Sports
WPIAL Baseball Recaps From Wednesday, May 31st
May 31, 2017
What started with three play-in games Tuesday continued with two more district consolation games on Wednesday. State playoff berths were earned by Serra Catholic and Union while the 2017 campaign came to an end for Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Jefferson-Morgan. Here are recaps from those two games played at the Washington & Jefferson College Sports Complex. A special thanks to Mark Schaas and Bobby Fox for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS 2-A Consolation Game:
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Maddie Holmberg
Maddie Holmberg was one of the most accomplished competitors in the history of WPIAL track and field during her time at Hempfield Area, winning more than a dozen gold medals between district and state competitions. Holmberg, now a standout for Penn State's track and field team, is this week's feature for the WPIAL Alum Q&A. Holmberg was a four-year varsity letterwinner for the Spartans track and field team, including her freshman season in 2012. That year, she and the Lady Spartans captured the WPIAL team championship in Class AAA. Individually, Holmberg took first in the long jump, while finishing second in the 100-meter hurdles.
Blackhawk Blanks South Park for 4-A Baseball Crown
As is the case with tightly contested title games, one inning can be the difference between championship gold and being left behind as the WPIAL runner up. South Park starter Kyle Thompson took a no hitter into the fourth inning and appeared to be en route to a gem of a performance, but not before Blackhawk got to him in the bottom of that very inning en route to a 3-0 victory on Tuesday night at Wild Things Park in Washington (PA). Blackhawk's Nick Cerani and Michael Turconi had back-to-back hits in the bottom of that fourth inning, before Mark Engel bunted them over to secure runners on second and third.
California Outlasts Freedom to Win WPIAL 2-A Title
May 30, 2017
All year, the California Trojans baseball team has relied on their pitching and defense to win games. A solid defense keeping the score low has allowed the Trojans offense to scatter runs over seven innings of play. On Tuesday, it took more than seven innings. California scored two runs in the top of the tenth inning to claim a 3-1 victory over Freedom in the WPIAL Class 2A Championship on Tuesday at Wild Things Park in Washington. The victory gave the Trojans their fifth WPIAL Championship in program history, ranking fifth all-time.WPIAL Baseball Recaps From Tuesday, May 30th
A second chance. That is what the consolation game is in the district playoffs. Yes, your dreams of a WPIAL title have been dashed with a Semifinals loss, but there is still gold to be had on the state level if you can win and advance to the PIAA postseason. Here are recaps from the three WPIAL consolation playoff games from Tuesday at Ross Memorial Park at the W&J College Sports Complex in Washington including a gem in the 4-A fray. A special thanks to Sean Meyers, Steve Nagler and Rob McKinney for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS 5-A Consolation:
Golden Panthers Again as Riverside Wins 3-A Title
Last year, it took nine innings and only one run to give the Riverside Panthers the Class AA crown with a 1-0 win over Neshannock. In 2017, it was a new class and opponent but the end result was still the same as the Panthers cruised to a 7-1 victory over the Mount Pleasant Vikings at Wild Things Park to take the 3A baseball trophy back to North Sewickley Township. It is the fifth WPIAL title for Dan Oliastro's team, he has racked up four state titles as well in an amazing 49 year career. Christian Cicchinelli was the winning pitcher, allowing a run and three hits over the first six innings. The senior also got the job done at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a pair of RBI singles.Coaches Corner – Frank Zebrasky
May 29, 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 baseball coach Frank Zebrasky of the Carlynton Cougars. Coach Zebrasky is in his rookie year with the Cougars after 7 successful seasons coaching Canon-Mac, in which he led them to the playoffs in the last three years. Led Carlynton to the playoffs this year, despite the Cougars having been absent from the playoffs since 2011. Let's take a look inside Coach Zebrasky's corner:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 05/29/2017
Happy Memorial Day to all of our many fans as we prepare for the final district championships of the 2016-2017 school year this week here on the MSA Sports Network. For the first time, MSA Sports has both audio and video broadcast coverage of the 2017 WPIAL Baseball Championship Games as well as audio coverage from Cal U of the 2017 WPIAL Softball Championships, plus WPIAL consolation baseball postseason action and another week of Frontier League pro baseball featuring the Washington Wild Things ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, May 29th: HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY from all of us here at the MSA SPORTS NETWORK!!!! Tuesday, May 30th:2017 WPIAL BOYS LACROSSE PLAYOFFS Results
