George Guido: Don’t pay attention to seeds in WPIAL baseball tournament

By: George Guido
Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 7:15 PM

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The 108th WPIAL baseball tournament is set to begin this week in all six classifications.

The Alle-Kiski Valley has six teams entered, but none are seeded any higher than eighth.

Of course, anyone who has followed the WPIAL baseball playoffs for any amount of time will say seeding means almost nothing.

“Even if you’re seeded eighth or ninth, you have your number one pitcher going, and you can bring him back for the semifinals,” WPIAL baseball chairman Bob Buzzuto said in an interview with Don Rebel of TribHSSN on Friday.

Lower seeds have done well in the past.

In softball, the A-K Valley has three teams that earned first-round byes: Springdale, Deer Lakes and Burrell.

Student-athletes to be recognized

The Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame will recognize 11 student-athletes who have contributed to the area’s sports success over the past view months.

They are:

• Thomas Burke III, Leechburg, the Valley News Dispatch offensive football Player of the Year.

• Brayden Dunmire, Kiski Area, the VND defensive football Player of the Year.

• Luke Kolankowski, Plum, VND male soccer Player of the Year

• Kaitlyn Killinger, Plum, VND female soccer Player of the Year.

• Eli Yofan, Fox Chapel, VND boys basketball Player of the Year.

• Madilyn Boyer, Knoch, VND girls basketball Player of the Year.

• Ava Black, Mars, Cager Classic girls East MVP

• Kayla Hoehler, Hampton, Cager Classic girls West MVP

• Armend Karpuzi, Deer Lakes, Cager Classic boys West MVP

• Raine Gratzmiller, Butler, Cager Classic boys East MVP.

Yofan, Boyer, Gratzmiller, Karpuzi and Hoehler will miss the banquet as they will be playing in the Roundball Classic at Geneva College.

After a two-year hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, the banquet has returned with its 51st induction class Saturday in New Kensington.

Inductees will be Chris Como, Jeff Cortileso, Harry “Shorty” Crytzer, Robert Foster, Dianne Haney, Frank Phelps, Terry Preece, Lizzie Suwala Sheaffer, Bob White and posthumous inductee Rich Kriston.

While ticket sales for the banquet are completed, DVDs of the festivities can be bought by sending a $20 check as soon as possible to A-K Sports Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 171, Freeport, PA 16229.

Kaniecki-Spartan scramble

The annual St. Joseph High School Spartan scramble golf fundraiser has been renamed after the late Tom Kaniecki, the event’s organizer for the past 29 years.

The event has been rechristened the Tom Kaniecki Spartan Scramble. The 30th event will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, June 10, at the Lenape Heights Golf Resort on state Route 66 near Ford City.

Kaniecki, the first girls basketball and softball coach at St. Joseph in the 1980s, died March 12 at 77. He also founded the basketball program at St. Mary Czestochowa Church grade school in New Kensington.

For more information, contact Jennifer MacNeil at the school at 724-226-8043.