Apr 22, 2021 7 min read

High school baseball

Drake Long led off Carmichaels’ four-run bottom of the first inning with a home run and the Mikes went on to a 13-3 win over McGuffey in five innings.

The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak by McGuffey (8-2). Carmichaels improved to 8-1.

Long went 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. The Mikes had 13 hits, including doubles by Gavin Pratt and Stush Ferek. Pratt was 3-for-4.

Pratt and Liam Lohr combined on a five-hitter.

McGuffey’s Brock Wallace doubled and went 2-for-3.

n Jimmy Sadler went 5-for-5 with three runs, five RBI, a triple and a double, powering Chartiers-Houston to a 12-2 six-inning thumping of Frazier in a non-section game on the Bucs’ diamond.

Austin Kuslock also had a big game for Chartiers-Houston (9-3) by going 4-for-4 with two RBI and a double. The Bucs led 4-2 before breaking the game open with a five-run fourth inning.

Jake Mele had a double for C-H and pitchers Chase Bitz and Ryan Opfer combined or a three-hitter.

n Three Laurel Highlands pitchers combined on a four-hitter as the Mustangs held off visiting Canon-McMillan 2-1 in a non-section game.

LH (6-3) scored single runs in the first and fourth innings before Canon-McMillan (4-8) pushed across its lone run in the seventh. The Big Macs had runners on second and third with two outs but a foul out ended the game.

n Burgettstown’s four-game winning streak came unraveled late in a 12-3 loss to South Side Beaver in non-section play.

The Blue Devils (6-3) trailed 2-1 after three innings and 6-1 after five before giving up six runs over the final two frames.

Maddox Gratchen had a double for Burgettstown, which was limited to four hits.

n Charleroi scored 11 runs in the top of the first inning and rolled to a 17-2 win in three innings over Monessen in a non-section contest.

Ethan Hadsell had a double and Joey Campbell drove in three runs for Charleroi (3-7).

n Cameron Palmer hit a run-scoring double and Vincent Clutter had an RBI single, each in the top of the seventh inning, as Beth-Center rallied for a 9-7 win over Jefferson-Morgan in a non-section contest.

Beth-Center (5-6), which snapped a three-game losing streak, trailed 7-5 after four innings but the Bulldogs scored in each of the three remaining innings, breaking a 7-7 tie in the seventh.

Ayden Pratt had a triple for Jefferson-Morgan (5-4).

n Bentworth won its first game of the season, a 20-12 slugfest over Avella in non-section play.

Seth Adams had tow doubles to lead the Bentworth offense. Balze Allen had a double and a triple for Avella. Braden Rankin and Cole Jaworowski each had a double.

High school softball

Meghan Braun, Ehralyn Eisiminger and Erin Fitch homered in the same inning and Waynesburg took advantage of some shoddy fielding by West Greene to beat the Pioneers 11-8 in a non-section game Thursday.

Waynesburg (8-2) overcame a 5-3 deficit with a three-run third and tacked on four more runs in the fourth when Bruan, Eisiminger and Fitch each homered.

West Greene (8-2) had four home runs, by Jersey Wise, Katie Lampe, Kiley Meek and Breann Jackson, along with a double from Olivia Kiger. The Pioneers committed eight errors that led to six unearned runs.

Paige Jones and Hannah Wood doubled for Waynesburg.

n Carmichaels won its third straight, 12-1 in six innings, at California in Class 2A Section 3.

Emma Holaren tossed a two-hitter and Carmichaels (4-1, 7-4) and the Mikes had four multi-run innings.

Emma Hyatt and Grace Brown each drove in two runs for the Mikes, Kendall Ellsworth smacked a double and Mia Ranieri doubled. Holaren struck out 11.

n Maddie Smith went 2-for-5 with a double and four RBI, Bella Hess doubled and scored three times and Chartiers-Houston won at Burgettstown 9-5 in a Class 2A Section 1.

Smith had a key two-run single that capped the Bucs’ three-run top of the seventh.

Burgettstown (4-2, 4-6) had trimmed a 6-1 deficit to 6-5 with a four-run fifth but was blanked over the final two innings by winning pitcher Nicolette Kloes, who struck out nine. Hayden Abbott had a double for the Blue Devils.

n South Fayette got back on the winning track with a 12-2 rout of Upper St. Clair in a five-inning game in Class 5A Section 4.

Lexie Vetter was 3-for-3 with a triple and Hanna Binek doubled, tripled and scored three times to lead the Lions (5-2, 8-3). South Fayette snapped a three-game losing streak.

n Connellsville scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth to rally and beat Belle Vernon 10-7 in a non-section game.

Lexi Daniels homered and doubled, and Ashley Joll hit a home run, to pace Belle Vernon (7-5), which led 7-3 in the fourth inning.

n Nicole Palmer and Madison Bednar combined on a three-hitter as Frazier won 13-1 over host Bentworth in Class 2A Section 3.

n Mapletown won 13-0 over Avella in a Class A Section 2 game. The Maples improved to 4-1 in section and 5-2 overall.

Wild Things get player in dispersal draft

The Frontier League conducted its dispersal draft for American players from the rosters of the Trois-Rivières Aigles and the Ottawa Titans. The Washington Wild Things used the fifth overall pick to select infielder Andrew Penner.

Penner spent 2019 with River City and appeared in 90 games, batting .282 with four home runs, 15 doubles and 45 RBI. Penner had eight hits in the postseason for the Rascals, which resulted in the Frontier League championship.

“Andrew was right up on our big board and getting him at No. 5 was a pleasant surprise,” said Wild Things president and general manager Tony Buccilli. “We saw him produce at a high level as a pure rookie in 2019 and provide meaningful contributions for a championship team.”

WVU’s Brown gets 3-year extension

West Virginia football coach Neal Brown has received a two-year contract extension through the 2026 season, athletic director Shane Lyons announced Thursday.

Brown has coached the Mountaineers to an 11-11 record in his first two seasons, including a 6-4 mark in 2020. He had four years remaining on his original contract. Brown was hired in January 2019 to replace Dana Holgorsen after going 35-16 in four years at Troy.

Brown’s annual compensation, including base salary and supplemental compensation, will average $3.98 million over the length of the new six-year deal. Lyons said the salary commitment to Brown’s coaching staff has been increased to $4 million.

In improving from a 5-7 mark in Brown’s first season, the Mountaineers went 5-0 at home last season and finished fourth nationally on defense.

Mountaineers add graduate transfer

West Virginia has added DePaul forward Pauly Paulicap as a graduate transfer.

The 6-8 Paulicap will bring defensive help to the Mountaineers. He averaged more than seven points and six rebounds with 1.6 blocked shots per game for DePaul as a graduate transfer last season. He spent the three previous seasons at Manhattan.

Paulicap joins 6-9 transfer Dimon Carrigan from Florida International in the Mountaineers’ frontcourt.

The Mountaineers also previously signed Old Dominion guard Malik Curry as a transfer.