May 28, 2017
One of the Oddest streaks in the WPIAL has come to an end. Mount Lebanon's run of odd year district boys lacrosse titles (win in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015) came up just short when the Blue Devils fell in the Finals to rival Peters Township in overtime. No extra time dramatics were needed for Mars as the Fightin' Planets cruised to a second straight Class 2-A crown. Here are ALL the results from the 2017 WPIAL Boys Lacrosse Playoffs, plus the title matchups you can hear or view on MSA on Friday. You can watch the archive of the two title matches 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 GIRLS LACROSSE PLAYOFFS
May 16, 2017
Last year, Mount Lebanon won their second Class 3-A title in three years and fifth championship in school history while Blackhawk won Class 2-A gold for the first time in school history. Now both teams are back to defend their crowns and in the bottom half of the brackets in each class. Here are ALL the finals from the First Round on Monday, plus the sites and times for the Quarterfinals on Wednesday in the 2017 WPIAL Girls Lacrosse Playoffs. WPIAL CLASS 3-A Quarterfinals: #1 Fox Chapel Foxes vs #8 Upper St. Clair Panthers AT Fox Chapel High School on Wednesday, May 17th at 7:30pm2017 WPIAL BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
After an eight year run of titles, 2016 marked a second straight Class 3-A boys volleyball champion that was NOT North Allegheny as Penn-Trafford won gold for the first time in school history, dethroning Fox Chapel. Also last spring, Ambridge saw its four year championship run come to an end as Beaver County Christian also captured a first ever district crown. Here are the matchups for the First Round of the 2017 WPIAL Boys Volleyball Playoffs. WPIAL CLASS 3-A First Round: #1 North Allegheny Tigers - BYE #8 Peters Township Indians vs #9 Hempfield Spartans AT Norwin High School on Tuesday, May 16th at 6:00pm #4 Seneca Valley Raiders - BYE
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Molly Welsh
Although the WPIAL softball playoffs just got under way this week, for many college players, the 2017 season has already drawn to a conclusion. Molly Welsh, who played at both Bethel Park and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in high school, recently wrapped up another successful campaign at Wheeling Jesuit. Welsh is this week's feature for the WPIAL Alum Q&A. Welsh played for the Bethel Park varsity squad as a freshman, and then exploded onto the scene as a sophomore in 2013. In that campaign, the outfielder compiled a batting average of .509, the highest mark in team history. The Black Hawks finished with a record of 10-8, although failed to qualify for the playoffs in Class Quad-A.WPIAL Softball First Round Recaps From Monday, May 15th
Opening day of the district softball playoffs was played with a picture perfect sunny backdrop as play began with Round One in three classifications. There were a couple of surprises and a couple of games that went beyond the standard seven innings to kick start the new expanded edition of the WPIAL Softball Playoffs. Here are the recaps from 6-A, 4-A and 3-A First Round action on Monday, all of which can be heard archived here on MSA Sports. A special thanks to Sean Saputo, Sean Meyers, Lee Mohn, Bob Gregg, Rob McKinney, Lou Rood, Mark Schaas, Randy Gore, Rennie Detore, Johnny Lee, Mike Azadian, Steve Nagler, Nate Regotti and Justin McCauley for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS 6-A First Round:2017 WPIAL SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
The postseason is underway with results from the opening round in three of the six classifications. With the exceptions of 4-A #11 Elizabeth Forward and 4-A #12 South Fayette. the brackets played out with the higher seeds winning and advancing to Round Two. Here are ALL the results from the First Round on Monday, plus the schedule for openers in 5-A, 2-A and 1-A on Tuesday AND the sites and times for the 6-A, 4-A and 3-A Quarterfinals on Wednesday in the 2017 WPIAL Softball Playoffs. WPIAL CLASS 6-A Quarterfinals: #1 Hempfield Spartans (20-0) vs #9 North Hills Indians (11-9) AT Gateway High School on Wednesday, May 17th at 5:00pm on MSAsports.net
Central Catholic’s Peilert chooses Boston University
May 15, 2017
Sewickley's John Peilert expects a smooth transition to the Boston University men's rowing team. Peilert, a Central Catholic senior, recently committed to the Terriers for
