A-K Valley notebook: Freeport captures summer league title

By: Bill Hartlep
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 | 8:01 AM

High school basketball season is still months away, but excitement levels ramped up a little early for the Freeport boys basketball team.

The Yellowjackets captured the St. Joseph summer league championship with a buzzer-beating victory over Kiski Area on Thursday.

Rising junior Brady Sullivan hit the game-winning shot.

Fellow rising junior Gavin Glista had hit a 3-pointer seconds earlier to tie the game with just under a minute remaining.

“We were down 10 at one point in the game and battled back,” coach Sean DeVinney said. “Guys executed down the stretch and got stops. Proud how they grinded out the victory.”

The momentous victory helped the Freeport boys finish 11-1 in the league and 16-3 overall this summer.

In addition to Freeport and Kiski Area, the league also featured teams from Valley, Leechburg, Armstrong, St. Joseph, Burrell and Springdale.

A-K Valley players named to all-state team

Deer Lakes teammates Maddie Kee and Reese Hasley, Freeport’s Natalie King and Abby DeJidas and Burrell pitcher Katie Armstrong each earned second-team all-state softball honors last week from the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association.

In Class 3A, Kee was selected as a pitcher. The sophomore finished 14-3 with a 1.88 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 112 innings. Kee batted .371 with 24 RBIs. Hasley, a senior outfielder, led the Lancers in batting at .409 (27 of 66) with 17 RBIs.

In Class 4A, King, a senior catcher, had a .458 average (27 of 59) with team highs of 18 RBIs and 20 runs scored. She also belted a team-best three home runs. DeJidas, a sophomore shortstop, carried on momentum from her strong freshman season when she hit over .300 to earn all-section honors.

Armstrong, a junior pitcher and the Valley News Dispatch player of the year, had 14 wins and 257 strikeouts and finished with a 0.18 ERA and an 0.58 WHIP.

Countdown to fall

Summer has arrived, and high school athletes should enjoy the down time while it lasts.

The fall season isn’t far around the corner.

Heat acclimatization begins for football players Aug. 8. The first day for all fall sports practices is Aug. 15.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport