Scholastic Notebook – 05/08/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, May 8, 2015 | 12:30 PM

You know the saying. April showers bring May flowers and Seneca Valley blooms.

OK, so the last few words aren’t part of the saying. But in WPIAL baseball lately, it fits. If Reggie Jackson used to be Mr. October, then Seneca Valley coach Eric Semega is Mr. May.

Seneca Valley has made it to the WPIAL Class AAAA title game four years in a row. The Raiders are believed to be the first team in almost 100 years to make the championship four consecutive seasons. Allegheny High School won six consecutive titles from 1917-22.

The WPIAL baseball playoffs start next week, and a natural question is will be a drive for five for Seneca Valley?

The Raiders have won three of the past four WPIAL titles. The loss came two years ago to North Allegheny. Last year, Seneca Valley got hot in the playoffs and became the first team to win a WPIAL title with a losing record.

This year’s team seems to have as good a shot as any to get to the finals again. Seneca Valley is 13-6 and won rugged Class AAAA Section 1 with an 8-2 record. The Raiders lost to North Allegheny (5-3) and Plum (5-4) in the past two weeks. Those are two playoff teams. But they also defeated Mt. Lebanon, 11-1, earlier this week. The Blue Devils had only one loss before then. Seneca Valley also defeated Central Catholic, 6-5, this week.

Just judging from the past, watch out for the Raiders in the postseason.

Connellsville’s Wiltrout Sets National Record

On Madison Wiltrout’s first javelin attempt at the WPIAL central qualifier Thursday, she had a special throw.

“I thought it might never come down,” said WIltrout.

That javelin finally did land – right in the national record book.

WIltrout, a sophomore at Connellsville, set the national high school record in the javelin with a throw of 185 feet, 8 inches. It bettered the old record of 181-2 by Haley Crouse of Gresham, Ore., in 2012.

Wiltrout won the PIAA Class AAA championship a year ago with a throw of 151-1. Not bad for a freshman. But where she has gone this year is unheard of. Two weeks ago, she won the Penn Relayus with a throw of 168-5. That was the best in WPIAL history.

Now she has the best throw in U.S. high school history, 17 feet farther than her previous best. And there was a funny ending to her record throw Thursday at Norwin.

“It was crazy,” Wiltrout said. “After they measured it, our coach brought back the javelin. He asked me if I wanted to touch the dirt from a 185 foot throw. I went to touch the end of the javelin and said, ‘Oh, my gosh. That’s a four-leaf clover.’ A four-leaf clover [from the grass] was still stuck on it from when it landed.”

Dragon Watch

The Allderdice Dragons have to be one of the most intriguing teams in the WPIAL baseball playoffs.

Why? Well, because Allderdice came from the City League and joined the WPIAL in baseball for the 2013 season. A few other City League schools joined the WPIAL in some sports for that 2012-13 school year.

Mostly, it has not gone well for those City schools in WPIAL sports. But Allderdice has made an impact this season. The Dragons are 10-3 and seem to be peaking. They have won eight of nine and finished in a tie for second place in Class AAAA Section 4. During this nine-game stretch, Allderdice beat Plum and Franklin Regional (both by 3-2 scores). Plum is one of the WPIAL’s top teams with an 18-2 record. Franklin Regional tied Allderdice for second place in the section.

Also, on Thursday, Allderdice beat a pretty good Keystone Oaks team, 11-0.

It is quite a step forward for Allderdice because the Dragons’ first two years in the WPIAL did not go well. They were 2-14 two years ago and 6-9 last year. They won only one section game in the two years.

Anniversary of a Classic

With the WPIAL baseball playoffs starting next week, did you know this is the 40-year anniversary of one of the best WPIAL championship games in league history? And it was played at Three Rivers Stadium.

In 1975, Beaver Falls edged California, 1-0, in 13 innings in the WPIAL title game at Three Rivers. And you want to hear something funny. There was only one classification for all of WPIAL baseball back then. That meant California and Beaver Falls had to play against the biggest WPIAL schools in the playoffs. Today, California is Class A and Beaver Falls Class AA.

Beaver Falls won on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 13^th. Dave Hornacek singled, stole second, went to third on an infield hit by Nick Nardone, and scored on a wild pitch by California’s Curt Carpenter.

Bob Ferguson was the starting pitcher for California and gave up only two hits in 9 2/3 innings while striking out 13. Frank Miloszewski started for Beaver Falls and struck out 13 in the first nine innings while allowing only four hits.

A Dozen in a Row

The Sewickley Academy boys tennis team is on one of the longest championship streaks in the history of the WPIAL in any sport.

Sewickley Academy defeated Winchester Thurston, 5-0, on Thursday to win its 12^th consecutive WPIAL Class AA championship. Only two other teams in two other sports have longer championship streaks. The Norwin girls volleyball team won 13 titles in a row from 1973-85. The Bethel Park boys swimming team won 20 consecutive team titles from 1981-2000.

Sewickley Academy will try for a state title in two weeks. Despite the success at the WPIAL level, things haven’t gone nearly as well at the PIAA level. During the previous 11 WPIAL championship seasons, Sewickley Academy has won only one PIAA title. The Panthers have lost in the finals four other times.

Shaler’s New AD

Shaler has hired a new athletic director, who will take over when Paul Holzshu retires at the end of July.

Clint Rauscher comes to Shaler from Cambridge Springs, where he has been athletic director, but also the football and girls basketball coach.

Tags: Allderdice, Beaver Falls, California, Connellsville, Shaler