Penn-Trafford notebook: Warriors hockey advances in Penguins Cup playoffs

By: Triblive
Sunday, March 10, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Gavin Paterson scored the tie-breaking goal in the final minute of the second period and Tyler Funk made 31 saves as No. 8 Penn-Trafford knocked off defending champ South Fayette, the No. 1 seed, 4-3, in the PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup quarterfinals March 4.

Ben Zierski, Cam Kiste and Robert Thatcher also scored for Penn-Trafford, which was to meet No. 4 Norwin in the semifinals March 12.

Bennett Malky, Jackson Brandebura and Tyler Brandebura scored for South Fayette.

P-T wrestlers compete at WPIAL meet

Four Penn-Trafford wrestlers earned medals at the WPIAL Class 3A championships March 2, at Canon-McMillan.

Dylan Barrett and Hayden Coy were runners-up in their weight classes, while Tasso Whipple finished fifth and Logan Matrisch was seventh.

Barrett won 17-0, 15-0 and 8-4 in his early rounds before falling to Peters Township’s Nicholas McGarrity, 6-2, in the finals at 107 pounds.

Coy had a 19-4 win, a pin in 1:19 and a 7-5 decision en route to the 145-pound finals where he fell to Connellsville’s Evan Petrovich, 4-2.

The top four finishers in each weight class advanced to the PIAA tournament in Hershey, which was held over the weekend.

Whipple won his fifth-place bout with a pin in 1:46 over Waynesburg’s Jake Stephenson at 189 pounds.

At 152 pounds, Matrisch beat Bethel Park’s Ian Buchell, 5-1, in the seventh-place match.

Also competing at the WPIAL championships for the Warriors were Luke Desantis (121 pounds), Logan Ventura (127), Sidney Hand (133) and Dylan Clayton (160).

Penn-Trafford finished eighth in the team standings with 74.5 points. Connellsville led the way with 146.5.

Seton Hill upsets No. 1 team

It took extra innings and some tense moments late, but Seton Hill pulled the biggest upset so far of the NCAA Division II baseball season with a 6-5 victory over No.1-ranked and previously undefeated Tampa on Monday before 300 at UT Baseball Field in Tampa, Fla.

Junior Max Mandler went 3 for 5 with a home run, freshman Jakob Haynes (Penn-Trafford) added two hits and grad student Owen Sabol (Norwin) scored two runs as the Griffins (7-3) rallied from after the Spartans (17-1) scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to send it to extra innings.

Seton Hill took a 5-3 lead into the home half of the ninth after Mandler’s solo shot.

In the top of the 11th, senior Noah Sweeney (Greensburg Salem) grounded into a double play, but senior Aidan Shephard (Norwin) scored on the play to make it 6-5.

Evan Rossi came on to work a scoreless 10th before junior Christian Zilli (Hempfield), the fifth pitcher of the afternoon for the Griffins, worked a 1-2-3 11th, with a strikeout, to earn his third save.

Senior Braden Durham, Sabol, Shephard, Sweeney and Mandler had doubles.

The Griffins scored three times in the top half of the seventh inning on the way to a 10-9 victory over Minnesota State in Florida.

Durham and freshman Owen Mandler homered and drove in three runs apiece, sophomore Jack Whalen (Norwin) went 3 for 4 with three runs, and grad student Jack Oberdorf (Greensburg Salem) and junior Matt Frazetta had two hits each in the victory.

Zilli picked up his first save for the Griffins.

Spiegel shines for Panthers

Pitt sophomore shortstop Jake Kendro (Norwin) went 2 for 4 with a home run, four RBIs and three runs, and grad student designated hitter Josh Spiegel (Penn-Trafford) doubled and drove in two in the high-scoring Panthers’ 19-9 win over Oklahoma.

Kendro homered again in a 19-7 win over California. Kendro and Spiegel are newcomers to the Panthers. Kendro transferred from Tennessee, Spiegel from Penn State.

Tags: Penn-Trafford