May 3, 2007 By The 10 min read

Scotties advance to team track championships Southmoreland advanced to the WPIAL Class AA Team Class AA Track & Field Championships for the first time since 2004 with victories over Brentwood, Apollo-Ridge, and McGuffey Wednesday on its home track.

Southmoreland will run for the team title on Thursday, May 10, at Mars High School.

The Scotties beat Brentwood, 99½-49½, on the strength of field events and second- and third-place finishes. Kory Kiefer won the 400 and Jimmy King finished first in the 300 intermediate hurdles. Ben Poorbaugh was strong in the throws, winning the shot put and discus. Matthew Booker won the pole vault with Billy Geyer taking first in the long jump (20-10).

Southmoreland had an easier time with Apollo-Ridge, easing to an 89-61 victory. Kevin Hagerman picked up a first place in the triple jump, and Jimmy King added to his first-place finish in the high hurdles with top efforts in the high jump and 300 intermediate hurdles.

The Scotties wrapped up the top spot with a 106-44 win over the Highlanders. Southmoreland won 12 of 18 events, adding 11 second-place finishes to the convincing win.

In other semifinal action, Butler defeated Laurel Highlands and Butler to advance into next week’s Class AAA final. Nathaniel Hensh cleared 14 feet in the pole vault for the Mustangs with teammate Zack Girod winning the shot put with a top effort of 47-6.

At the Canon-McMillan semifinal, Connellsville managed to beat Moon, 79-70, but lost to the Big Macs, 102-47, and North Allegheny, 102-47. The Falcons had top performances from Scott Jones (110 high hurdles, 14.7; long jump, 20-4½), Drew Adams (300 intermediate hurdles, 44.5), Joe Villaneuva (800, 2:06), Dan Martin (javelin, 148-8), and Rodney Richter (discus, 160-9½; shot put, 52-11½).

Both the Beth-Center and Waynesburg Central boys fell short of extending their seasons another week. The Raiders lost to site winner New Brighton, 83-56, Greensburg C.C., 86-57, and South Park, 98-47. The Bulldogs lost to Riverside, 129-15, Center, 121-19, and South Side Beaver, 106-43.

Girls track & field

Butler 94, Laurel Highlands 56; Laurel Highlands 91, Fox Chapel 55; West Allegheny 87, Laurel Highlands 63 – The Fillies defeated the Lady Foxes to win one of its three WPIAL semifinal meets with top individual performances from Breehana Jacobs, Casey Conn, Demi Phillipy and the 400 relay team.

Jacobs was the lone two-time first-place finisher for the Fillies, winning the 100 in 11.7 seconds and the 200 in 24.7. Conn cleared the bar at 10-6 in the pole vault while Phillipy had a top throw of 128-7 in the javelin.

The 400 relay team of Meg Mahoney, Katy Albert, Kayla Mikluscak and Aleesha Washington completed the one lap in 51.8 seconds.

High school softball

Belle Vernon 5, McGuffey 0 – The Lady Leopards clinched a Section 4-AAA playoff berth behind the 3-hit pitching of Dena Mornak. Mornak improved to 2-1 with the shutout, striking out seven and walking four.

Belle Vernon goes to 10-3 in the section and 12-5 overall.

The Lady Leopards scored all the runs Mornak would need with two outs in the top of the third inning. Jess Zites and Kayla Nuccetelli both singled, and Megan Chadwell brought both home with a triple. Alana Lacey capped the late rally with an RBI single.

Chadwell added her third RBI in the fifth inning when she drove home Nuccetelli after she had tripled. Chadwell had her fourth RBI of the game in the seventh with an RBI single.

Chadwell finished with a triple and four singles.

Kala Winfield, Kate Donyan and Chelsey Thomas all had singles to account for the Lady Highlanders offense.

Belle Vernon 9, West Mifflin 5 – Ashley Nichols and Alana Lacey combined for a 3-hitter Tuesday, settling down after the Lady Titans scored four runs in the second inning to take the lead.

The Lady Leopards wasted little time regaining the lead in the third inning with four runs of their own. Apryl Patterson had the big hit of the inning, a two-run single.

Belle Vernon added three more runs in the fifth when Dena Mornak capped the inning with a two-run single.

Waynesburg Central 3, West Mifflin 0 – Lauren Minor struck out seven of the final nine outs and scattered three hits to lift the Lady Raiders to a Section 4-AAA home victory over the Lady Titans.

Waynesburg remains in the thick of the playoff race, improving to 7-5 in the section and 10-5 overall.

The game was scoreless through four innings when Waynesburg finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Nikkie Coleman and a two-out, two-run single by Rachel Rohanna.

Alyson Johnson and Molly Henderson both doubled for the Lady Raiders. Minor struck out eight and walked none to improve her record to 9-5.

Brownsville 3, South Fayette 2 – South Fayette tied the game with a single run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Lady Falcons eventually regained the lead with a run in the eighth inning for an extra-inning Section 2-AA road victory.

Nicole Kerestine led off the winning rally with a single. She stole second and moved to third on Jennifer Sheridan’s single. Raelene Sheridan drove home Kerestine with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Stacey Knox (5-9) went the distance, striking out five and walking none for the win. She also had a double and single. Emily Lucosh added two singles.

South Fayette’s Shannon Rohbeck had a double and single.

High school baseball

Carmichaels 15, Bentworth 5 – The Mikes atoned for Tuesday’s tough loss, making the most of seven walks in the fourth inning for a 5-inning Section 1-A victory.

The Mikes are now just ½-game behind California in the loss column. Carmichaels improves to 6-3 in the section and 7-5 overall while the Bearcats are 8-3 in the section and 11-3 overall.

