Baseball
Scholastic Notebook – 06/11/2012
June 11, 2012
Blackhawk coach Bob Amalia must decide whether or not to bring back standout pitcher Brendan McKay on only three days rest for the PIAA semifinals Monday. But Blackhawk’s opponent also has an ace who pitched a complete-game Thursday. Blackhawk (22-2) will meet West York (21-4) in a Class AAA Semifinal 3 p.m. Monday at Hollidaysburg. West York features Kaden Hepler, who will be pitching Division I college baseball next year at Winthrop. Hepler has been superb this season with a 12-0 record. He has a 0.54 ERA and has struck out 116 in 78 1/3 innings. He has allowed only 46 hits.2012 WPIAL Baseball All-Star Game Recaps
The top senior baseball players in the WPIAL were on display Sunday afternoon at the Burkett Complex in Robinson Township in the 2012 WPIAL Baseball Coaches Association All-Star games. The doubleheader event pitted Class AAAA stars vs. Class AAA stars and the top players from Class AA against the best from Class A. One game was a nail-biter was the other was a rout. Here are recaps from both games.CLASS AAAA 16 - CLASS AAA 3 By Mike AzadianIn the WPIAL baseball coaches association AAAA versus AAA all star game held at Burkett Field in Robinson Twp, the AAAA squad put a hitting and pitching lesson on in winning 16-3.PIAA Baseball First Round Recaps for Monday, June 4th
June 4, 2012
A year ago, two WPIAL teams; Riverside in AA and Serra Catholic in A joined Conestoga and Northern York and PIAA baseball champions. Serra did not qualify for the state postseason this spring, leaving Riverside as the lone D-7 school looking to repeat in the PIAA. That dream for the Panthers remains alive after Round One, Here are recaps from the First Round on Monday, June 4th in the 2012 PIAA Baseball Playoffs.Thanks to Steve Nagler, Mark Schaas and Hugh Mulvey for their help on these recaps.PIAA CLASS AAAA First Round:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 06/04/2012
With the district high school baseball and softball postseason behind us, the focus switches to the diamond state playoffs starting this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have coverage of the First Round and the Quarterfinals from both the PIAA baseball and softball state playoffs along with pro baseball featuring the Class AA Eastern League's Altoona Curve and the Frontier League's Washington Wild Things, women's pro football featuring the Pittsburgh Passion and mens semi-pro football featuring the Tri-State Steel Storm, plus all of the news from the auto racing world with Rappin on Racin ALL here at MSAsports.netMonday, June 4th:Scholastic Notebook – 06/01/2012
June 1, 2012
After Blackhawk’s Brendan McKay pitched a shutout in the WPIAL Class AAA championship Thursday, Blackhawk coach Bob Amalia said there is no stage too big for McKay. But as sophomores go, McKay has the entire stage to himself. The way McKay has pitched this season brings about a question. Has there ever been a sophomore pitcher in the WPIAL who has enjoyed this much success in one of the largest classifications? McKay, a sophomore left-hander, has been tremendous for a pitcher in any year, let alone one in his sophomore season. His statistics go beyond impressive.Northern Brights: Seneca Valley, Blackhawk, Ellwood City & Neshannock Are Gold in 2012 WPIAL Baseball
All of the district baseball gold was discovered in the north in 2012. Two Lawrence County, one Butler County and a northern Beaver County team captured WPIAL championships at CONSOL Energy Park, with three of the four title games coming down to the final at-bat. While Neshannock was able to repeat in Class A in somewhat 'comfortable' fashion, Seneca Valley's second straight title in AAAA, Ellwood City's dethroning of rival Riverside in AA and Blackhawk's second baseball crown in AAA all came in the form of heart-pumping finishes. Here are ALL of the final scores from the 2012 WPIAL Baseball Playoffs.
Cougars Win Catfight, Beat Leopards in WPIAL AAA Baseball Thriller
May 31, 2012
Coach Bob Amalia's nerves have got to be frazzled as the Blackhawk Cougars won their first WPIAL baseball championship since 2004 with a 1-0 victory over the Belle Vernon Leopards at Consol Energy Field on Thursday night. The Cougars have won three straight 1-0 games on their run to the title, defeating Char Valley in the quarterfinals and Thomas Jefferson in nine innings in the semis.
Seneca Valley Wins Second Straight WPIAL Quad-A Baseball Title
May 30, 2012
Back to back was the story of the night as the Seneca Valley Raiders repeated as Quad-A baseball champions with a 5-3 win over Mount Lebanon on Wednesday night at Consol Energy Park. It's the third WPIAL championship for the Raiders. Matt Smith picked up his second straight championship victory. He allowed seven hits and struck out ten. Carson Kessler went 2 for 3 for the Raiders, he drove in a pair of runs.
Back to Back Gold For Neshannock in WPIAL Class A Baseball
The Neshannock Lancers claimed their second consecutive WPIAL Class A title with a 5-0 victory over the previously unbeaten California Trojans at Consol Energy Park on Wednesday night. It's the fifth baseball championship for Neshannock and the fourth since Class A was founded in 1999.Senior pitcher Alex Strittmatter was again superb, going the distance on a five-hitter, he fanned nine, including the final two batters. He also got the job done at the plate, going 2 for 4. Strittmatter was the winning pitcher in last year's title victory over Chartiers-Houston.WPIAL Baseball and Softball Consolation Recaps
In the midst of all of the WPIAL baseball and softball championship games are five contests on Wednesday with the postseason future of ten district teams up for grabs. Three softball consolation games at California University of Pennsylvania and a pair of baseball consolation games at the Washington & Jefferson Sports Complex were broadcast on The Network with the five winners earning a berth in the PIAA state playoffs that begin next week. Here are the recaps from those games.Special thanks to Brandon Showers, Bob Gregg, Greg Kuntz, Mike Azadian and Josh Rowntree for their help on these recaps!
