Sports
Coaches Corner – Billy Simms
July 5, 2017
In this feature titled "Coaches Corner", I will be interviewing a different coach every week and asking them questions about their personal life and about coaching. Hopefully their answers will not only shed some light on how they coach their respective teams, but also allow readers to get to know the men behind the fields/courts. This week features head softball coach Bill Simms of the West Greene Pioneers. Coach Simms finished his 12th year with WG, and has helped turn the program into a perennial playoff contender. In 2016, he led his team to 4 straight blowout wins, earning them the Pioneers first ever WPIAL softball title. Coach Simms is also the Athletic Director, as well as a teacher at West Greene. Let's take a look inside Coach Simms's corner:
2016-2017 MSA Sports Male Athletes of the Year
Darius Wise and Austin Butler were both 'Cats in high school, Wise playing for the Beaver Bobcats and Butler for the Latrobe Wildcats. But when it comes to athletes, Wise and Butler are top dogs. Wise and Butler, who both graduated last month, have been selected the MSA Sports Co-Athletes of the Year. The MSA Sports staff selects the athlete of the year from all WPIAL schools. In the days of high school athletes specializing in one sport, Wise and Butler were throwbacks. They were multi-sports athletes - in the same three sports. But it's not just competing in three sports that made them stand out, it's what they achieved in the three sports that made them two of a kind.
2016-2017 MSA Sports Female Athlete of the Year
It didn't matter whether it was brown, white, orange or fluorescent green. Olivia Porter would kick it, shoot it, throw it and hit it. For her, life has been a ball. Porter was worth a "fourtune" at Southmoreland High School. She was the ultimate multi-sport athlete, playing four sports her senior year - soccer, basketball, softball and even a kicker on the football team.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 07/05/2017
We celebrate the birth of our nation with plenty of Frontier League pro baseball this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We kick summer into full gear during the first full week of July with audio and video coverage of the Washington Wild Things as they hit the road for three games before returning home to Wild Things Park for three games this weekend ONLY here at MSAsports.net Monday, July 3rd: No Broadcasts Tuesday, July 4th: HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Frontier League Pro Baseball - Live Video - Washington Wild Things vs Normal Cornbelters at 6:35pm on MSAsports.netThis Week on the MSA Sports Network – 06/27/2017
June 27, 2017
The 'Wild' summer of '17 continues with plenty of Frontier League pro baseball this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We close out the month of June with audio and video coverage of the Washington Wild Things as they return home to Wild Things Park this week for three games with the Traverse City Beach Bums and three weekend contests against the Joliet Slammers, plus one more high school football all-star broadcast with the annual Penn-Ohio Classic ONLY here at MSAsports.net Monday, June 26th: No Broadcasts Tuesday, June 27th: Frontier League Pro Baseball - Live Video - Traverse City Beach Bums vs Washington Wild Things at 7:05pm on MSAsports.net2017 Diamond Studs Baseball All-Stars
June 24, 2017
Latrobe was the only team from the WPIAL to win a state championship in baseball this season - and Latrobe is the only team with two players on this year's MSA Diamond Studs all-star team. The Diamond Studs consists of the top 12 players in the entire WPIAL, regardless of position. It is picked by the MSA staff. The team has some players who made big impacts as two-way players - pitchers/position players. The team also includes five players who have committed to Division I colleges, including two who chose Virginia Tech. Seton Hill, a Division II school, has two recruits on the Diamond Studs team. Four of the players on this year's all-star team are juniors and the rest are seniors.
2017 Diamond Dolls Softball All-Stars
Morgan Ryan finished off a great career as a Hempfield pitcher this season. Bailey Parshall still has one year left as a pitcher at Belle Vernon, but already has had a great career. The two were so good this season - and in their careers - that the MSA Sports staff found it impossible to pick one over the other as Player of the Year. So there is a double take on Player of the Year this year. Ryan and Parshall have been selected co-Players of the Year and lead the MSA Diamond Dolls softball all-star team. The Diamond Dolls are the top 12 players in the WPIAL, regardless of position, and they are picked by the MSA staff. Here are thumbnail sketches of the players of the year and the rest of the Diamond Dolls team.
Coaches Corner – Mike Kirkwood
In this feature titled "Coaches Corner", I will be interviewing a different coach every week and asking them questions about their personal life and about coaching. Hopefully their answers will not only shed some light on how they coach their respective teams, but also allow readers to get to know the men behind the fields/courts. This week features head baseball coach Mike Kirkwood of the Neshannock Lancers. Coach Kirkwood jus wrapped up his 14th season as head coach of the Lancers. In his tenure as coach, he has only finished under .500 once and has led his team to 6 WPIAL championship games, winning four of them. He has also captured PIAA gold twice in 2004 and 2015. Let's take a look inside Coach Kirkwood's corner:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 06/19/2017
June 19, 2017
The calm after the 2016-2017 high school sports season is plenty of Frontier League pro baseball this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have audio and video coverage of the Washington Wild Things as they hit the road this week with three games vs the Lake Erie Crushers and three weekend contests against the Schaumburg Boomers ONLY here at MSAsports.net Monday, June 19th: No Broadcasts Tuesday, June 20th: Frontier League Pro Baseball - Live Video - Washington Wild Things vs Lake Erie Crushers at 7:05pm on MSAsports.net Wednesday, June 21st:2017 PIAA Baseball Playoffs RESULTS
June 18, 2017
It truly was a golden season for Latrobe as the Wildcats followed up their first ever WPIAL baseball championship with PIAA state gold. 2017 turned out to be a season of silver for South Park as the Eagles made it to the finals in both the district and state postseason, but fell in the two title games and impressively claimed second place in both. Here are ALL the results from the 2017 PIAA Baseball Playoffs. All of the results with (MSA) after them are games you can listen to archived here on The Network 2017 PIAA BASEBALL CLASS 6-A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Pennsbury Falcons 1 - Dallastown Wildcats 02017 PIAA Softball Playoffs RESULTS
Four out of six state softball championship and one runner-up. not to bad for the WPIAL in the first year of the six classification championships in PIAA Softball. Hempfield completed its season of dominance in Class 6-A with a third state crown and second in a row while Mount Pleasant (4-A), South Park (3-A) and West Greene (1-A) brought home their schools first PIAA softball title. South Side made it to the state finals, but brought home silver. Here are ALL the results from the 2017 PIAA Softball Playoffs. All results with (MSA) after them are games you can listen to archived here on The Network. 2017 PIAA SOFTBALL CLASS 6-A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
After Long Wait, South Park is 3-A Softball State Champs
June 17, 2017
The South Park Eagles redeemed a third place finish in the WPIAL playoffs and had the last laugh by taking home the program's first PIAA state title in history 4-2 over District 11 champion Pine Grove. The Eagles scrapped and clawed for a run in the first, second, fifth, and seventh innings to pull out a hard-fought victory over a Pine Grove team that defeated three other district champions on its way to the title game. South Park's lone senior Justine Dean silenced the high-speed Cardinal attack that had blitzed its way to 32 runs in the previous three rounds of state postseason play.