Carmichaels plays Geibel Catholic this afternoon in a game suspended in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Mikes scored eight runs in the fourth inning because of wild Bentworth pitching. The Bearcats walked seven, three with the bases loaded, with six of the seven eventually scoring.

Aaron Thompson had a double and three RBIs for the Mikes. Tim Voithofer went 2-for-3 while Chuck Gasti finished with three RBIs.

“We try to control our own destiny. We have to be a smart team,” said Carmichaels coach Dave Bates.

Mapletown 13, West Greene 6 – Ashly Menear finished what he started, earning the win of a game earlier suspended.

Menear was also a factor at the plate with an inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning, a double and single, and three RBIs. Wes Loring and Frank Jeffries both had a double and single, while Charlie Grim finished with two singles.

Adam Skertich went 2-for-3 for the Pioneers.

Jefferson-Morgan 9, Mapletown 3 – Ashly Menear wasn’t as successful in his second outing of the day, losing a complete-game performance to the visiting Rockets.

Menear (1-4) struck out six and walked five, allowing nine hits. He also had three doubles.

Jefferson-Morgan broke open a 3-1 game in the top of the fourth inning with the aid of two Mapletown errors. Ryan White had an RBI single, and winning pitcher David Montibeller added a two-run single to cap the four-run inning.

Mapletown (2-9, 2-11) had chances, stranding the bases loaded in the sixth and leaving two more aboard in the fourth.

The Rockets (11-5) travel to Bentworth in another key Section 1-A game. Jefferson-Morgan is 8-3 in the section, ½-game behind section-leading California in the loss column.

“We’ve won four games in three days,” said Jefferson-Morgan coach John Curtis. “Every game is a playoff game.”

Beth-Center 13, Burgettstown 2 – The Bulldogs didn’t need to got the distance on the road at Burgettstown, winning a Section 2-AA game called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.

Leading 4-2 through three innings, Beth-Center scored three in the fourth and six more in the fifth.

Beth-Center’s Ryan Butka had a strong day at the plate with a double, two singles, four RBIs, and two runs scored. E.J. McCarty went 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Sean Veatch was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. Every player in the Beth-Center lineup had at least one hit in the 13-hit attack.

John Cherup and winning pitcher Todd Chisler (1-3) combined for a one-hitter.

Beth-Center goes to 2-5 in the section and 2-8 overall while Burgettstown slips to 3-5 in the section and 4-6 overall.

Waynesburg Central 15, Charleroi 0 – The Raiders prepped for their big Section 2-AA showdown at Brownsville today with an easy victory over the visiting Cougars called after four innings because of the 15-run rule.

Waynesburg Central goes to 6-2 in the section and 6-5 overall. Charleroi falls to 2-6 in the section and 2-8 overall.

The Raiders scored four runs in each of the first three innings, scoring the deciding run with two outs in the fourth inning.

Ken Blackwell had a triple, double and single with four RBIs and three runs scored. Troy Cree had a double and two singles, and scored four runs. Mitchell Monas and Taylor Moore also doubled.

Troy Cree pitched a two-hitter, striking out four and walking none.

Brownsville 6, Washington 3 – The Falcons scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning, breaking a 1-1 tie for an important Section 2-AA victory on the road.

Brownsville is now 7-1 in the section and 8-5 overall heading into this afternoon’s game with Waynesburg Central. Washington slips to 5-3 in the section and 5-6 overall.

The first run of the seventh inning scored on a wild pitch, and then Randy Smithburger’s single scored two more. Winning pitcher Mike Rhoads brought home Smithburger with a double. Eric Landman walked and Bobby Peton entered to pinch-run.

Peton scored the final run of the inning on a throwing error.

The Prexies scored two runs in the bottom of the inning.

“We haven’t beaten Washington in a while,” said Brownsville coach Skooter Roebuck. “We still have a big game today with Waynesburg Central. It’s nice to be in control near the end of the season.”

Hempfield 10, Albert Gallatin 1 – The Spartans scored at least one run in each of the first five innings, cruising to an easy 10-1 Section 2-AAAA home victory.

Denny Norris had a triple for the winners with Pat Costello, winning pitcher Alex Naggy, and Andrew Zieglar all adding doubles.

Gene Franks had a double for the Colonials, one of two hits allowed by Naggy. Eric Palmer took the loss, sliding to 1-2 on the season.

Albert Gallatin (2-7, 5-8) returns to action Friday with a non-section game at Beth-Center.

Women’s golf

NCAA East Regional – California University of Pa. sophomore Simone DeSouza defeated Northwood’s Jamie Long in a sudden-death playoff on the third extra hole to earn one of the two individual spots in from the East Regional.

DeSouza and Long both shot a 54-hole score of 227 to tie for sixth place. DeSouza had a final-round 75 to make up two shots on Long. After both players parred the first two holes, DeSouza birdied the third hole for the victory.

The Vulcans finished fourth in the team standings.

College baseball

California (Pa.) 7, East Stroudsburg 1 – Dustin Woodring had a two-run home run and a sacrifice fly to lead the Vulcans to a second-round game in the PSAC Championships today at noon against Slippery Rock.

Chris Doerschner allowed just one run on four hits to improve to 8-1 and tie Rick Krivda, Brian Sanner, and Ian Heisel for the second-highest single-season win total in team history. The win was the 20th of his career, second only to Krivda’s 22.

After Woodring’s home run gave the Vulcans a 2-1 lead, Ryan Kemerer’s bases-loaded single in the fourth extended the lead to 4-1.