Local roundup
Lady Falcons continue to roll in section play The Connellsville softball team received another stellar performance from Kerri Hiles on the mound and scored timely runs Friday afternoon for a 3-0 victory over Greensburg Salem in the Section 3-AAA home opener.
Hiles struck out 10, walked one and allowed only one hit. She also had a strong performance at the plate with a run scored, a single and double, both hits driving home a run. Heather Rulli drove in the Lady Falcons’ final run.
Connellsville improves to 5-0 overall with its first section win.
Laurel Highlands 10, Albert Gallatin 2 – Angie Shotter kept the Lady Colonial hitters at bay by allowing only four hits to lead the Fillies to a Section 3-AAA home victory. The Fillies scored single runs in the first and third innings, two more in the fourth and capped the win with six tallies in the sixth.
Jen Barry led the way with four singles. Abby Martin and Stacey Batovsky had three singles apiece while Shotter and Angie Stafford added a pair of singles each. Renee Gmiter finished with two singles and a team-high three RBI.
Laurel Highlands (1-0, 2-3) travels to Greensburg Salem Monday. Albert Gallatin (0-1, 3-2) hosts Uniontown.
Hempfield 11, Uniontown 0 – The Lady Spartans welcomed themselves to Section 3-AAA action with an easy victory against the Lady Red Raiders. Winning pitcher Heather Riggle allowed only two hits in the five-inning, 10-run rule victory while striking out nine and walking only one.
Hempfield (1-0, 4-3) scored four runs in both the top of the second and third innings, and the Lady Spartans closed the game with three runs in the fifth.
Holly Sisler and Meghan McConville had singles for the Lady Red Raiders. Brittany Check (3-3) struck out two and walked three. Uniontown (0-1, 3-3) travels to Albert Gallatin Monday.
Belle Vernon 10, Brownsville 0 – Ashley Merella scattered two hits and the Lady Leopards made the most of seven hits in their Section 3-AA home victory. Belle Vernon (2-0, 5-0) scored eight runs in the bottom of the third inning and ended the game on the five-inning, 10-run rule with two runs in the fifth.
Dana Bickerton doubled and singled for Belle Vernon to finish with four RBI. Brooke Panepinto had a single and two RBI while Elyse Biddle, Merella, Jillian Kunka and Ra’Shanna Church all added a single and an RBI.
Amanda Voytovich’s double and a single by Gina Pelehac were the only hits the Lady Falcons could muster. Lindsey Zidek took the loss.
Greensburg Central Catholic 3, Southmoreland 0 – The Lady Centurions held a 1-0 through four innings before adding two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth for a Section 3-AA home victory. Lori Lantzy earned the win for the home team on a one-hit performance.
Greensburg C.C. improves to 1-1 in the section and 5-2 overall.
Jefferson-Morgan 8, West Greene 7 – The Lady Rockets scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh after rallying from an earlier deficit for a win at home in their Section 1-A opener. Jefferson-Morgan improves to 3-3 overall with the win while West Greene drops to 1-4.
West Greene opened the game with a pair of runs and the Rockets sliced the deficit with a single run in the bottom of the first. The Lady Pioneers opened up the lead with three runs in the second, but Jefferson-Morgan countered with three runs in the third.
West Greene went up 6-4 in the fifth only to have the Lady Rockets move ahead for the first time in the game in the bottom of the inning with three runs. The Lady Pioneers didn’t go away quietly, scoring a run in the sixth to tie the game.
Kelly Waligora earned the win for Jefferson-Morgan and helped her own cause with a double and two singles. Becky Burns was victimized by six West Greene errors in the loss, but did what could at the plate with three singles.
Monessen 5, California 3 – Four runs in the bottom of the third inning was the difference for the Lady Greyhounds in their Section 6-A home opener. The game was tied at 1-1 when Monessen exploded for the lead.
California fought back with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Angie Lynn earned the win for Monessen (1-0, 2-2) while Alison Edwards absorbed the loss.
Hyndman 8, Turkeyfoot Valley 3 – The Lady Rams scored a run in the top of the first, but the home team had all the answers for a non-section victory.
Hyndman led 2-1 after three innings and 3-1 after four, but Turkeyfoot Valley (2-3, 1-1) scored a run to draw closer in the fifth. Hyndman answered with a single run in the bottom of the inning, then put the game away with four runs in the sixth. Two Turkeyfoot errors led to four unearned runs.
Vanessa Wheatley had a double and single for the Lady Rams while Ashley Tressler finished with two singles. Turkeyfoot returns to West-Pac South action Tuesday with a game at Rockwood.
High school baseball
Mapletown 4, Avella 1 – The Maples took a step in the right direction Saturday with a home victory in their Section 1-A opener. Mapletown improves to 5-2 overall with the section victory.
