Feb 19, 2020 3 min read

Belle Vernon boys move to quarterfinals

Devin Whitlock scored 21 points and Belle Vernon had little trouble in advancing in the WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball playoffs, defeating Derry 65-44 Wednesday night in a first-round game at Fox Chapel High School.

Belle Vernon (17-6), the No. 5 seed, will face No. 4 Quaker Valley in the quarterfinals Saturday at Plum.

The Leopards led by only 14-12 after one quarter but pulled away after that, leading 31-21 at halftime and 50-27 after three quarters.

Mitchell Pohlot scored 15 points and Jared Hartman grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for Belle Vernon.

Aidan Bushey had a game-high 22 points for Derry (7-15).

Pirates’ Reyes suspended 80 games

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Pablo Reyes was suspended 80 games on Wednesday under the major league drug program following a positive test for the performance-enhancing drug Boldenone.

He became the second player in three days suspended for Boldenone, which is sold under the brand name Equipose and is used commonly on horses. Houston pitcher Francis Martes was suspended for the 2020 season on Monday following a positive test for Boldenone, his second violation of the major league drug program.

Reyes, a 26-year-old outfielder and infielder, made his major league debut in September 2018 and hit .293 with three homers and seven RBIs in 63 plate appearances.

He hit .203 with two homers and 19 RBIs in 157 plate appearances for the Pirates last year and batted .286 with 10 homers and 30 RBIs in 191 plate appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis. He was on the Pirates’ 40-man roster before he was designated for assignment on Jan. 9 to clear a roster spot when outfielder Guillermo Heredia was signed. Reyes was sent outright to Indianapolis.

Reyes did not have a statement, the players’ association said.

Three players have been suspended this year under the big league program. Colorado pitcher Justin Lawrence was suspended for 80 games following a positive test for the performance-enhancing substance Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT). Lawrence has yet to make his big league debut.

W.Va. rejects bill to ax greyhound racing

West Virginia senators on Wednesday rejected a bill to cut state funding for the greyhound racing industry, three years after Gov. Jim Justice vetoed similar legislation.

The bill was defeated on a 23-11 vote. It would have ended $17 million in subsidies that benefit dog racing breeders and handlers at the state’s two racetracks, the Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Nitro and the Wheeling Island Hotel Casino and Racetrack.

The track at Wheeling Island, sandwiched in the state’s Northern Panhandle between Ohio and Pennsylvania, also has felt the pinch of competition from new casinos in Pennsylvania.

Senate President Mitch Carmichael, the bill’s lead sponsor, said the industry is outdated and inhumane to greyhounds. He wanted the subsidies steered toward more important priorities such as health or education.

“Whether we do it this year or next year or the year after, it’s going to happen,” Carmichael, a Republican, said in a floor speech. “Greyhound racing is ending across all of America.”

The bill would not have outlawed greyhound racing in the state, but opponents have said the bill would doom the industry that provides up to 1,700 jobs.

The bill would have set aside $3 million to retrain displaced workers and $1 million to promote greyhound adoptions. Residents who adopt greyhounds would have received a one-time $500 tax credit.