Michael Love stories, Page 70
Fresh faces have Burrell softball team 1 win from PIAA playoffs
Bella Stewart said it all was a bit nerve-wracking at first when she jumped in head first as the Burrell softball team began the season. “We knew that there were spots that needed to be filled,” said Stewart, the team’s starting catcher from Day 1 and one of six freshmen,...
Gateway boys volleyball coach reflects after special season
The Gateway boys volleyball team was on the doorstep of a big victory in a WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal match against Ambridge on May 19 at North Allegheny. The Gators, champions of Section 2 and the No. 4 seed, led the No. 5 Bridgers, 2-1, in their best-of-five match. Game...
Gateway Sports Hall of Fame plans to honor Class of 2022
Plans are in motion for the Gateway Sports Hall of Fame to resume honoring athletic greats this year. The committee charged with selecting the Class of 2022 tentatively is scheduled to meet this month to finalize the class and also discuss other matters relating to the banquet and induction ceremony...
Missed opportunities prove costly for Plum baseball team
The Plum baseball team was no stranger to a close game even before it played its WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff game against No. 6 Shaler on May 17 at North Allegheny. The 11th-seeded Mustangs battled to keep their season alive, but the Titans were just that much better in...
Strong finish helped Plum cap season in WPIAL playoffs
The Penn-Trafford softball team will play for a WPIAL Class 5A title against Armstrong on Thursday at Cal (Pa.). The Warriors were dominant in the regular season, losing just a pair of one-run games, and as the No. 2 seed, they were favored to make a deep postseason run. Plum...
Elizabeth Forward puts end to Burrell’s softball title hopes
While the Burrell softball team failed to reach one of its goals Wednesday, another one remains very much in play. The Bucs saw their pursuit of a WPIAL Class 4A title halted in a 2-1 semifinal loss to No. 2 Elizabeth Forward at Norwin. But No. 3 Burrell’s season isn’t...
Alle-Kiski sends plenty of track athletes to PIAAs
Deer Lakes senior Carson McCoy doesn’t have to wait long to run at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University. He will be on the track at 9 a.m. Friday morning in defense of his Class 2A boys 1,600-meter title. It is the first of many events on...
Deer Lakes softball holds off South Allegheny, reaches WPIAL Class 3A final
The Deer Lakes softball team is back where it has been several times over the past decade. The Lancers, the No. 3 seed in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, punched their tickets to their sixth WPIAL title game since 2012 with a 5-4 victory over No. 2 South Allegheny on...
A-K Valley WPIAL playoff softball capsule: Game for Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Class 4A Semifinals 2-Elizabeth Forward (15-2) vs. 3-Burrell (12-1) 3 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 1-Beaver Area (17-0) vs. 5-Montour (14-4) Players to Watch: Carlee Soukup, Elizabeth Forward; Pyper Ferres, Burrell Extra bases: The Warriors won their first WPIAL title in 2019 when they shut out Mt....
Burrell’s lone senior, Caroline Dynka helps lead Bucs to playoff win
Caroline Dynka didn’t want her varsity career to end Monday on the turf at Norwin High School. The lone senior on the Burrell softball team, a mainstay and leader for four years and three seasons, Dynka did whatever she could to help her team get a run or two on...
Burrell softball advances with grueling 11-inning win vs. Belle Vernon
The Burrell and Belle Vernon softball teams went well beyond regulation to decide their WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal game Monday at Norwin. As dusk approached and the teams were locked in a scoreless battle with a trip to the semifinals on the line — Belle Vernon’s Talia Ross and Burrell’s...
Alle-Kiski Valley softball playoff capsules: Games of Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Class A semifinals 1-West Greene (13-3) vs. 4-Springdale (11-1) 6 p.m. at Boyce Mayview Park, Upper St. Clair Township Winner plays: Winner of 2-Union (18-3) vs. 3-Greensburg Central Catholic (12-5) in championship game June 1 at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) Players to watch: Alexis Hrivnak, Springdale; London Whipkey, West Greene...
A-K Valley softball playoff capsules: Games of Monday, May 23, 2022
Class 4A quarterfinals 6-Belle Vernon (12-7-1) vs. 3-Burrell (11-1) 5 p.m. at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 10-West Mifflin (12-9) vs. 2-Elizabeth Forward (14-2) on Wednesday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Ashley Joll, Belle Vernon; Katie Armstrong, Burrell Extra bases: Belle Vernon registered its first playoff win...
Gateway’s Robinson sprints to berth at PIAA championship meet
Next spring, Amaya Robinson hopes to make an impact on the track at Slippery Rock University as a member of The Rock women’s track and field team. She got one final tune up for future success there last week as she ran both the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the...
Riverview runners take aim at state medals
Riverview junior Amberson Bauer and senior teammates Ty Laughlin and Parker Steele were a part of last year’s boys 3,200-meter relay which set a school record and brought home WPIAL gold. Freshman Chris Barnes came on board this season, replacing the graduated Mason Ochs. The quartet made a strong run...
Plum’s Brooks, Domke earn WPIAL track and field medals
The Plum boys and girls track and field teams were well represented at the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships last week at Slippery Rock University. A pair of Mustangs — senior Logan Brooks and junior Connor Domke — brought home top-eight medals from the meet which was contested...
A-K Valley Hall of Fame honors 10 inductees
Bob White was a three-year football standout at Freeport who went on to star at Penn State and captain the 1986 Nittany Lions to the national championship. Through his on-field successes, he said he always understood there were so many people who helped guide him. “When I find myself in...
Southmoreland surges past Ellwood City into WPIAL Class 3A semifinals
Facing an early deficit against Ellwood City in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal Thursday at North Allegheny, the Southmoreland softball team responded in a big way. The No. 5 Scotties scored nine runs in the top of the fourth to surge into the lead. They added on the rest of...
Greensburg CC gets past Leechburg to make 1st semifinal trip in a decade
The Greensburg Central Catholic softball team will play in a WPIAL semifinal game for the first time in 10 years. The Centurions got back-to-back run-scoring doubles from sophomore Macee Magill and junior Isabella Marquez in the bottom of the eighth to rally past No. 6 Leechburg, 9-8, in a Class...
Deer Lakes’ Carson McCoy adds WPIAL gold to his medal collection
Carson McCoy won state gold last year in the 1,600-meter run, and now he can display that hardware with a pair of WPIAL individual gold medals. The Deer Lakes senior entered Wednesday’s WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships at Slippery Rock University seeded first in the boys 1,600 and...
After another long layoff, Springdale softball ‘all about keeping the momentum going’
The Springdale softball team’s 3-1 victory over rival Leechburg on May 11 gave it an outright section title for the first time since the 1998 team went 14-0 in section play and made the semifinals of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs. Now, this year’s Dynamos hope to make a run...
Greensburg Central Catholic beats Leechburg for elusive 1st-round win
Last year, the Greensburg Central Catholic baseball team earned the No. 2 seed for the WPIAL Class A playoffs and secured a first-round bye. But the Centurions met a quick and frustrating end to the season with a quarterfinal loss to Riverview. This time around, the Centurions made sure there...
A-K Valley WPIAL playoff baseball/softball capsules: Games for Wednesday, May 18, 2022
BASEBALL Class 4A First Round 8-Highlands (13-6) vs. 9-Quaker Valley (8-9) 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Plum The Golden Rams finished in a three-way tie for second in Section 1 at 6-4, and they won seven of eight to close out the regular season. Highlands is in the playoffs for the...
Former Highlands QB hired to coach Golden Rams football team
Matt Bonislawski is a Golden Ram once again. The former football standout at Highlands who returned to the school as athletic director from 2007-2013 was hired Monday evening as the school district’s new head football coach. Bonislawski was recommended to the Highlands school board of directors by the athletic department,...
A-K Valley WPIAL baseball and softball playoff preview capsules for May 17, 2022
Baseball Class 5A First round 11-Plum (12-6) vs. 6-Shaler (14-6) 7 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny The teams last met in the playoffs in 2015, a WPIAL Quad-A quarterfinal game won by Shaler, 1-0 … The Mustangs, the third-place team from Section 2, lost three of four to end the...