Chris Petrick scored the first run for Mapletown after he singled with two outs, stole second and third and came around to score when the throw to third sailed into left field. Drew Denham’s first of two hits scored Joe Kovach in the fifth inning after Kovach led off with a single and stole second.
Brad Myers brought home a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning with a two-out bases-loaded single. Justin Corso (4-0) struck out six, allowed five hits and walked none in the win.
California 8, Bentworth 4 – The Trojans benefited from five unearned runs, including the eventual winning run in the second inning, to open the Section 7-A schedule with a home victory.
Parke Bongiorno spotted California (1-0, 5-0) to a 3-0 lead on a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. Bongiorno finished with two hits, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Andy Galis went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Shane Tonkavitch added a triple.
Jason Molesky took the loss for the Bearcats. Mike Shumar had the lone extra base hit with a double.
Frazier 5, Monessen 4 – Pat Black was the man on the spot for the Commodores, smacking a two-run triple in the bottom of the sixth inning Friday to lead Frazier to a non-section victory, its first of the season.
John Paull picked up the win by striking out 11. Donnie Shultz had a pair of hits for Frazier, driving in two runs for the Commodores. Frazier improves to 1-3 and will open Section 7-A action on Tuesday with a home game against California.
Chartiers-Houston 9, West Greene 0 – The Pioneers got off to a rocky start in Section 1-A action, allowing four runs in the bottom of the first and never recovering in the loss on the road. The Bucs (1-0, 5-1) received doubles from Brady Yevins, Andy McLevine and Mark Moury while Yevins and Justin Benson belted out home runs.
West Greene falls to 1-3 with the section loss.
College softball
California (Pa.) 4, Indiana (Pa.) 3; California (Pa.) 4, Indiana (Pa.) 1 – The Vulcans received strong pitching performances from Amber Riegel and Becky Mezyk with the offense smacking three home runs for a PSAC-West doubleheader sweep at home.
Riegel won her fifth game of the season, receiving offensive with home runs by Kimmie Miller and Debbie Tedesco. Gabrielle Rendon added an RBI-double for the Vulcans. Sarah White went long for Indiana with Regan Casey adding an RBI-double.
Mezyk, a freshman from Baldwin, improved to 6-0 with help from Julie Wallace’s home run and Riegel’s double. Mezyk was a force at the plate as well, finishing 4-for-6 in the doubleheader with four singles to raise her season batting average to .500.
California (5-1, 12-2) remains in PSAC-West action with a road game at Clarion.
College baseball
Pittsburgh 5, Rutgers 4; Rutgers 7, Pittsburgh 5 – The Big East Conference doubleheader took most of the day Friday with each team taking a victory.
Jeff Barnyak (3-0) picked up the win in relief of Nick Evangelista in the first game. Tom Cashman led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single, advancing to second on an outfield error. Stuart Rykaceski brought Cashman home with the winning run on a double.
The Panthers (3-5, 20-9) fell behind 5-2, but rallied for two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Pittsburgh managed to tie the game in the sixth before the Scarlet Knights (2-2, 8-12) went ahead with a single run in the eighth. Rutgers added an insurance run in the top of the ninth.
Men’s tennis
Westminster 6, Waynesburg 3 – The visiting Titans won four of six singles matches and two of three doubles Saturday for a Presidents’ Athletic Conference victory.
Brownsville graduate Mark Gates defeated Sam Seo at No. 3 singles (6-3, 6-2) and Mike Pamepinto outlasted John Libert for a three set victory at No. 1 singles for the Yellow Jackets. Nate Smucker and Ryan Floyd gave Waynesburg its lone doubles victory with a 9-7 decision at No. 3 doubles.
Mount Pleasant graduate Mark Gross won his No. 2 singles match in straight sets and joined Seo for an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles.
Boys track & field
Tri-State Invitational – The Laurel Highlands boys had a successful day at West Mifflin Saturday despite the blustery conditions with a second, two fourths and a fifth-place finish.
Tony Patitucci had the best finish by placing second in the javelin with a throw of 166 feet, eight inches. Matt Humbert placed fourth in both hurdle events with a time of 16.31 in the 110 high hurdles and 43.26 in the 300 intermediate. Brennon Meadows was fifth in the triple jump with a jump of 41 feet, 21/2 inches.
Girls track & field
Tri-State Invitational – Diane Gmiter had the best throw of the day in the shot put to earn a first place in the event for Laurel Highlands. Gmiter’s throw of 37-10 won the event that featured over 50 teams.
Mikie Monaghan had a busy day for the Fillies by finishing second in the 1,600 with a time of 5:31.4 and running legs on both the 1,600 and 3,200 relays. The 1,600 relay team of Monaghan, Danielle LaPresta, Molly Macioce and Deena Blanc was fourth with a time of 4:24.7. The 3,200 relay team of Bethany Work, Jessi Evans, Deena Blanc and Monaghan was seventh with a time of 10:35.4.