Sports
This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 06/13/2017
June 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:
Central York Tops North Allegheny for 3-A Volleyball Gold
June 10, 2017
The North Allegheny boys' volleyball team opened the 2017 season with a victory over Central York for the championship at the NA Invitational in late March. The Tigers were hoping to finish the season the same way it began, with another win over Central York. The storybook finish was not to be, however, as the Tigers lost their only match of the season on Saturday in the PIAA Class AAA championship, a 3-1 defeat to the Panthers from District 3. North Allegheny started strong and won the opening set convincingly, 25-20. Canyon Tuman posted four kills and Luke Visgitis totaled three kills and a pair of blocks. Tuman and teammate Jason Stiefvater hammered out a team-best 12 kills apiece.Beaver County Christian Falls in PIAA 2-A Finals
Northeastern won its fifth consecutive PIAA Class AA crown with a 3-1 victory over Beaver County Christian School at Penn State University's Rec Hall. It's the first time that a team has won five straight state titles since Haverford won six in a row from 1966-1971. Saturday's appearance in the state title tilt was the first ever for Beaver County Christian, a program that began in 2009.2017 PIAA Boys Volleyball Playoffs Results
There was a time when the WPIAL dominated boys volleyball throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. However, that has changed big time. The WPIAL has produced only three state champions this century and none since North Allegheny in 2013 in Class 3-A and Deer Lakes in 2011 in 2-A. The drought continues another year after both North Allegheny in 3-A and Beaver County Christian in 2-A made it to the finals, but dropped 3-1 decisions to settle for state silver. Here are ALL the results from the 2017 PIAA Boys Volleyball Playoffs. All results with (MSA) after are matces that can be heard archived on the MSA Sports Network. 2017 PIAA CLASS 3-A BOYS VOLLEYBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:2017 PIAA Boys and Girls Lacrosse Playoffs Results
As lacrosse continues to grow here in Western Pa, it is still playing catch up to some of the hot bed areas in the eastern side of Pennsylvania. Sooner or later, a WPIAL boys or girls lacrosse team will win a state championship, but that day hasn't come yet, and it won't come this year either. Avon Grove and Springfield won boys state titles while Archbishop Carroll and Radnor claimed girls state crowns. Here are ALL the results from the 2017 PIAA Boys and Girls Lacrosse Playoffs. 2017 PIAA BOYS LACROSSE CLASS 3-A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Avon Grove Red Devils 5 - Conestoga Pioneers 4 in Double Overtime BOYS CLASS 3-A Semifinals:Scholastic Notebook – 06/09/2017
June 9, 2017
The Hempfield softball team is undefeated this season and has won 39 games in a row over the last two years. But maybe the most impressive streak of this team has to do with nothing. As in nothing allowed in the state playoffs. Hempfield has not given up a run in two years of PIAA postseason play. The Spartans won a PIAA championship a year ago and did not allow a run in four games. In two state games this year, Hempfield has defeated Central York, 1-0, and McDowell, 5-0, in eight innings. Hempfield plays Chambersburg in the PIAA Class 6A semifinals Monday. The No. 1 objective, obviously, is to win. Chambersburg's objective will be to somehow crack Hempfield's scoreless streak.PIAA Baseball/Softball Quarterfinals Recaps From Thursday, June 8th
Two rounds in the books with two rounds still to go with a giant box of state gold medals at the waiting line. There are a dozen teams from the WPIAL still in the hunt for diamond gold, but two-thirds of them are softball teams, where eight teams head into the Final Four...which is exactly how many district baseball teams remain in the PIAA postseason...four. Here are recaps from all the games heard on Quarterfinals Thursday on MSA Sports. A special thanks to Steve Nagler, Bob Gregg, Mark Uriah, Sean Meyers, Donny Chedrick, Josh Rowntree, Mark Schaas, Mike Azadian, Jason Tennant, James Dotson and Todd Brown for their help on these recaps. PIAA BASEBALL: PIAA CLASS 5-A Quarterfinals:PIAA Baseball/Softball First Round Recaps From Tuesday, June 6th
June 7, 2017
Mother Nature slowed down the start of the state baseball and softball playoffs in Southwestern Pennsylvania as plenty of WPIAL had to wait until Tuesday to begin their quest for PIAA gold. While the WPIAL baseball teams stumbled out of the gate, district softball teams were shining bright with 13 wins in 19 games. Here are recaps from baseball and softball state playoff games heard Tuesday on MSA Sports. A special thanks to Justin McCauley, Jason Tennant, Josh Rowntree, James Dotson, Mark Schaas, Greg Kuntz, Donny Chedrick, Rob McKinney, Bob Gregg, Randy Gore and Bobby Fox for their help on these recaps. PIAA BASEBALL: PIAA CLASS 6-A First Round:
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Sam Mersing
June 5, 2017
As the spring sports season nears a conclusion, the WPIAL Alum Q&A takes a look back at a former Montour star who just concluded a successful baseball career at the University of Pittsburgh. Sam Mersing is this week's feature for the final spotlight for the 2016-17 school year. Mersing began his varsity career with the Spartans as a freshman in 2010, and helped the team qualify for the postseason, following a three-year absence. That campaign, Montour went 15-7, defeating Greensburg Salem in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs, but then falling to Hopewell in the semifinals.
