Sports
This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 04/17/2017
April 17, 2017
After enjoying a basket of goodies, you can enjoy the end of the first half and the start of the second half of spring sports section action 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 and WPIAL boys volleyball, plus another edition of WPIAL Diamond Notes ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, April 17th: WPIAL High School Baseball - Deer Lakes vs Hampton at 4:00pm on the Hampton Talbots Sports Network at MSAsports.net WPIAL High School Girls Lacrosse - Shady Side Academy vs Fox Chapel at 7:00pm on the North Allegheny Sports Network at MSAsports.netHometown Softball Recap – Hempfield Spartans – 04/14/2017
April 14, 2017
The Hempfield Area Spartans remained undefeated by edging section rival Greater Latrobe 3-1 at Hempfield Area High School on Thursday. Two Spartans runs in the bottom of the third proved to be the deciding factor, as Hempfield's pitcher Morgan Ryan made that led stand over the final four innings. As a result of the highly-anticipated matchup in Class 6A Section 2, the Spartans improved to 5-0, and 9-0 overall. Conversely, the loss dropped Greater Latrobe to 3-1, and 4-2 overall.Hometown Softball Recap – Hempfield Spartans – 04/13/2017
April 13, 2017
The combination of experience, timely hitting, nearly flawless pitching and a championship pedigree courtesy of the Hempfield softball team was more than Penn Hills could handle as the Spartans cruised past their WPIAL Class 6A Section 2 opponent 16-1 on Wednesday night at Hempfield. Hempfield, the defending WPIAL and PIAA champions, looked to be in midseason form as it scored seven runs in the first inning and added 2, 3 and 4 in the second, third and fourth as the game was stopped in the fourth inning. That first inning outburst from the Spartans (8-0, 4-0 in section) was a combination of a formidable lineup and costly mistakes from a young Penn Hills team that was tenacious but clearly overmatched.Hometown Softball Recap – Baldwin Highlanders – 04/12/2017
April 12, 2017
In a coaching matchup between father and daughter, it was Vince Sortino and Baldwin that prevailed against Peters Township and Nicole Davis. Dad's Highlanders edged daughter's Indians 2-1 in a 6A Section 1 tilt at Baldwin High School. For the first four innings, pitching and defense prevailed, as both squads were held off the scoreboard. Peters Township (2-3, 3-3) opened the contest with a pair of singles against Baldwin hurler Addie Tagg, but Tagg stranded two runners to escape the frame unscathed. On the other side, Peters Township pitcher Kylie Hartbauer was equally impressive, as she allowed just two hits in the first four innings.Hometown Softball Recap – North Hills Indians – 04/12/2017
In Hometown softball action, the North Hills Indians take a tough loss at the hands of the Pine-Richland Rams by a score of 9-5 Tuesday afternoon in the North Hills. The Rams have a juggernaut offense and scored individual runs in the first 2 innings and led 2-0 in a close game after 2 innings. In the top of the third they would take a 3-0 lead on a 3 run HR by Brie Horrell to go up 5-0. North Hills would rebound and plate three runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning. With 2 outs Madison Postervio walked, Aidan Harrison singled and Mekenzie Saban hit a 3 run HR to cut the lead to 5-3.Hometown Softball Recap – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers – 04/12/2017
Chartiers-Houston (8-0, 3-0) was led at the plate by some youth and some veteran leadership in their 10-0, five inning victory over Bentworth (3-5, 1-2) on Tuesday in Houston. Both Freshman Kaci Alderson and Senior Macie Kesneck finished one leg short of a cycle, while both delivering three RBI. The Bucs jumped out to a 2-0 1st inning lead on Kesneck's two-out triple and would add on in the 5th, as Kesneck ripped an RBI double and another Freshman, Karlyn Bayer, plated Kesneck with a base hit. The 4th inning belonged to Alderson though, who crushed a 3-run home run over the centerfield fence, pushing the Bucs' lead to 7-0.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Softball – 04/11/2017
April 11, 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. 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 (7-0) (Last Week #1) 2) BETHEL PARK BLACK HAWKS (3-0) (Last Week #4) 3) LATROBE WILDCATS (4-1) (Last Week #5) 4) CANON-McMILLAN BIG MACS (2-1) (Last Week #2)
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Connor Coward
April 10, 2017
The Seneca Valley baseball team has enjoyed tremendous success in recent years, including winning titles in 2012 and 2014. Paramount in that success was Connor Coward. Coward, who is now pitching for Virginia Tech, is this week's feature for the WPIAL Alum Q&A. Coward's prep career was incredibly impressive, as he was a three-year letterwinner for the Raiders, beginning in 2012. That season, Coward was primarily used as a position player, as the team compiled a mark of 18-5. Included in that record were WPIAL Class Quad-A playoff victories against Upper St. Clair and Central Catholic. In the title game, Coward started in the outfield, as his squad prevailed 5-3 against Mount Lebanon.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Baseball – 04/10/2017
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)
