High schools Baseball PIAA tournament Class 6A Semifinals Monday’s results North Penn 1, Neshaminy 0 Cedar Cliff 3, Bethlehem Liberty 2 Championship Friday’s schedule North Penn (22-5) vs. Cedar Cliff (20-6) at Penn State, 4:30 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Monday’s results Upper Dublin 1, Elizabethtown 0 Shaler 2, Lampeter-Strasburg 0...
Shady Side Academy boys lacrosse in state semifinals for 1st time
Prior to this spring, the Shady Side Academy boys lacrosse program had reached the PIAA quarterfinals three times. The Bulldogs lost all three — by one goal, one goal and three goals. However, the program made history Saturday when it stunned District 3 champion Manheim Township to win and advance...
Pair of WPIAL teams still alive in hunt for PIAA boys volleyball titles
In the 2012 PIAA boys volleyball championships, Chambersburg defeated Pennridge in the Class 3A finals and Bethlehem Catholic knocked off York Suburban in the 2A title match. That was the last year the PIAA boys volleyball finals were contested without a WPIAL representative. Heading into the 2025 PIAA boys volleyball...
High school roundup for June 9, 2025: Freedom, Eden Christian baseball, Neshannock, Union softball make state finals
Freedom came into the WPIAL Class 2A baseball playoffs as a No. 8 seed. Four weeks and eight wins later, the Bulldogs will be playing for a state title. Boden Hilliard threw a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts and one walk to lead Freedom to a 2-0 victory over District...