Ellwood City Claims WPIAL AA Baseball Title by Winning Backyard Brawl
The Ellwood City Wolverines claimed their fifth WPIAL championship with a 9-7 victory over their cross town rival Riverside Panthers at Consol Energy Field on Wednesday afternoon. Sophomore catcher Zach Mathias led the way, going 3 for 3 in the number nine spot in the batting order.WPIAL Baseball Coaches Association Postseason Awards
The WPIAL Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced Tuesday the 2012 winners of its annual Players, Pitchers and Coaches of the Year Awards. Players, Pitchers and Coaches of the Year were selected in Classes AAAA, AAA, AA and A based on regular season performance by a vote of WPIAL head baseball coaches. The winners will be honored at an Awards Banquet on June 8 at the Airport Marriott.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 05/29/2012
May 29, 2012
Plenty of Diamond Gold will be up for grabs post holiday this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have EXCLUSIVE coverage of all eight 2012 WPIAL Baseball and Softball Championship Games and all five WPIAL baseball and softball consolation games along with a pair of District 6 Softball Championship Games, plus news from the world of auto racing with Rappin on Racin, pro baseball featuring the Class AA Eastern League's Altoona Curve and the Frontier League's Washington Wild Things and women's pro football featuring the Pittsburgh Passion ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, May 28th:HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY FROM ALL OF US HERE AT THE MSA SPORTS NETWORK!2012 WPIAL BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEWS
May 28, 2012
The baseball season begins to wind down in Western Pennsylvania as four champions will be crowned over the next two days. Stay with the MSA Sports Network for complete pre-game, game and post-game coverage from Consol Energy Park from the first pitch until the final gold medal has been handed out.Here are previews of all four title game:Scholastic Notebook – 05/25/2012
May 25, 2012
Seven of the eight teams in the WPIAL baseball finals are quite familiar with this championship stuff. They all have won at least one title in the past nine seasons. As championship traditions go, the eighth team in the finals is like the odd man out. Belle Vernon has never won a WPIAL championship, and the WPIAL has been staging championships since 1914. Belle Vernon will try to win its first title when it plays Blackhawk in the Class AAA championship Tuesday night at Consol Energy Field in Washington.2012 WPIAL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
May 23, 2012
After a long Monday of baseball with seven finalists spots secured with some outstanding diamond action, with a suspended game thrown in for the fun of it. Now the Final Four is officially in the books after that suspended Class AAAA game was finished and the finals are set in the 2012 WPIAL Baseball Playoffs. Here are ALL of the final scores from Semifinals Monday and Tuesday, plus the four championship game matchups set for CONSOL Energy Field in Washington next week.2012 WPIAL CLASS AAAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:#9 Mount Lebanon Blue Devils (14-8) vs Seneca Valley Raiders (17-4) AT CONSOL Energy Park in Washington on Wednesday, May 30th at 8:00pm on MSAsports.netWPIAL CLASS AAAA Semifinals:WPIAL Baseball Playoff Recaps for Monday, May 21st (& Tuesday, May 22nd)
May 22, 2012
Here are the updated recaps from all EIGHT Semifinals contests all heard only here on the MSA Sports Network.A special thanks to Randy Gore, Ken Laird, Mike Azadian, Sam Hall, Lee Mohn, Hugh Mulvey and Bob Gregg for their help on these recaps.WPIAL BASEBALL CLASS AAAA SEMIFINALS:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 05/20/2012
May 20, 2012
It's a golden time for some of the spring high school sports as we countdown to a holiday weekend this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have EXCLUSIVE coverage of the 2012 WPIAL baseball and WPIAL softball Quarterfinals and Semifinals along with District 6 high school baseball playoff action and the championship matches for WPIAL boys volleyball, WPIAL boys lacrosse and WPIAL girls lacrosse, plus news from the auto racing world with Rappin on Racin and pro baseball featuring the Class AA Eastern League's Altoona Curve and the Frontier League's Washington Wild Things ALL here at MSAsports.netScholastic Notebook – 05/19/2012
May 19, 2012
Aliquippa High School doesn’t have a track where athletes can practice. But the Quips always seem to have kids in the fast lane. On Thursday night at Baldwin, Aliquippa’s 400-meter relay won the WPIAL Class AA championship in grand fashion, setting a meet record and a school record with a time of 42.87 seconds. The team consisted of Hassan Thompson, Shaquere McBride, Dravon Henry and Kaylan Kenney. While this team’s run was impressive, having a group of top sprinters is nothing new for Aliquippa, despite the school not having a track. It was the seventh time in nine years that Aliquippa won the 400 relay title.WPIAL Baseball Playoff Recaps for Wednesday, May 16th
May 17, 2012
For those teams who enjoyed an opening round bye, it was the first taste of postseason play after a lengthy rest. For all others, it was a quick turnaround after winning a playoff game just 24 hours before. Day Two WAS Round Two of the 2012 WPIAL Baseball Playoffs as the Quarterfinals was the focus in all four classifications. Here are recaps from the games heard here on The Network as the winners head to the Final Four while the losers are left to wonder...what happened?