Coaches Corner – Craig Taliani
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 on the MSA Sports Network – 06/05/2017
With the WPIAL district diamond playoffs behind us, we now focus on the final two weeks of the high school sports campaign with the start up of the baseball and softball state postseason this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have First Round and Quarterfinals action from both the PIAA Baseball and Softball Playoffs along with a PIAA Boys Volleyball Semifinals match, plus another week of Frontier League pro baseball featuring the Washington Wild Things as they hit the road to River City and Florence ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, June 5th: PIAA High School Baseball State Playoffs - Class 6-A First Round: Pine-Richland vs Penn Manor at 6:00pm on MSAsports.netScholastic Notebook – 06/02/2017
June 2, 2017
It doesn't matter whether it's McKenna or Madison. These Lampes have lit up opposing pitchers. McKenna and Madison Lampe are twin sisters and sophomores on the West Greene softball team. You might have a hard time coming up with any WPIAL softball sisters over the years that have made such a big impact on offense at the same time. The Lampes helped West Greene win a second consecutive WPIAL softball title on Thursday. The school had never won a championship in another sport. Mckenna Lampe was 2 for 3 in the title game and is now batting a whopping .662. A center fielder, McKenna's most amazing statistic might be the 44 bases she has stolen this season. Meanwhile, Madison Lampe, a sophomore third baseman, is batting .597. She has stolen 21 bases.2017 WPIAL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS Results
There was one repeat district baseball champion in Riverside, three programs that have won gold before in the last decade in Pine-Richland, Blackhawk and California, and two newbee winners as Latrobe and Jeannette are enjoying their very first baseball crowns. Here are ALL the results from the 2017 WPIAL Baseball Playoffs. You can watch the archive of all six title games at Wild Things Park anytime you want here on MSA Sports. All results marked with (MSA) after are matches you can hear archived here on The Network. 2017 WPIAL CLASS 6-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Pine-Richland Rams 3 - North Allegheny Tigers 2 (MSA)2017 WPIAL SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS Results
It was a great year to be #1...seed that is. All six of you top-seeds qualified for the title games at Cal U and four of them, Hempfield, West Allegheny, Ellwood City and West Greene claimed district championships. In the case of three of those teams, the Spartans, Wolverines and Pioneers, it was a repeat golden performance (three-peat for Hempfield). The other two champions crowned were #2-seeds in the postseason tournament and you could have made an argument that both Belle Vernon and Frazier could have been top seeds. Here are ALL the results from the 2017 WPIAL Softball Playoffs. All results followed by (MSA) are games you can hear archived here on the MSA Sports Network.
Pine-Richland Sweeps Past North Allegheny for First 6-A Baseball Title
June 1, 2017
For the third time this year, the Pine Richland Rams defeated the North Allegheny Tigers. This win came at Wild Things Park and resulted in their 5th WPIAL title and the first-ever 6-A WPIAL Baseball Championship. The Rams got a sterling pitching performance by Ryan Okuda, who got the win the first two times these two teams met as well.
West Allegheny Rolls Past Moon for 5-A Softball Gold
For the first time in school history, the West Allegheny softball team has captured a WPIAL Championship. The top-seeded Indians won the 5-A crown by defeating the #3 seed Moon, 12-2 Thursday night via mercy rule after 6 innings. It was the third time the Indians defeated the Tigers this season, as they won the first two meetings by scores of 5-4 and 10-7 back in mid-April. The third meeting wasn't as tight as the bats and the gloves were working for West Allegheny.
Parshall Shines as Belle Vernon Beats Yough for 4-A Gold
Belle Vernon's Bailey Parshall is well-known for her pitching exploits. Why wouldn't she be' She led the WPIAL in strikeouts this season and has been quite adept as a pitcher since her freshman year, a year in which she committed to Penn State University. But in the WPIAL Class 4A championship softball game, Parshall showed she is pretty skilled with a bat as well. The junior went 3-3 with three doubles and two RBIs in a 4-1 victory over Section 2 4-A rival Yough at California University's Lilley Field. That doesn't mean Parshall didn't shine in the pitching circle. She turned in a sparkling performance with nine strikeouts (which brings her season total to 224) and allowed just four hits and two walks.
West Greene Pounds Monessen to Repeat as WPIAL 1-A Softball Champs
The West Greene Pioneers won their second consecutive WPIAL title on Thursday at Cal U's Lilley Field with a 10-0 win over section-rival Monessen. In two regular season meetings this year, West Greene won much closer games with finals of 6-2 and 1-0, but the Championship Game looked more like the two matchups from a year ago when the Pioneers defeated the Greyhounds 10-0 in the regular season and again, 10-0 in the WPIAL Semifinals on the same field as Thursday's 10-0 win.
Latrobe Wins First WPIAL Baseball Title With Win Over Mars
May 31, 2017
The last time the Latrobe Wildcats played in a WPIAL Championship baseball game, things were much different than they are now, in 2017. On May 30, 1985, Latrobe lost to Bethel Park in the Class AAA title game. Gas was $1.20 per gallon, Ronald Reagan was the President and there were only two classifications in the WPIAL. On May 31, 2017, Latrobe won its first ever baseball crown by defeating another team looking for its first championship, in its first championship appearance, Mars, by a final of 6-2. Coming into the game, both coaches, Matt Basciano of Latrobe and Andy Bednar of Mars, emphasized the importance of their team getting and holding an early lead.
