Spring sports swings into motion
The first official pitch is scheduled to take place Friday, March 23 as the high school baseball and softball seasons are set to open in Greene County, along with the track and field season.
Last year saw six of 10 teams reach the postseason on the diamond, including both the baseball and softball squads of Waynesburg Central and Carmichaels. West Greene and Jefferson-Morgan also qualified for the softball playoffs.
The county’s best team from 2011 has a new coach, however.
Kevin Pincavitch takes over a Waynesburg Central baseball team that went a perfect 14-0 in Section 2-AA and 18-3 overall under Steve Coss.
The Raiders lost their opener at Beth-Center, 2-1, on March 29 last year, then didn’t lost again until June 1 when they fell in the WPIAL championship game to Riverside by the same 2-1 score.
In fact, all three of Waynesburg Central’s losses in 2011 were by one run, the final coming against Bedford in the PIAA playoffs, 3-2.
The Raiders beat Freeport, 10-3, Frazier, 10-4, and Laurel, 4-3, to reach the WPIAL final.
This year, Waynesburg Central opens its season at California on Saturday, March 24, at 2 p.m.
Waynesburg Central’s softball team put together a solid season under coach Lars Johnson, going 10-6 overall and 10-2 in Section 2-AA, good enough for second place and a spot in the WPIAL playoffs, where the Lady Raiders lost to Bishop Canevin, 9-2.
Waynesburg Central opens its softball season at home against Ringgold on Friday at 4 p.m.
Carmichaels finished one game out of first place in the Section 1-A baseball standings last year with a 9-3 mark. Beth-Center and California tied for first with 10-2 records.
The Mikes, who went 11-6 overall under coach Scott VanSickle, defeated Rochester, 12-6, in the first round of the playoffs before losing a 4-3 heart-breaker to Serra Catholic in nine innings.
Carmichaels opens at Frazier on Friday at 4 p.m.
The Lady Mikes fashioned another fine season under coach Dave Briggs in 2011, going 15-1 overall and 10-0 in Section 2-A. Carmichaels knocked off Vincentian in the first round of the playoffs, 7-6, before being eliminated by Shenango, 2-1.
The Lady Mikes host Laurel Highlands on Friday at 4:15 p.m.
West Greene’s softball team soared to 12-7 overall record and an 8-2 mark in Section 2-AA under coach Bill Simms in 2011. The Lady Pioneers, whose only two section losses were to Carmichaels, upended Riverview in the WPIAL playoffs, 6-4, before losing to Fort Cherry, 13-2.
The Lady Pioneers host Avella at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
West Greene’s baseball team, which went 4-15 overall and 2-10 in Section 1-A, also opens its season against Avella. Coach Justin Allen’s squad hosts the Eagles at 4 p.m. on Friday.
Jefferson-Morgan’s baseball team came up just short of the postseason last year, despite an 8-6 overall mark and a 7-5 record in Section 1-A under veteran coach John Curtis.
The Rockets stayed in contention until the final day of the regular season when a loss to Carmichaels, whom they defeated earlier in the year, eliminated them. This year gets under way for J-M with a 5 p.m. game on Friday against Hundred, W.Va.
Jefferson-Morgan did reach the postseason in softball with an 8-7 overall record and a 5-5 mark in Section 2-A under coach Tony Barbetta. The Lady Rockets lost to South Side Beaver in the WPIAL playoffs, 11-4.
J-M hosts Avella at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Mapletown will look to rebound from a winless baseball season (0-14 overall, 0-12 in Section 1-A).
Coach Brian Lewandowsky’s Maples travel to Hundred, W.Va., on Monday.
Mapletown’s softball team just missed out on a .500 season in 2011, finishing at 7-8, including a 3-7 record in Section 2-A.
The Lady Maples open play at 4 p.m. on Friday when they travel to Uniontown.
The county’s first track and field meet will be hosted by Waynesburg Central on Thursday, March 29 when coach Joe Kuhns’ Lady Raiders host a triangular with Jefferson-Morgan and Beth-Center at 4 p.m.
West Greene begins its track season on April 3 in a triangular against Beth-Center and California on Cal’s new track.