Westmoreland high school notebook: Greensburg Central Catholic baseball wants to wash out bad taste

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, May 26, 2025 | 4:56 PM

Greensburg Central Catholic didn’t win its first WPIAL baseball title since 2015, but the Centurions still have a chance at their first PIAA championship since 2002, when current Colorado Rockies interim manager and alum Warren Schaeffer was a star shortstop.

GCC (18-3) will play Eden Christian (15-5) at noon Wednesday at Washington & Jefferson in the WPIAL Class A third-place game.

Both teams have qualified for the PIAA playoffs, so all that is left is determining seeding.

GCC coach John Boyle would prefer to skip the seeding game and begin the state tournament promptly.

“We have a bad taste in our mouth after (a semifinal loss), so I’d rather take a few extra days of practice,” he said. “We still got states. It should be a fun trip.”

Special Ks

As it turns out, Seneca Valley ace softball pitcher Lexie Hames has a longer journey to break the WPIAL record for career strikeouts.

Amy Aloi of Riverside — not Hempfield’s Jaci Kalp, as previously reported — has the all-time record with 1,073 Ks.

Kalp fanned 997 before playing at Penn State.

Aloi broke Kalp’s record in 2002.

Hames has 931 career Ks.

Hey now, you’re an all-star

Latrobe senior Carley Berk had her own personal all-star weekend.

On Saturday, she played in the Big 33 flag football all-star tournament, which included teams representing the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders, at Chapman Field in Mechanicsburg.

Berk, a receiver, scored four touchdowns as the Steelers went 2-1. She could not play in the championship game, however, because she had to leave for the Roundball Classic all-star basketball games Sunday at North Allegheny.

Berk won Class 5A MVP in the Class 2A/District 10 vs. 5A all-star game, scoring a team-high 11 points.

Win or go home

Unlike other WPIAL baseball teams playing third-place games, Belle Vernon faces a must-win situation at 1 p.m. Tuesday when it plays Central Valley at Washington & Jefferson.

Only the top three WPIAL finishers advance to the PIAA tournament, so the third-place team plays on and the loser is finished.

Belle Vernon lost to Indiana, 11-2, in the WPIAL semifinals. Central Valley lost, 4-1, to Elizabeth Forward.

Ace Parker Lind will take the mound for the Leopards, who are embracing the pressure.

“Anytime Parker steps on the mound, we feel confident,” Belle Vernon coach Tony Watson said. “CV is a tough matchup for us, but we are treating it like any other game we’ve played this year. This group has been battle-tested and has been dealing with pressure all season. If we can get some timely hitting, I like our chances.”

Martin leaves GCC

Freshman 6-foot-7 basketball player Brandon Martin is leaving Greensburg Central Catholic to enroll at The Phelps School, a private, all-boys boarding school in Malvern.

Martin holds a Division I offer from Marshall.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield