Sports
MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Baseball – 04/10/2017
April 10, 2017
Each week during the 2017 regular season, MSA Sports will rank the top ten baseball teams in the WPIAL in all six classifications every Monday at www.MSAsports.net Here are this weeks rankings...including NEW #1 teams in both Class 6-A and Class 5-A. Log on every day for updated standings and game broadcasts on your exclusive home for the 2017 WPIAL Baseball Playoffs, the MSA Sports Network. CLASS 6-A Top Ten: 1) NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (6-0) (Last Week #6) 2) PINE-RICHLAND RAMS (6-1) (Last Week #2) 3) NORWIN KNIGHTS (3-1) (Last Week #1) 4) BUTLER GOLDEN TORNADO (3-1) (Last Week #4)This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 04/10/2017
While you may spend a lot of time hunting Easter eggs, you won't have to spend a lot of time searching for quality high school sports sports coverage this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have plenty of WPIAL baseball section contests along with WPIAL softball including coverage of Hometown Softball. We also have WPIAL boys and girls lacrosse, plus another edition of WPIAL Diamond Notes ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, April 10th: WPIAL High School Baseball - Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs Pine-Richland at 4:00pm on MSAsports.net WPIAL High School Baseball - Plum vs Norwin at 4:00pm on MSAsports.netScholastic Notebook – 04/08/2017
April 8, 2017
A star hurdler is emerging in girls track and field at Oakland Catholic, but the last time we heard much of her, she was at Penn Hills. Jayla Ellis is a sophomore at Oakland Catholic who has run the 100-meter hurdles in 14.1 seconds this spring. According to WPIAL girls track and field historian Jim Faiella, that is the second-fastest time in the history of the WPIAL. Lindsay Dolan of Center ran 14.1 in 2006. Ellis burst onto the WPIAL track scene a year ago, winning the 100 hurdles as a freshman and finishing fourth in the state. But Ellis attended Penn Hills last year. She transferred to Oakland Catholic for her sophomore year.
WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2017
The newest class of the WPIAL Hall of Fame includes a current NFL player, a former NFL head coach and a high school coach who sent almost a dozen players to the NFL. The 2017 class was announced by the WPIAL at a news conference Thursday at the Heinz History Center. This is the 10th anniversary of the Hall of Fame. The inductees with NFL ties are: Terrelle Pryor, who played for the Cleveland Browns last year and has signed with the Washington Redskins; former New York Jets head coach Joe Walton; former Woodland Hills coach George Novak, who sent 11 players to the NFL.
Hometown Softball Recap – West Mifflin Titans – 04/05/2017
April 5, 2017
In a true slugfest that featured 29 total hits, a pair of five-run frames keyed the Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles to an 11-8 victory against host West Mifflin on Wednesday. As a result, the Golden Eagles claimed their first win of the campaign, improving to 1-1 in Class 4A Section 2 play, 1-2 overall. Conversely, the setback drops the Titans to 0-4 in section contests, 3-5 overall. It was the Titans who scored the first run of the game, when Jaden Arcuri led off the bottom of the first with a single for West Mifflin. Following a sacrifice, Izzy Farmer plated Arcuri with a single to center field.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Softball
April 4, 2017
Each week during the 2017 regular season, MSA Sports will rank the top ten softball teams in the WPIAL in all six classifications every Tuesday at www.MSAsports.net Here are this weeks rankings...including a NEW #1 team in Class 4-A. Log on every day for updated standings and game broadcasts on your exclusive home for the 2017 WPIAL Softball Playoffs, the MSA Sports Network. CLASS 6-A Top Ten: 1) HEMPFIELD SPARTANS (4-0) (Last Week #1) 2) CANON-McMILLAN BIG MACS (1-0) (Last Week #3) 3) SHALER TITANS (1-1) (Last Week #2) 4) BETHEL PARK BLACK HAWKS (1-0) (Last Week #5)
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Caitlin Baxter
As the calendar officially turns to the spring sports season, softball and baseball come to the forefront. To that point, this week's installment of the WPIAL Alum Q&A focuses on Caitlin Baxter, a former softball standout for Butler Area, who is now excelling on the diamond in her final year at Slippery Rock University. Baxter joined the Butler varsity squad as a freshman, as she played shortstop for the Golden Tornadoes. Her first campaign represented the most team success during her tenure, as Butler concluded its season with a mark of 9-8. The following year, in 2011, Butler went 7-8, and followed that up by enduring a 5-13 record in 2012, when Baxter was sidelined because of a knee injury sustained during basketball.
Aliquippa Snaps 107-Game Baseball Losing Streak
April 3, 2017
Streaks are meant to be broken. On Friday night, it was the Connecticut women's basketball team that had a 111-game winning streak snapped in the Final Four on a buzzer-beater. On Monday afternoon, another triple-digit streak came to an end. On a dreary day in Herman, Pennsylvania, the Aliquippa baseball team defeated Summit Academy 5-4, snapping a 107-game losing streak for the 'Quips dating back to April 21, 2008. It has been a long time coming for an Aliquippa program synonymous with victory in Western Pennsylvania. Boasting a record 16 WPIAL football championships and the active lead with 12 WPIAL basketball titles, it is difficult to imagine their spring sports program to be any different.Hometown Softball Recap – Peters Township
Peters Township played fabulous defense for 6 2/3 innings. Unfortunately for the Indians, softball is a full seven inning game. Two throwing errors by PT defenders in the 7th and 8th innings allowed Mount Lebanon to rally and hold on for a 3-2 victory Monday at wet Peterswood Park. Kiley Hartbauer of Peters Township and Catie Rogan of Mount Lebanon each pitched four shutout innings before the Indians plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Kate Hondru led off with a double and two outs later scored on a Haley Cecere double.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Baseball – 04/03/2017
Each week during the 2017 regular season, MSA Sports will rank the top ten baseball teams in the WPIAL in all six classifications every Monday at www.MSAsports.net Here are this weeks rankings. Log on every day for updated standings and game broadcasts on your exclusive home for the 2017 WPIAL Baseball Playoffs, the MSA Sports Network. CLASS 6-A Top Ten: 1) NORWIN KNIGHTS (2-0) (Last Week #1) 2) PINE-RICHLAND RAMS (5-0) (Last Week #4) 3) PETERS TOWNSHIP INDIANS (5-0) (Last Week #6) 4) BUTLER GOLDEN TORNADO (1-1) (Last Week #2) 5) BETHEL PARK BLACK HAWKS (2-1) (Last Week #5)
Coaches Corner – Brian Dzurenda
In this feature titled “Coach’s 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 Brian Dzurenda of the Serra Catholic Eagles. Coach Dzurenda is in his 18th year coaching at his alma mater. He has led the Eagles to WPIAL championships in 2009, 2010, and 2016. He has also led Serra Catholic to a record three straight PIAA state championship games from 2009-2011, claiming state gold in 2011. Let’s take a look inside Coach Dzurenda’s corner:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 04/03/2017
Spring has sprung as we not only hit April, but also the start of section play on the district diamonds this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have plenty of WPIAL baseball section contests along with WPIAL softball as we begin our coverage of Hometown Softball with a record 11 schools, plus we begin our WPIAL boys lacrosse coverage and debut WPIAL Diamond Notes for another season on Tuesday evenings ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, April 3rd: WPIAL High School Baseball - Laurel Highlands vs Franklin Regional at 4:00pm on MSAsports.net WPIAL High School Baseball - Hampton vs North Hills at 7:00pm on the Hampton Talbots Sports Network at MSAsports.net
MSA Sports 2017 Boys All-Netters
March 31, 2017
The MSA boys All Netters team is in guarded condition this year. Of the 10 players selected to the All Netters team, eight are guards and another is a guard-forward. The team also is Ram tough. Two plays from WPIAL Class 6A champion Pine-Richland Rams are on the team. The All Netters team is picked by the MSA Sports staff and is made up of the top 10 players in the WPIAL. A handful of the players on the first and second teams are headed to Division I colleges and one is headed to a major college for football. Here is a look at the MSA Sports All Netters team as well as the Player of the Year: FIRST TEAM: PLAYER OF THE YEAR
MSA Sports 2017 Girls All-Netters
There are more than 8,000 reasons to like the players on the first team of this year’s MSA All Netters girls all-star team. That’s how many points the five players have scored in their careers. The All Netters team is selected by the MSA Sports staff and takes into consideration all players in the WPIAL. This year’s first team consists of three seniors and two juniors, and the three seniors are all headed to Division I colleges. And all five were big scorers. One of the seniors is among the top 10 scorers in WPIAL history. Here is a look at the first- and second-team selections on the All Netters team, as well as the Player of the Year. FIRST TEAM: PLAYER OF THE YEAR
MSA Sports 2017 All-Icers
With the Penguins Cup and Pennsylvania Cup championships concluded, it's nearly time to put a bow on the 2016-17 PIHL campaign. The final piece of business, though, is unveiling the highly-anticipated MSA Sports All-Icers teams. As voted on by the MSA Sports Network staff, six players, regardless of position, were named to the first team, while six more were voted to the second team. Three of the four championship squads were represented, and both Plum and Franklin Regional featured a pair of standouts. Here's a look at the very best the PIHL had to offer in 2016-17. All-Icers First-Team:PIHL Notebook – 03/28/2017
March 28, 2017
It was a whirlwind final five days of the 2016-17 PIHL hockey season. Four champions were crowned with Peters Township, Plum, Franklin Regional and Meadville claiming PIHL gold. Just a few days later, three of those teams competed for state supremacy, with the Indians taking Pennsylvania Cup gold, too. Here's a quick glance at the action throughout the final week. AAA: Peters Township defeated Central Catholic 5-2; defeated Holy Ghost Prep 2-1
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Danny Kucerovy
March 27, 2017
While the PIHL has produced numerous incredibly successful players over the past few decades, some of the most talented players do not participate in high-school hockey, instead electing to play on travel teams. That appeared to be the path that Daniel Kucerovy was going to take, until his junior year, when he was convinced by his friends and teammates to join the Bethel Park varsity team. Kucerovy made a big impact with the Black Hawks, and now he's playing for Bentley University. Kucerovy is this week's feature for the WPIAL Alum Q&A.
WPIAL Coaches Corner – Jeff Ackermann
In this feature titled “Coach’s 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 on the MSA Sports Network – 03/27/2017
It's all about the transition. We make the transition of broadcasting winter sports to spring sports as march transitions into April this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We begin our spring scholastic sports coverage with a handful of WPIAL baseball games, a WPIAL softball contest and a WPIAL boys volleyball match, plus one more winter sports event with the Quigley Classic girls and boys high school basketball games ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, March 27th: WPIAL High School Baseball - Bishop Canevin vs West Allegheny at 4:30pm on MSAsports.net Tuesday, March 28th: No Broadcast Wednesday, March 29th:2017 PIAA BOYS BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFFS Results
March 26, 2017
While the east claimed four of the six state titles, it was once again District 12 that flexed its boys basketball muscles. The district made up of public and private schools in the Philadelphia area, won three PIAA boys basketball championships by a combined score of 242-150. The two exceptions from the west were WPIAL 2-A champion Sewickley Academy and District 10 1-A champ Kennedy Catholic. While the Sewickley Academy Panthers brought home state gold, it was the runner-up silver basketball that Pine-Richland in 6-A and Lincoln Park in 3-A brought back from Hershey. Here are ALL of the final results from the 2017 PIAA Boys Basketball Playoffs. All results with (MSA) after them are games you can hear anytime you want archived here on The Network.