Dallas King of the PIAA 4-A Mountain With Win Over South Park
June 16, 2017
Many strange things happen in the game of baseball. Although the sacrifice bunt may usually lead to a run or two for a team, it was 2 sacrifice bunt plays that South Park failed to defend that opened the door and eventually led to the Dallas Mountaineers capturing their first state baseball championship with a 5-0 win over the Eagles at Medlar Field at Penn State University.
West Greene Rallies Past Williams Valley for State Softball Revenge
After falling 3-2 to Williams Valley in the 2016 PIAA championship game, the West Greene Pioneers had redemption on their mind all season. In the rematch on Friday at Penn State University's Beard Field, West Greene gained revenge by mounting an epic comeback en route to a 9-8 victory in the 1A finals. As a result, the Pioneers (26-1) captured their first state gold in program history.
Latrobe Greater Than Whitehall to Win PIAA 5-A Gold
June 15, 2017
After a playoff run that featured multiple come-from-behind victories, Greater Latrobe left no doubt in the state title game. The Wildcats cruised to a 7-0 rain-shortened win against District 11 champion Whitehall to claim the first PIAA 5A Championship at Penn State's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The game was called after more than an hour delay in the top of the sixth, and with no end in sight for the steady downpour. The rain did not dampen the celebration, though, as the Wildcats savored their first state title, just weeks after securing the team's first WPIAL crown.
Hempfield Perfect in Winning Back-to-Back State Titles
When asked which of his Hempfield squads was the better over the past two years, coach Bob Kalp could not give a definitive answer. However, he certainly made a...perfect...point. "It's hard to argue with 27-0." His Lady Spartan softball team repeated as PIAA state champions with a 5-3 victory over Hazleton in the Class 6A Championship game on Thursday at Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park. The back-to-back championships are the first ever to occur at the highest classification of PIAA softball. The victory also extended the Hempfield winning streak to 41 games, capping off a perfect 27-0 season.
Mount Pleasant Wins First State Softball Title
Last season, the Mt. Pleasant Vikings were crowned WPIAL AAA champions, but the PIAA playoff run lasted just one game. This year, Mt. Pleasant had to win the third-place consolation game to reach the state playoffs and they did. Mt. Pleasant then had to defeat the district 10 champion (Harbor Creek), WPIAL Champion (Belle Vernon) and WPIAL runner-up (Yough), they did. Looking past last year's PIAA let-down, Mt. Pleasant overcame the difficult odds and were crowned PIAA 4A Champions with a 5-3 victory over the Tuckhannock Tigers.
Minersville Drops South Side for PIAA 2A Softball Crown
District 11 Champion Minersville (24-2) scored four runs in the 4th inning to win their tenth PIAA Championship, defeating WPIAL runner-up South Side (20-4) in the 2A Softball Championship Game at Penn State's Beard Field on Thursday. The tile win for Minersville , their first since 2014, comes with some controvery, as South Side pitcher McKenna Smith was called for throwing ten illegal pitches during the game, with one directly leading to a solo home run by Minersville's Adrienne Kroznuskie.PIAA Baseball/Softball Semifinals Recaps From Monday, June 12th
June 13, 2017
Eight WPIAL softball teams and four district baseball teams started Monday with the dreams of state diamond gold dancing in their heads. Five teams saw those hopes dashed with Final Four losses. However five softball and two baseball teams were winners as the WPIAL will send seven teams to Penn State University on Thursday and Friday to play for a PIAA championship. Here are recaps from Semifinals Monday. A special thanks to Todd Brown, Josh Rowntree, Jason Tennant, Mark Schaas, Bob Gregg, Rennie Detore, Sean Meyers, Don Rebel and Kyle Dawson for their help on these recaps. PIAA BASEBALL: PIAA CLASS 5-A Semifinals:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 06/13/2017
The 2016-2017 high school sports season that began back in August with Week Zero of the high school football season now concludes with the conclusion of the baseball and softball state postseason this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have coverage of the Semifinals on Monday and ALL five softball and both baseball state championship games from Penn State involving WPIAL schools, plus a pair of high school football all-star games and another week of Frontier League pro baseball featuring the Washington Wild Things as they host both River City and Evansville ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, June 12th:
