Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Derry playing Long ball

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, April 2, 2026 | 11:01 AM

Cason Long had one of those days at the ballpark.

The Derry senior on Monday went 3 for 3 with a double and a home run, scored the game-winning run and recorded a save as the Trojans defeated Valley, 5-4.

Long drove in three runs.

A Shippensburg commit, he said the homer was one of the longest hits to come off his bat. It was a drive to straightaway center field at Derry.

Long is dedicating the season to his late grandmother.

“Each ball I hit out there, her name is going on it with a little quote,” Long told Westmoreland Sports Network. “She loved baseball.”

Walk-off Monday

A few Westmoreland teams delivered — or had some help — in the clutch Monday with walk-off wins.

Donovan Trimble gave Derry a 5-4 win over Valley with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Franklin Regional slipped past Kiski Area, 13-12, on a walk-off wild pitch in the ninth.

Ligonier Valley was on the losing end of a walk-off winner. Ashton Bricker of Freeport clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to lift Freeport to a 5-4 win.

Close call ‘Cats

Latrobe won another tight game and Grady Ruffner once again delivered in the clutch.

Ruffner had the go-ahead RBI as the Wildcats walked off Penn-Trafford, 13-12.

Four days later, Ruffner did it again with a walk-off RBI single in the eighth inning as the Wildcats clipped Hempfield, 4-3.

Last year, Latrobe had nine one-run games and was 6-3 in them.

Crosby playing baseball

Greensburg Central Catholic has a new face on the baseball diamond this spring: football star Samir Crosby.

The senior, who is bound for Georgetown to continue his football career, decided to reconnect with baseball.

“It felt spontaneous,” Crosby said. “I played all the way up until seventh grade (then stopped playing).”

Crosby pitched and played shortstop in middle school but plays center field when he is in the lineup for the Centurions.

Sibling rivalry

Penn-Trafford siblings Tanner and Torrie DeStefano both made noise on the diamond on the same day as both Warriors teams collected convincing wins.

Tanner ripped a double and a home run — a seventh-inning grand slam — as Penn-Trafford baseball clubbed Armstrong, 13-2.

Torrie, meanwhile, who is playing softball for the first time at the varsity level — she played baseball previously — went 3 for 4 with two RBIs in the P-T’s 13-3 win over Kiski Area in five innings.

Numbers game

23 – Strikeouts for Greensburg Central Catholic pitcher Tyler Samide in his last two starts.

6 – Home runs for Hempfield in its first five games.

1 – Hits allowed by Mt. Pleasant pitcher Bobby Smithnosky in an 8-0 win over Deer Lakes.

95 – Miles per per hour on Norwin pitcher Caden Sivrich’s fastball in Tuesday’s 6-3 win over Hempfield.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Derry Area, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin