Bill Beckner stories, Page 98

Southmoreland softball players jumped up and stood on the team bench during Tuesday’s playoff opener at Norwin. They were afraid to sit down because a small snake emerged from under the turf and slithered along the bench area before finally disappearing into the woods behind the dugout. Scotties freshman Makayla...

Class 6A First round 9-Hempfield (8-12) vs. 8-Seneca Valley (13-7) *4 p.m. Wednesday at Plum Winner plays: 1-Mt. Lebanon (13-7) on May 23 in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Brandon Coughlin, Sr., Hempfield; A.J. Capizzi, Jr., Seneca Valley Last year’s finish: Hempfield — Lost to North Allegheny, 4-0,...

Class 6A Quarterfinals 8-Norwin (6-9) vs. 1-Hempfield (12-3) 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Penn-Trafford Winner plays: Winner of 5-Bethel Park (9-8) vs. 4-Seneca Valley (10-6), May 25 (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Angelina Pepe, Sr., Norwin; Margaret Howard, So., Hempfield Extra bases: Norwin overpowered No. 9 Baldwin in the first...

Notre Dame junior golfer Palmer Jackson, a Franklin Regional alum, was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Team. Jackson has nine top-10 finishes in 11 tournaments and averages 70.15, which ranks 16th in the nation. He made national watch lists for the Hogan Award and Haskins Award and will play...

Norwin softball had its team banquet the night before the playoff opener. Odd timing? For sure. But it also allowed the Lady Knight to spin forward instead of looking back. To offer pep talks and atta-girls rather than farewell hugs and nostalgia. This season isn’t over yet. “We’re coming in...

WPIAL softball playoffs Capsule previews Class 5A First round 12-Latrobe (9-4) vs. 5-West Allegheny (12-4) 6 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny Winner plays: Winner of 13-Upper St. Clair (6-14) vs. 4-North Hills (14-3) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Jenna Tallman, Sr., Latrobe; Elly Vicari-Baker, So.,...

WPIAL baseball playoffs Capsule previews Class 5A First round 12-Thomas Jefferson (13-6) vs. 5-Latrobe (12-7) 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hempfield Winner plays: Winner of 13-Chartiers Valley (9-11) vs. 4-Mars (14-5) on Thursday in quarterfinals Players to watch: T.J. Bucy, Sr., Thomas Jefferson; Logan Short, Sr., Latrobe Last year’s finish: Thomas...

Coming back to Seton Hill for a fifth season has brought Jenna Osikowicz riches: an NCAA Division II Atlantic Region title, a second straight PSAC West title and now, a second consecutive PSAC West Athlete of the Year award. An outfielder from Hempfield, Osikowicz also made the all-conference first team....

Six baseball teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference made the field for the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament, including Seton Hill, Slippery Rock and Gannon. The double-elimination tournament begins Thursday. There are two Atlantic Region “pods.” The winners will meet in a Super Regional for a spot in...

Inspired by what he heard and saw, Andrew Nesler set out to help — a good soldier wanting to pay back an army of them for their service. A junior football player at Franklin Regional, Nesler formed a fundraiser called “DefenseForDefense” aimed at raising money for disabled war veterans. The...

WPIAL softball playoffs Class 6A First round 9-Baldwin (4-11) vs. 8-Norwin (5-9) 3 p.m. Monday at West Mifflin Winner plays: 1-Hempfield (12-3) at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Penn-Trafford Players to watch: Gabby Jaquay, Fr., Baldwin; Madie Kessler, Jr., Norwin Last year’s finish: Baldwin — Lost to Bethel Park, 9-1, in...

Bailey Snowberger School: Norwin Sport: Softball Year: Sophomore Claim to fame: Snowberger, a shortstop, helped Norwin make a late push for a WPIAL Class 6A playoff spot. She led off Tuesday’s game with a triple, hustling to third and beating the throw, and finished with two hits and an RBI...

Ligonier Valley ace softball pitcher Maddie Griffin could miss Wednesday’s WPIAL playoff opener, and possibly be out longer, because of an injury to her throwing hand. The senior right-hander, who tossed a 21-strikeout perfect game earlier this season, was hurt Monday during a game at Apollo-Ridge. Griffin hit a grounder...

Basketball season ended months ago, but the Roundball Classic will bring together some of the top talent from the WPIAL this week. The nine senior all-star games will be Thursday through Saturday at Geneva College in Beaver Falls. Area boys selected are Nick Crum and Noah Wright of Penn-Trafford, Michael...

Winning can do a lot for a high school football program, not the least of which boost college recruiting and a school’s reputation within that realm. When teams win championships, college coaches show up. Teams that win must have legitimate talent, they deduce. That is the case at Penn-Trafford, where...

Emily Brozeski won the heptathlon in record fashion May 8 at the Atlantic 10 track and field championships in Richmond, Va. The Duquesne sophomore and Norwin graduate captured gold with a school-record 5,122 points, posting first-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and long jump. She took second in...

The Norwin track and field teams advanced to the WPIAL Class 3A championship. The meet was set for May 11 at West Mifflin. At the semifinal meet, the girls earned commanding wins over Canon-McMillan (98-52), Bethel Park (124-26) and Belle Vernon (120-30). The boys topped Connellsville (121-29), Canon-McMillan (97-53) and...

When two second-place section teams received better seeds than his section-winning one, Yough baseball coach Craig Spisak didn’t kick up dust. After winning its second section title in four years, Yough was branded with a No. 5 seed in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A baseball playoffs, which...

Franklin Regional won’t get the No. 1 seed like it did last year, but the Panthers have something most of the other teams in the WPIAL Class 5A playoff field don’t have: championship experience. The defending champions, who ran their winning streak to six with a 10-3 win over Kiski...

Favorite: Perennial power Hempfield has been ranked No. 1 for most of the season not based on reputation but on talent. While the Spartans are young (four seniors) and could be a year or two away from possible WPIAL glory, they have pitching, hitters and defense that can carry them...

Zach David and Max Kallock appeared to be the ideal one-two pitching punch for Greensburg Central Catholic. They were posturing to pair up and help the Centurions navigate section series and make a WPIAL run in Class A. But then injuries threw them a curveball. Actually, they both suffered the...

The WPIAL is scheduled to release playoff brackets at 4 p.m. Thursday virtually via the TribLive High School Sports Network. The rundown of local teams in the postseason looks like this: Hempfield (12-2) and Norwin (4-8) in Class 6A; Franklin Regional (13-5), Kiski Area (12-5), Penn-Trafford (13-2) and Latrobe (7-4)...

When Katie Hutter was small, she picked up a softball bat for the first time and immediately squared up like a left-handed hitter. “I was told right away that wasn’t the way to bat,” Hutter said. “But I don’t know, maybe it was meant to be.” Before she became the...

There was a WPIAL “last chance” track and field meet going on Tuesday at Norwin. Simultaneously, on the upper part of the campus, there also was a “last chance” softball game. With its season hanging in the balance, Norwin took care of business in the Section 2-6A finale, delivering a...

Emily Brozeski won the heptathlon in record fashion Sunday at the Atlantic 10 Track and Field Championships in Richmond, Va. The Duquesne sophomore and Norwin graduate captured gold with a school-record 5,122 points, posting first-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and long jump. She took second in the...