Mar 23, 2024 By the Herald-Standard 7 min read

Iris Burd struck out 13 and Connellsville held off a late rally for a 4-3 non-section victory Friday afternoon against visiting Norwin.

Burd allowed just five hits and walked two. She struck out four batters in the top of the first after a batter reached on a missed third strike.

Connellsville (3-0) scored first with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Rylee Dreves singled and advanced to second when Burd walked. Dreves then scored on Cali Leichliter’s double.

The Lady Falcons’ lead doubled in the third inning on Kirra Davis’ sacrifice fly.

Norwin (1-1) battled back to tie the game in the top of the fourth inning on Rachel Minteer’s solo home run and an error.

Connellsville came right back in the bottom of the inning with two runs on Molly Greenawalt’s two-run home run.

Norwin scored a single run in the top of the sixth inning on Josey Michalski’s solo home run.

The Lady Knights had the tying run on base in the top of the seventh, but Burd struck out the side to preserve the win.

Carmichaels 3, Albert Gallatin 1 – Bailey Barnhart allowed two hits and struck out 15 in the Lady Mikes’ non-section victory over the visiting Lady Colonials.

Carmichaels (2-0) led 1-0 through four innings and added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Kaitlyn Waggett and Ali Jacobs both had run-scoring singles for the Lady Mikes.

Avery Walls took the loss, allowing two hits with six strikeouts and five walks. Ashley Metts and Gabriella Delorenzo singled.

Belle Vernon 12, Waynesburg Central 3 – The visiting Lady Leopards pounded out 16 hits for a non-section win at Waynesburg.

Gracie Sokol had three singles, a double and three RBI for Belle Vernon (2-0). Mailey Hayes finished with two singles, a home run and two RBI. Lauren VanDivner added a home run and single, and drove in four runs.

Winning pitcher Talia Ross allowed two earned runs on nine hits with 10 strikeouts and a walk. She also had three singles and an RBI.

Avery Davis had a pair of doubles for the Lady Raiders (0-3). Bri Kerr and Gina Tedrow both finished with a pair of singles. Kerr drove in a run.

Southmoreland 16, Burrell 0 – Maddie Brown allowed just one hit, an infield single by Shelby Novak in the second inning, and drove in five runs to lead the Lady Scots to a non-section road victory.

Brown struck out four and walked only one in the three-inning victory. She also hit a home run and singled.

Amarah McCutcheon hit a two-run home run in the third inning and scored three runs for Southmoreland (2-0). Taylor Doppleheuer added a two-run double in the second inning and scored three runs. Makayla Etling finished with a pair of singles and Gwen Basinger went 3-for-3 with three RBI.

Eight of the 10 players in the lineup had at least one of Southmoreland’s 12 hits.

Sabrina Hoover took the loss for Burrell (1-1).

Penn-Trafford 7, Mount Pleasant 2 – The Lady Warriors handed visiting Mount Pleasant a non-section road loss.

Danica Trainer and Emma Scanlon both had two singles for the Lady Vikings (0-2). Trainer and losing pitcher Gigi Stanek drove in a run apiece.

Cameron Ponko had a home run, double and two RBI for the Lady Warriors.

Charleroi 14, Mapletown 3 – Sofia Celaschi drove in two runs and struck out six to lead the Lady Cougars to a non-section road win.

Celaschi finished with a pair of doubles and a single.

Ariahna Blouse had two singles, a double and four RBI for Charleroi (3-0). Emma Stefanick drove in three runs. Riley Jones added a double and two RBI.

Isabella Garneck doubled and Treslee Wattson tripled for the Lady Maples (0-1).

Franklin Regional 4, Jefferson-Morgan 3 – Toryn Fulton and Ciara Camacho hit home runs as the Lady Panthers edged Jefferson-Morgan for a non-section victory.

Addyson Teagarden had a double and Isabelle Bazzoli tripled for the Lady Rockets (0-1).

McKeesport 15, California 0 – The Lady Tigers shut out California for a non-section win.

Ryenn Thomas led McKeesport (2-0) with a home run and three RBI. Jessica Miller, Kendal Bercik and Meghan Kemper all doubled.

The Lady Trojans slip to 0-2.

Boys tennis

Mount Pleasant 4, Greensburg Salem 1 – The Vikings swept the singles and split the two doubles matches for a Section 1-AA victory over the visiting Golden Lions.

Mount Pleasant’s Aydan Gross, Eli Duvall and Tommy Shrum all won in straight sets.

The Vikings’ Nico Pisula and Colin Hayes needed three sets to win their No. 2 doubles match. The pair lost the first set and then won the next two, 6-1, 10-6.

Baseball

Jefferson-Morgan 3, Beth-Center 1 – The Rockets scored all three runs in the bottom of the third inning for a non-section victory over the visiting Bulldogs.

John Woodward drove in the first run of the third inning with a double. Deakyn Dehoet then brought home the winning run with a single.

Brock Bayles started and pitched five innings for the win. He allowed one unearned run on one hit with nine strikeouts and six walks.

Brayden Ellsworth picked up the save for the Rockets (2-0) with two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit with two strikeouts and two walks in his first pitching effort.

Drew Adams led Jefferson-Morgan with three singles.

Ethan Varesko doubled for the Bulldogs (1-1) and struck out four in 2.1 innings for relief. Colton Bane took the loss.

Frazier 15, Monessen 0 – The Commodores opened their season with a non-section victory over the visiting Greyhounds.

Aidan Hardy sparked the Frazier offense with three RBI. Tyler Morrison drove in a pair of runs. Chase Smith and Kaden Phillips had an RBI apiece.

Hardy and Smith combined on a no-hitter in the three inning game. Hardy struck out three to earn the win.

Belle Vernon 10, Connellsville 3 – The Leopards powered past the visiting Falcons for a non-section win.

Jake Gedekoh paced the Belle Vernon offense with a double and three RBI. Lucas Judy finished with two singles and two RBI, and was the winning pitcher. Colton Lee, Adam LaCarte and John Bellissimo all had two hits.

Anthony Piasecki led the Falcons (0-2) with a double and two RBI. Matt Miller drove in Connellsville’s other run. Grayden Gillott finished with two singles.

Logan Lowery was the losing pitcher with four strikeouts.

Elizabeth Forward 10, Albert Gallatin 0 – AJ Grese drove in four runs and Charlie Nigut added two RBI to lead the Warriors to a non-section home win.

Night went 3-for-3, including a double, and Grese had two singles for Elizabeth Forward (2-0).

Geno Valenti finished with two singles for the Colonials (0-3).

Ligonier Valley 5, Southmoreland 1 – Tyler Smith and Cole Teets both had three hits to lead the Rams to a non-section victory.

Ligonier Valley improves to 1-1 overall.

David Billheimer and Ty Keffer each had a double for the Scotties (0-2).

Riverview 2, Laurel Highlands 1 – Lukas Duncan drove in the game-winning run in the fifth inning to carry the Raiders to a non-section win over the Mustangs.

Rece Stempfer drove in the other run for Riverview (2-0). Johnny Bertucci was the winning pitcher and Duncan earned the save.

Waynesburg Central 5, Bentworth 1 – Grant Pack drove in three runs to lead the Raiders to a season-opening, non-section win over the Bearcats.

Gavin Linton-Rush had a double for Bentworth (0-1).