Sports shorts
Baseball Waynesburg takes two
Waynesburg opened the 2006 season with a doubleheader sweep of Tri-State (Ind.) College Monday in Orlando, Fla. The Yellow Jackets won the first game, 3-2, and swept with a 9-1 win in the nightcap.
Justin Schrader went the distance in the first game, allowing five hits while striking out seven and walking three.
Waynesburg scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth on with Chad Litten, who went 3-for-3, driving in a run with a single and Ryan Cummings bringing home the third run on a sacrifice fly.
Tri-State scored in the bottom of the first, but the Yellow Jackets went ahead for good with two runs in the top of the second. Landon Sinclair went the distance for the win, striking out 6 and walking one.
Brendan Steele had a single with two RBIs while Nate Wigfield doubled and added two RBIs. Brian Gerginski had a couple of singles. Jerry Daily doubled.
Basketball
Cal U tournament game
The California University of Pa. women’s basketball team will begin its quest for a NCAA Division II national title on Friday when the Vulcans play Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.) at 8 p.m., the final of four opening round games.
Charleston (W.Va.) is the host of the regional tournament. Session prices are $7 for adults, $5 for students and $3 for students with a college ID from one of the eight participating schools.
Nesser update
Laurel Highlands graduate Corey Nesser finished his sophomore season for Slippery Rock University by playing in 25 of The Rock’s 27 games. He scored 26 points on 11 field goals (two 3-pointers) and 2-of-3 from the foul line. Nesser grabbed 18 rebounds (3 offensive, 15 defensive) to go with 21 assists and 12 steals.
Inline Hockey
Geibel loses in final
Geibel Catholic advanced to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Roller Hockey League Varsity II division finals, but North Allegheny edged the Gators last weekend 2-0 in the best-of-3 series.
The Tigers tied the first game with about two minutes to go, and then scored the winner in overtime for the series lead with a 6-5 win. Mike Loftis scored a hat trick for the Gators with Peter Merranko and Corey Compliment adding a goal apiece. Ryan Dreliszak had three assists. Chris Rocco turned aside 23 hots.
Geibel fell behind 3-0 after two periods in the second game, but rallied to within 5-4 with 1:48 remaining. The Tigers scored an empty netter for a 6-4 final. Compliment scored a pair of goals while Dreliszak and Loftis each scored a goal. Rocco made 19 saves.
Softball
Locals at UPG
A quartet of local athletes will play for the Pitt-Greensburg softball team this season: Geibel Catholic’s Ashley Gardner, Belle Vernon’s Amber Dongilli and Megan Flower and Frazier’s Brittney Giovanelli.
Gardner, a junior, is the Lady Bobcats’ top returning pitcher, finishing 3-15 last year with an ERA of 4.75 in 117 2/3 innings pitched. She struck out 46 while walking 27.
Giovannelli, a sophomore first baseman, played in 17 games last year with a batting average of .333 with four RBIs despite missing half the season due to injury. Dongilli, a freshman catcher, is as a key newcomer.
Tennis
Instant replay gets OK
MIAMI (AP) – When the call is close, the pro tennis tours want to take another look.
The ATP and WTA Tours have decided to use instant replay starting with the Nasdaq-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., in two weeks, officials said Monday. This year’s U.S. Open will be the first Grand Slam event to review disputed calls electronically.
Discussions are under way regarding the use of replay at other tournaments, including the summer hardcourt series leading up to the Open.
“In my 20 years in professional tennis, this is one of the most exciting things to happen for players, fans and television viewers,” eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi said in a statement. “This new technology will add a whole new dimension to the game.”
Because of the cost – more than $100,000 at Key Biscayne – instant replay will be used only on the stadium court there, and on the two show courts at the U.S. Open.
Players will be permitted two challenges per set, and a third if there’s a tiebreaker. Calls upheld will count against a player’s allotment.
Video screens visible to players, umpire and fans will allow everyone to see the replay result at the same time. The process is expected to take less than 10 seconds, and officials believe replays may speed up matches because there will be fewer arguments.
“With the speed and power of today’s game, the time has come for tennis to benefit from new technology,” said Arlen Kantarian, chief executive for the U.S. Tennis Association. “It’s an opportunity for us to help officials and players, while hopefully creating a bit more excitement and intrigue.”
For such a tradition-sport, replay is radical – the most dramatic rules change since the tiebreaker was adopted in 1970.
“If anyone’s been listening to my commentary the past year, then they know I’m in favor of using replay,” John McEnroe said. “I think it will make tennis more interesting.”
Butch Buchholz, a former top player and the tournament director at Key Biscayne, said he likes instant replay and expects it to be popular with players. But the sort of tirades that helped make McEnroe and Jimmy Connors famous may become a thing of the past, he said.
“It’s a little bit like baseball,” Buchholz said. “A guy slides into second base and the umpire calls him out, and he says, ‘I’m safe,’ and he grabs the dirt and throws it on the umpire’s shoe – you’re not going to see that.”
Tennis will use eight cameras for replay. Players are permitted to contest a point-ending call, but they may challenge a ruling in the midst of a rally only if they stop play. Umpires may order a replay on their own if the linesman’s view of call is blocked and the chair is unable to make the ruling.
Replay won’t be used at events played on clay, where the ball typically leaves a mark.
The International Tennis Federation approved the Hawk-Eye technology late last year. It was first tested at the Champions Tour’s season-ending event at Royal Albert Hall in London.
In December, the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, became the first elite event to use Hawk-Eye. Some 45 percent of the challenged rulings were overturned.
“We all have seen matches turn on questionable calls,” said Larry Scott, chief executive officer for the WTA Tour. “With all that’s on the line in tennis these days, we felt we had to pursue every means possible to utilize technology to make sure that calls were accurate.”